My anti-vaxxer in-laws didn't get their flu shots...UPDATE

[Texin]

118. I have asthma. I always get a flu shot every fall.

I got my shot the first week of October (just as the first cases of infection started to be reported). Earlier this month I asked my doctor if there was any benefit to getting another round sometime in January or February. (I read that many doctors believe there is a benefit to receive another shot later in the flu season, and I wanted to see if that had any merit.) My doctor said she believed it would be beneficial, as the effectiveness of the vaccination does wane over time and new strains start beginning to emerge in late winter and early spring that the earlier vaccination may not protect against. I plan to get another senior flu shot sometime toward the end of January as a result.

I don't believe the shots are fail safe. People can and do get the flu after receiving the shot, but the severity of the illness is usually greatly reduced. I had flu as a young person and it is absolutely miserable. I honestly cannot in my life understand why anyone would want to contract that illness if there might be even a small chance of preventing it through a vaccine once or twice a year. It just fails to make any sense to me unless the person is allergic to any of the components that compose the vaccine (such as eggs).