The flu virus mutates rapidly and there are a great many strains of flu. The annual flu shot inoculates you against a selection of viruses that are in circulation and that are expected to be a problem. That's why a late comer (like swine flu) can be such a shocker.
The flu vaccine is worth getting IMO, but it's not a guarantee against flu and skipping it isn't a big deal. Especially if there are no children in the house - and you're not going out much
However, people that refuse to vaccinate themselves or their children against potentially lethal viruses on the basis of dubious and debunked myths on the other hand are foolish and dangerous. There is a concerted campaign to blame vaccination for any childhood illnesses - which is supported by the 'evidence' that the illness started after the child was vaccinated. Post hoc ergo propter hoc.
Unfortunately now any internet search on vaccinations brings up many more seemingly authoritative anti-vax sites than science based sites. There's even a book explaining how wonderful diseases are
Melanie's Marvellous Measles
a children's story written by Stephanie Messenger
This book takes children aged 4 - 10 years on a journey of discovering about the ineffectiveness of vaccinations, while teaching them to embrace childhood disease, heal if they get a disease, and build their immune systems naturally.
Oh yes, let's embrace measles. Death from pneumonia or acute encephalitis is so much fun.
As this movement gains ground we can expect to see the disease rates which plummeted after the introduction of the vaccine, rise again and for more children to die in agony from an inflamed brain lining, just as they did in Dublin in 2000 where three hundred people caught measles after vaccination rates dropped below 60%. Three children died.
As a direct result of the ant-vax movement three children died in Dublin
Statistics: Posted by A Person — Tue Jan 15, 2013 11:39 am
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