Got my high-dose "Old Geezer" flu shot today.

[Ms. Toad]

101. Since I have two math degrees,

I think I understand odds pretty well.

The odds include that your chance of getting potentially fatal illness are only 5-20% in the first place. So a decrease for me, assuming an average flu year and my age range (since complete infection data is not yet available) means that instead of having an aproximately 13.2% chance of having the flu, I would have had an 11.7% chance of having the flu.

Not nearly as dramatic as a 41% reduction sounds, since the 41% reduction applies to the already relatively low risk of contracting the flu in the first place.

And - just because - knowing that informaiton would mean that you choose to get the vaccine doesn't mean everyone else would react to that information the same way. My dad still doesn't wear a seatbelt - even though not only does he know the statistics, but his father died in a car accident. Tons of motorcyclists ride down the road bare-headed - even knowing the grim statistics of surviving a motorcycle crash.

I have no interest at all in telling people what choice they should make. My interest is solely in sharing the accurate information that is typically excluded from these conversations.