The earliest documented case of the flu ever in my practice happened today, the last day of summer!
So I got my flu shot.
Why immunize?
Most people really don’t know what the flu is. They will come in or call and say, “I think I have the flu.”
Believe me, if you are well enough to talk and tell me you think you have the flu… you don’t have the flu. Seven to ten days of wracking aches, high fever, splitting head, convulsive coughing. You don’t have to tell anyone. Your sick body tells it all. It can kill you, or make you wish you were dead.
I don’t remember having the flu. Could have had it as a child and don’t remember. But I don’t want to get it and I don’t want to carry it to anyone else I love. So I got the shot.
Immunizations are as much about the people around you as they are about keeping just you (or your child) from getting a disease. I am sympathetic to parents who wish to delay immunizing their children or want to omit certain shots altogether. There have been some good (and some very bad) arguments put forth for both.
But (most) immunizations are not just about keeping the one immunized from a certain easily-acquired diseases. They are about stopping the spread of such diseases throughout the community. They are unquestionably proven effective in doing this.
So, whatever personal risk one might take to getting immunization, do it as a service to the community around you.