31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs (Public Domain)
Shots for all: Vaccines keep Airmen healthy
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Bianca Raleigh, 31st Medical Operations Squadron allergy and immunizations noncommissioned officer in charge, administers a patient’s shot March 23, 2015, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. In addition to providing patients with required vaccinations, the immunization clinic offers allergy shots and air allergen skin testing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Areca T. Wilson/Released)
Flu season is upon us, so here’s as good a reminder as any to go get a flu shot. If you’ve never been keen on getting a shot once a year (like about half of Americans), think about it like this: Do it so others don’t get the flu.
Many able-bodied people fall into this logic trap: “I rarely get sick, but even if I do get the flu, I’ll recover easily.”
However, there are many people, like newborns or those with chronic immune disease, who can’t get the shot and if they get the flu could have potentially serious consequences. The elderly tend to be more susceptible to the flu (even with the vaccine), and their bodies may not be able to handle a round of sickness.
As this Popular Science post points out, a study done about vaccination in England found that giving young people a flu shot was more effective to protect the elderly than actually giving elderly people the shot.
It’s not so much about you getting the shot; it’s about the people you could be giving the flu to.
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