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Subscribe to RSSHow widespread is the flu this year? Very. So far, it's spread to 47 states and it hasn't even peaked yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The effects are being felt on an individual level and also on a large scale.
The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, has declared a public health emergency because of an explosive rise in flu cases. In Kiefer, Okla., with the absentee rate in schools due to flu hitting 25 percent, the school district announced it would cancel classes. In Cleveland, a flu task force meets for 20 minutes every morning to handle the overflow of those sick with the flu at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The emergency room at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center in Columbus has instituted a fast-track system to move college students with the flu quickly through the emergency room to keep space free for older, more vulnerable patients.
The best defense we have against the flu is a shot. Still, some people resist getting one. Some say they just don't work that well. Others have concerns about the contents of the vaccine. Others just think the shots aren't that necessary and they'd rather take their chances and power through the flu if they get sick. But here's the thing: a flu shot isn't just for you -- it's also for those around you.
For those who still say the flu isn’t really serious, consider the death toll so far — Minnesota has had 27 flu-related deaths reported; Pennsylvania 22; Massachusetts, 18; Oklahoma, 8, Illinois, 6, and Maryland 1. Nine nursing home residents have died in New York. Twenty infants and children have died nationwide. And those are just the confirmed flu death cases. When someone starts to go on about the risks and dangers of flu shots a quick visit to the morgue should suffice to shut them up.
Things are only going to get worse. We are barely half way through the flu season. It's a nasty flu, making healthy people very sick and sick people in need of intensive care or worse.
This year the efficacy of the flu shot is about 62 percent. That is not a great number, but it is not bad. It's still worth getting one. The ethical reasons go far beyond your personal self-interest.
First, you ought to get a flu shot in order to protect those who cannot benefit from them. Second, the more folks who get vaccinated the harder it is for the flu to spread. Flu vaccination does a community a lot of good.
Newborns and those who are immune-compromised due to diseases, transplants, or cancer therapies cannot benefit from flu shots — they lack enough immunity capability. The elderly don’t build as much resistance to flu from a shot as do the young. And fetuses are at risk of dying from the flu unless their mothers get a shot.
The best protection those in these high-risk groups have is for those they come in contact with to have been vaccinated. Doing the right thing means protecting your grandma, your neighbor’s new baby and your son’s friend with primary immunodeficiency disease from being infected by -- you. You may not die from the flu. They could.
In addition to protecting those who cannot protect themselves there is strength in numbers in flu vaccination. The more of us who get vaccinated, even with a less than perfect vaccine, the harder it is for the flu virus to spread. This is called "herd immunity" and it applies to people as well as animals. If you think of yourself as a good neighbor and a responsible member of your community then you ought to get a shot so everyone gets the maximum benefit.
That is a hard message to get across. Most people naturally assume that if someone is sticking a needle in their arm it is to prevent them from getting sick. In fact, flu vaccination is for your family’s good, your neighbor’s good and the good of the newborn baby down the street.
A lot of us don’t like needles. But that is not enough reason to put others at risk. Many think they never get very sick from the flu. Some don’t, but they can still infect someone else.
Some still worry about the safety of the vaccine even though study after study shows the shots are safe and that getting a shot is far, far more beneficial than not getting one.
But, all that said, the best arguments for everyone to get a flu shot is that if we all do, the most vulnerable will be far less likely to die and we will be far less likely to infect one another. Don’t be selfish. Take care of your neighbor. Find a store or doctor that still has vaccine and get a shot.
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is the head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center.
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Honestly, some of the flu shots they produce for new viruses scare me after hearing people getting severely sick from them. That kind of plays into my decision to not get the shot....aside from my fear of needles. Not to mention that I'm almost 30 and the last time I did have the flu was at the age of 6. After that, no flu. Never even had a flu shot after that either.
You are yet another young person who doesn't get the shot.Believe me when I tell you that being in the hospital with pneumonia is not a fun way to spend your days.You had vaccines when you were going to school for Whooping cough,the measles,TB etc.You are still here and well so your fears of the flu vaccine are unfounded.
I guess you can consider 30 being on the young side, but it is my decision to get it or not. I work in a hospital, but not in any patient care areas. Therefore it isn't mandatory for me to get the flu shot. I may have "unfounded" fears on the shots, but I do well enough to be clear of anyone if I end up sick. I've even picked up masks to wear if I am sick and have used them. And I say that as my mother has no immune system from chemo treatments she is receiving. I don't live with her, but at the first signs of illness, I do not go anywhere near her home, regardless if I have a mask to wear or not.
well I followed this advice in 2005 and it almost killed me. I spent 24 days in the hospital, $250,000 in medical bills and 4 years to recover from the shot. I think I will pass.
The only way that flu shot would have darned near killed you is if you have an allergy to eggs.You no doubt contracted the flu virus(unknowingly) before getting the shot or had another flu virus that the shot did not contain.
just a cleaning lady....an allergy to eggs is not the only way a flu shot can darn near kill you. Are you not aware of the various adverse reactions that can and do occur as a result of the flu vax..including GBS and a host of other autoimmune diseases? Vaccine court has paid out millions of $ to those who have been injured by vaccines. Adverse reactions can and do occur...and you could be one of them. Someone has to win the lotto.
Hey Dr. Caplan! GO TO HELL! I had a flu shot once. That was the last flu shot I had. A vaccine that gives you the disease is not a vaccine, it's a crime. The flu shot is only good for what was out LAST YEAR. The virus mutates to fast to keep up with. Natural immunity is the best way to go. As for doing it for my "neighbors", you're full of sh1t! Survival of the fittest. Evolution in action. You can take your "ethics" and blow them out your azz!!!!
Just to add fuel to your fire Jonathan...the flu shot from this year contains the exact same strains as last year. what a joke! so why do all the pro flu vax people need another shot anyway? does the damn thing just wear off in a year? oh, maybe it just never worked to begin with. sheesh.
You said it better than I ever could because I'm to polite!
Medically unethical... honestly. Want to know what's medically unethical? It's medically unethical to suggest medical treatment while factoring in the needs of anyone but the individual. It may not be spiritually unethical, but we're talking about a medical procedure. That very concept goes against medical ethics. It's also medically unethical to not inform people of the benefits of vitamin D3 and the flu. That shows ACTUAL efficacy, not the skewed sixtysome percent that really isn't what it sounds like because of how they present it dishonestly using statistic tricks. (You know, if in a test group, the average number of people getting the fly was 2.7% but if in the flu shot, it were 1.2% that's a difference of 1.5 percent right? So, since 1.2 is 44% of 2.7 that is translated as 66% effective because it sounds better. Tell me, if you thought that getting the flu shot would reduce your chance of getting the flu from a 2.7% chance to a 1.2% chance, would you still take the risk? Does that still seem effective? Do the benefits STILL outweigh the risks?) Next, it's medically unethical to not inform people of research done on herbs and oils (like garlic, thyme, oregano and elderberry) that show the benefits they offer fighting the flu. It's medically unethical to not tell people that their diets affect their health drastically more than the flu shot. It's medically unethical to give someone one of the live-attenuated flu vaccinations like LAIV or FluMist and then not tell them there is a risk of transmitting the flu to their loved ones. Those things are substantially more unethical than demonstrating your right to bodily autonomy.
@Dawn - I agree! For some reason, when I read this article, I felt as if I were being bullied into getting this shot. That doesn't seem very ethical to me. As for harming others (I will not get the flu shot either), I have already had the flu this year and I live with someone who has end-stage COPD. What we did was quarantine me for 10 days and she never picked up the flu. We were very careful, my husband cleaned everything, did not share food, utensils, plates, washed his hands all the time and I literally was imprisoned in the bedroom the entire time except to use the facilities.
Why doesn't the medical community advocate PREVENTIVE measures year round to everyone in this country? So sick of the "I'll give you a pill and it will cure everything" mentality.
According to a news report I saw this morning urging people to get a flu shot, the CDC says that there were 1,300,000 flu vaccines produced for use in the USA. That is just over one third of the population.
So where are the other two thirds of the people to get their shots from? OR, is one third enough to create "herd immunity"?
The same TV news report showed someone getting a flu vaccine at a well known chain pharmacy store. The shot is being drawn from a multi dose vial. This means that it contains Thimerosal, the mercury based preservative.
TheMrwonderful,I had my shot in October,haven't gotten sick and had no ill effects from Walgreens.Don't get it next year either so that those who want it will be able to get it.
I will be happy to let you take mine. Just do me a favor and stay away from me if you get the nasal spray LAIV/fluarix one though because they are live viruses and there is a risk of you infecting others for some time after you get it.
Your math is off a bit. 1, 300, 000 is only just over one million. And I can guarantee that that's not even enough to vaccinate 1/3 of the population of New York. The united states has over 350 million...
No thanks. Fortunately, we still have this freedom. Keep your vaccines.
I bet that if all of these posters who don't get the flu shot were told that they would die by next week if they didn't get the vaccine would be running their own mother over to get in line for that shot.Let these people not get the vaccine as in some years there's a shortage,so it's more for those of us who get one every year.I hate getting the flu and do not like staying in bed sick for 3-5 days.I'd rather be out and about earning a living.
Yet another patsy for the pharmaceutical industry trying to get people to fork over $20-25 or more to line the coffers of the industry executives.
We always get our flu vaccinations! Always! With my husband's cardiac history and my rheumatoid arthritis it would be utterly foolish for us not to do so. But, we also get our flu vaccinations because we don't want to be responsible for someone else getting sick.
A number of people in our church are sick and most of those who are sick refused to get their flu shots for one reason or another. Usually the excuse is "oh, I got sick once after getting the flu shot" -- not realizing you can be infected before you get your vaccine and still get the flu or you can get a strain of flu not covered by the vaccine.
I know that there are people who are sensitive or allergic to ingredients in the vaccination, but it amazes me how people refuse to get the flu vaccination -- risking your health and even your life is one thing -- risking the health and lives of those around you is irresponsible. I remember a nurse once saying "a cough can kill." Yes, that sounds extreme, but your coughing may infect someone with a compromised immune system or some elderly person or some small child. And that individual might not be able to fight off the infection you have spread.
bioethicist says get flu shot,
The government has been trying for over 150 years to create as a congressethicists without success what would make any bioethicist think he could be effective with insisting people get the flu shots.
I wished the entire government would get the flu so they would accomplish nothing and get paid as they have been doing forever. Actually their might be a recognized improvement.
I got a flu shot once in my life when I was in college. My arm swelled like a balloon and turned purple and black, I was told I was allergic to the vaccine and not ever to have one again. Never have I reacted to any other vaccine before or since. I am not allergic to eggs, do obviously other components can also cause a reaction. I also came down with the flu a week or two later anyway. Worst flu of my life, I was quite ill for weeks. So, no thanks, I'll pass.
No studies have ever shown the flu vaccine to be effective in preventing the flu. Generally the particular flu viruses in each year's vaccine do not match the actual viruses out there. It is underreported that many people get sick from the flu shot-sometimes can even cause death. The flu vaccine has never been tested for safety on pregnant women. Those with children on the autism spectrum--these children have immune systems that are poor in fighting anything and would most likely get sicker from the flu vaccine.
Stay away from those who get the flu mist nose spray-it can give others the flu for up to 3 weeks after they have been exposed.
Maurine Meleck, SC
I have friends who get flu shots and they get nauseated and sometimes end up with a flu anyway as a strain mutates pretty quickly. I do get the flu every once an a while, but I eat very healthy and take supplements that enhance my immune system and manage to have far less sick days than the average person. I would like to see some unbiased studies on the subject. It is "unethical" to make assumptions that a treatment works without statistics to prove it, so put that in your pipe and smoke it (I know, not healthy) Mr. Medical Ethical guy. You'd be better off focusing on the tens of thousands of patients that die every year due to medical malfeasance. I have some inside information (that I will deny ever knowing about) from a spouse who is in that line of work and it ain't pretty.
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D. has his Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science. So basically he is a writer and not a medical doctor. In my humble opinion he can piss off.
Selfish, right. selfish is trying guilt someone into paying for something that quite frankly hasn't been proven to work all that well. Everyone I know got one, and most of them ended up with the flu anyway. are you people playing the guilt game coughing up the cash for people to get one? No?
Shut up already then. By the way, bioethicist is a label created by big pharma to lend validity to the opinions of their lobbyists.
Please.....I got the flu shot and then got incredibly sick.
The next year I got the flu shot and a month later got the flu anyway.
So Art Caplan, please excuse me for " being selfish" and not getting a useless vaccine that causes more sickness than it prevents.
Death is just a part of life. Don't be selfish. Avoid the flu shot and let those who succumb to the flu succumb. We can't live forever.
My husband has a respiratory condition that makes his getting a cold a nightmare. The flu could kill him. We get shots every year. I know that the shot doesn't protect from all of the possible strains, but it does make a difference. We get our vaccinations as soon as they are available in the fall so as to start developing our immunity before the virus starts making its rounds in full force.
or you know you could just stay at home for a week when you start feeling sick. That has a 100% chance of not killing anyone.
You don't need a vaccine to not kill people, just a little common sense.
"Oh I feel like i'm getting sick, i'll go visit babies and old folk homes now!"
Bingo. I am coming down with a cold right now, and stayed home from church because my church is mostly people over age 65...some even well into their 80's. Do I feel well enough to go? Of course, but on the off chance that I could pass it along to them, I'm not going to.
University classes are a different story, but that is a crew of mostly young and healthy people, and ten to one, I picked it up from one of them. Or one of my 18 piano students ages 9 and under...kids!
I wonder how much the good DR. got PAID for the artical promoting dangerous flu vac. w/mercury , and recombant RNA, thru fear and shame tactics, most schools now try to force students and parents to get these deadly damaging shots, even taking educational funds away from teaching to give free shots! I for one no long allow my son's DNA/RNA to be damaged by these shots, in the grade schools and up, the shots do have mercury in them! Your best defense is a good offense, clean out your system and colon ( 70% of imunosystem is keeping your colon in check), and boost your vitamins, antioxydents at the 1st signs of flu or illness. N1 H1 was only a very mild flu to my family as we hit it with anti oxydents Mega Bs and multi vitamins at the 1st sign of illness, with no biological damages too! And power to you for standing up for your right and not damaging yourself even thought it cost you your job.
Sorry but no. I've never gotten a flu shot and I've never gotten the flu. I know a lot of people that got the flu shot and got sick as hell. I'll pass on people with chemistry sets and "practicing" to be a doctor...maybe one day they will figure it out...but until them I'll trust my own guess...which is cheaper and just as effective.
People need to understand...they don't call it a "practice" for nothing. I just don't care to be the one they are practicing on.
Don't be selfish people! Get your flu shot and support the drug dealer we call the US government! Go @!$%# yourself Obama! Haven't had a flu shot EVER and have had the flu once in my entire life. Funny how they have some guy paid by the US government now making quotes about how we are now selfish if we don't do it because we may infect many other people if we don't???? Are you kidding me? Drink your OJ...take your Flintstone vitamins....half bottle of NYQuil with a shot of Jager...and you will be just fine. If you get it....lick a stamp and send a letter to Obama with many well wishes.....
In a country dominated by 'me first' individuals asking them not to be selfish is fantasy thinking.
If you get the FluMist nasal spray vaccine, please make sure you do not get close to babies, elderly people, or those with compromised immune systems. The FluMist package insert says that the live virus vaccine sheds for up to 28 days after vaccination, and is capable of infecting others.
Any change to diet, environment or sleep patterns may trigger a plethora of possibilities; but I really have to go with the personally available empirical evidence as follows:
I usually get a flu shot yearly.
So does my wife.
We are sick less often than most in years that we do get the vaccine.
We've been doing this since they became affordable.
In addition, I'm a veteran- and since I went to Thailand, Britain, Italy, Turkey and just a few other places, I was vaccinated from hell to breakfast on a regular and involuntary basis for years on end.
We have yet to suffer any reactions at all- so given the obvious benefit and the obvious downside of failing to receive the vaccine regularly, we will continue to purchase them for the foreseeable future.
Look....
If you're concerned about statistically insignificant risks of vaccinations to such an extent that you're willing to risk your life and that of others over them, then how do you justify driving?
How do you justify walking around your neighborhood?
Aren't you afraid of being murdered by someone you know?
After all: the chance of dying by any of those means is significantly greater than the odds of dying from a vaccination.
For those capable of reading with an open mind: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/6mishome.htm
For those not so fortunate: Thank you for playing Darwinian selection. My progeny thank yours for stepping so gracefully aside.