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Do You Get Vaccinated Against Influenza?

This article was written by in Health. 21 comments.


My company was offering vaccinations today for any employees wanting to gain protection from the flu this season. By the early afternoon, they ran out of vaccine and added another date a week from now to the schedule for those who did not get a chance.

I’ve never opted for the flu vaccine. It has always been my method of operation to take my chances and deal with the flu (without prescription medication) if the virus finds its way into my system. Last year, however, I had a tough time, and was out of commission more often than I would have liked. I suppose this comes with the territory of having a girlfriend whose job is to spend 8 hours a day with twenty-five ten-year-old germ balls.

Flu (influenza) virusI’ve always held the opinion that I shouldn’t need to introduce any more medication into my body than absolutely necessary. Not only that, but the vaccine works only against specific strains of influenza but is not very effective overall. As a relatively healthy individual, I do not have a high risk of complications from the flu, so other than missing a few days of work feeling sick, I don’t think it will hurt to skip the vaccine. Doing so might even mean that there is one more shot available for a young child or elderly individual with high risk for complications.

How about you? Will you be receiving the vaccination?

For some interesting reading, take a look and compare the information presented in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Seasonal Flu information page (strongly pro-vaccination), Wikipedia’s entry on the flu vaccine (somewhat neutral and scientific), and the British Medical Journal’s Influenza Vaccination: Policy Versus Evidence (strongly conclusive against vaccination).

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This Month in the Archives: Wal-Mart Sales, Algebra, and Extravagance

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If you’re new to Consumerism Commentary or just nostalgic, here are some articles from the first half of November in prior years. From November 2006:

* Is a Wal-Mart Sale CNN-Newsworthy?
* Secrets and Myths About Salary Your Employer Doesn’t Want You to Know
* Solved an Algebra Equation at Work
* Bond Issued to Fund Vaccinations for 500 Million Children
* My Company’s Stock Purchase Plan, Take 2
* Car Almost Done With Repairs: What Do I Need to Look For?
* Where Do Hedge Fund Professional Spend Their Money?
* What’s in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Investment Accounts?
* Review: The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read by Daniel R. Solin
* 7 Ways to Save Money While Maintaining Your Extravagant Lifestyle
* My Company’s Stock Purchase Plan, Take 3
* What is Your Biggest Weakness?

From November 2005:

* Three Worst House Buying Excuses
* Reasonable and Customary
* Your Credit Report Affects Your Cards
* redit Card Solicitation to the Extreme
* Fewer Women in Hedge Funds
* The Rich Can Teach Us a Thing or Two
* Gift Cards Denote Laziness?

From the first half of November 2004: Read the full article →

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Bond Issued to Fund Vaccinations for 500 Million Children

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If you’re looking for an investment that provides a return higher than Treasury bills, and you want to help the world at the same time, you might want to consider this new bond. The government of Britain with some others (not including the United States) are selling bonds to raise money to immunize millions of children around the world against polio, measles, diphtheria, and hepatitis.

The first bond issued will be purchased by the Pope and heads of other religious organizations will be among the first buyers.

According to the Marketplace morning report, the United States government is not participating because the payments to bondholders in the future will come from active budgets. The bonds are underwritten by the World Bank.

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