Somewhat belated merry Christmas all around! I've been enjoying seeing all your Christmas posts, even if I haven't been doing a ton of replying
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Yeah, it tends to be most necessary for those who're quite old or quite young... The thing is, for them group immunity can help too. (I.e. the fewer other people are getting it, the less chance of it getting passed to a caregiver of someone vulnerable, and the less opportunity for mutation to forms that aren't protected against. In my family, we always had to be sure to get it because my brother had leukemia, and then had a severe allergic reaction to the shot himself, so with Dad exposed to so much at work... trying to cut down on risks.)
But for most people? It's mostly just lessening the chance of some unpleasantness. And actually, the stomach flu and actual influenza with aches/fever/cough are two different kinds of viruses, so the flu shot won't even do any good against that kind. (With a doctor for a dad... I've heard these things explained many times over the years. XD)
Thanks! :D At this point it looks like we might delay our trip by a day or two (since everyone but Dad's sick), but so far we're still a go. There are some really neat places I'd like to see down there, so I hope it works out!
Heh, I always get the stomach flu and regular flu mixed up, because even when I was around those with the flu I'd still end up with the stomach flu (like last year. There was a lot of the flu going around, but I still ended up with the stomach flu instead).
I think my main issue with the flu shot is the way it's sometimes presented in commercials and on the news (well, at least our news, I don't know about everywhere else) as practically the next polio and that to not get the shot was to contribute to a plague. In other words, lots and lots of scare tactics (but, well, it is the news), and I think it made me resentful toward the shot (especially since I knew people who got sick because of the shot, and still get sick when they renew the shot).
(And not that I think the media shouldn't try to push the shot. It should. I just wish they wouldn't come across as so... panicky about it, I guess).
LOL, your body must have Amazing Mutant Powers. (Sadly, one of the less useful powers... converting any other virus into stomach flu. XD)
Ah, I see. I don't watch much actual TV (as opposed to Netflix), so I don't know if the scare tactics are more specific to your area or not but bleh, yeah, I can definitely see how that would get obnoxious. It's funny how that sort of thing can activate a person's obstinate streak, isn't it? *g* I wonder how much the panic-tactic is influenced by trying to counteract the ongoing not-at-all-based-in-science fears regarding other, far more essential vaccines... But even if that's the case, a little more straightforward facts and a little less flailing would seem more in order.
But for most people? It's mostly just lessening the chance of some unpleasantness. And actually, the stomach flu and actual influenza with aches/fever/cough are two different kinds of viruses, so the flu shot won't even do any good against that kind. (With a doctor for a dad... I've heard these things explained many times over the years. XD)
Thanks! :D At this point it looks like we might delay our trip by a day or two (since everyone but Dad's sick), but so far we're still a go. There are some really neat places I'd like to see down there, so I hope it works out!
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I think my main issue with the flu shot is the way it's sometimes presented in commercials and on the news (well, at least our news, I don't know about everywhere else) as practically the next polio and that to not get the shot was to contribute to a plague. In other words, lots and lots of scare tactics (but, well, it is the news), and I think it made me resentful toward the shot (especially since I knew people who got sick because of the shot, and still get sick when they renew the shot).
(And not that I think the media shouldn't try to push the shot. It should. I just wish they wouldn't come across as so... panicky about it, I guess).
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Ah, I see. I don't watch much actual TV (as opposed to Netflix), so I don't know if the scare tactics are more specific to your area or not but bleh, yeah, I can definitely see how that would get obnoxious. It's funny how that sort of thing can activate a person's obstinate streak, isn't it? *g* I wonder how much the panic-tactic is influenced by trying to counteract the ongoing not-at-all-based-in-science fears regarding other, far more essential vaccines... But even if that's the case, a little more straightforward facts and a little less flailing would seem more in order.
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