12 Excuses Heard For Not Getting A Flu Shot
/12 EXCUSES HEARD FOR NOT GETTING A FLU SHOT
…and our rebuttals!
1. “The Flu Shot doesn’t work.”
Response: the flu shot is about 90% effective in preventing disease in young healthy adults. The efficacy decreases as one ages, making it all that much more important for younger people to get it. In other words, if the young people don’t get sick, they won’t be exposing the elderly who are less protected.
2. “THE FLU SHOT MADE ME SICK (OR MADE ME GET THE FLU).”
Response: It is made from a killed virus, making it totally impossible for it to “give you the flu.” Like I’ve said before: “A dead snake can’t bite.” We get the flu shot the time of the year when people get sick more often. In studies, the ONLY side effect more likely with a flu shot compared to a placebo was a slightly sore arm.
3. “I HATE NEEDLES.”
RESPONSE: We’d worry about you if you liked them! But one tiny poke lasting 3 seconds is a lot less pain than getting the flu.
4.“I forgot.”
RESPONSE: We post the dates/times/places literally EVERYWHERE. If you still missed one of the flu clinic times, give us a call; we will accommodate you.
5.“IT’S INCONVENIENT TO GET ONE.”
RESPONSE: We will have clinics on numerous dates, numerous times, and numerous sites. If you miss them all….give us a call. I’m telling you---we will accommodate you!
6. “I DON’T BELIEVE IN IMMUNIZATIONS”
RESPONSE: Immunizations work. Vaccines have reduced the number of vaccine-preventable diseases in children by 92% to 100%. Immunizations are names as the most important thing that Public Health has done to world health because of those dramatic decreases in vaccine-preventable diseases. For example: prior to a vaccine against polio, there were over 16,000 new cases of polio/year. Polio was pronounced eradicated from the Western Hemisphere in l978, meaning there have been zero new cases of polio in the entire western half the world for over 25 years!! And a vaccine is what did that!
7. “IMMUNIZATIONS AREN’T SAFE”
RESPONSE: No vaccine is 100% safe. But getting the flu can be very dangerous –40,000 Americans die each year from flu or flu complications. All steps are taken to make vaccines as safe as possible. The questions we ask you to answer on the consent form prior to getting the shot are there to make sure that you don’t have a condition which might make it inadvisable for you to get the vaccine.
8. “I CAN’T TAKE TIME OFF FROM WORK TO GET ONE”
RESPONSE: Refer to numbers 4 and 5.
9. “MY INSURANCE DOESN’T COVER IT”
RESPONSE: most insurance DOES cover it, but if you are a Comforts of Home employee, you don’t even need to worry about that – because it is FREE to you!
10. “I NEVER GET SICK”
RESPONSE: Never?! Perhaps you’d like to increase your chances of keeping it that way? (Plus, sometime you have a mild case of the flu and don’t feel too bad, but you’re still contagious to others.)
11. “I’M PREGNANT”
RESPONSE: The virus in the vaccine has been killed, so there is no problem in your getting the shot. In fact, you are in one of the groups that the CDC (Center for Disease Control) RECOMMENDS to get the flu shot. And you can be in any stage of pregnancy and still get a flu shot. You want to do all you can to keep from getting the flu when you’re pregnant…and getting the flu shot is the first step!
12. “IT’S JUST THE FLU—IF I GET IT, I’LL STAY HOME”
RESPONSE: The flu cases 40,000 deaths per year just in the United States. It’s not just the flu. Plus, as said, you can be contagious for a couple of days before you know you’re getting the flu, and can spread it to others on those days. It is important for you to get the flu shot—not only to protect yourself, but also your family, y our loved ones, other staff, and , of course, our residents/tenants.
