I have never gotten a flu shot. I neither had nor have any plans of trying to get one this year. I'm curious how many people that don't normally get one and hadn't planned on getting one are going to try and get the vaccine just because there is a shortage.
You know how human nature is. There are people who don't want something until you tell them they can't have it. Getting something that is in short supply, even a vaccine, makes them (in their minds) part of a special group. How many people for whom the flu would mean nothing more than some discomfort and time off from work are going to get the vaccine, thus keeping those whose health would truly be endangered by the flu from getting it?
Meanwhile, some members of Congress, acting on the advice of the Capitol physician, got flu shots before they headed home to campaign this month, despite the vaccine shortage, the AP reported.
It's not that most people who don't normally get the flu vaccine will be thinking of it in that way. It's that John Kerry's and the media's focus on the shortage will increase the perceived threat of the flu.
There have been no early outbreaks of the flu and there is no reason to believe that this year will be any worse than any normal year. It's always possible that we could get a severe outbreak. It's just not likely. It's possible that the strain of flu that is most common won't be the same as the one for which the vaccine was developed. In that case, no amount of vaccine would help.
Posted by marybeth at October 20, 2004 08:47 AM Other Stuff