To flu shot, or not to flu shot?...

that is the question.

Nothing I'm about to say should be construed as medical advice.  I'm not a doctor, and although I went to nursing school, I switched majors my fourth year to business.

That being said, I do not get flu shots.

I do not believe in flu shots.

and

I actually think flu shots are dangerous and pointless.

Here's what the CDC recommends :

CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the seasonal flu vaccine is designed to protect against the main flu viruses that research suggests will cause the most illness during the upcoming flu season. People should begin getting vaccinated soon after flu vaccine becomes available, ideally by October, to ensure that as many people as possible are protected before flu season begins.

For starters, I don't believe much of anything I hear from a government agency.  These people don't work for me or care about me.

But here's where it gets real:

Flu viruses are constantly changing so it's not unusual for new flu viruses to appear each year.

[...]It's not possible to predict with certainty if the vaccine will be a good match for circulating viruses. The vaccine is made to protect against the flu viruses that research indicates will likely be most common during the season. However, experts must pick which viruses to include in the vaccine many months in advance in order for vaccine to be produced and delivered on time. And flu viruses change constantly (called drift); they can change from one season to the next or they can even change within the course of one flu season. Because of these factors, there is always the possibility of a less than optimal match between circulating viruses and the viruses in the vaccine. from CDC

  So you allow someone to inject you with all sorts of nasty stuff that does nothing to protect you against whatever flu flavor of the year is going around.

If your doctor is a huge fan of flu shots, and most are, I don't think they're part of some huge conspiracy.  They obviously believe what they're telling you.  But that doesn't make them right.

The drum beat for having a flu shot is relentless.  This poster claims that flu shots save lives.  If someone has a flu shot and doesn't get the flu, I guess that's chalked up to "saving a life."  Problem is, that's essentially trying to prove a negative.  There is no way to prove a flu shot protected a person from contracting a flu virus.

There's much simpler things to keep you from getting the flu.

The most important one is properly washing your hands and keeping your hands away from your face.

Daisy Luther, at The Organic Prepper, has even more about this subject.  While we all know how nasty shopping cart handles are, I never thought of cleaning my car's steering wheel.

How to Reduce Your Risk of  Catching the Flu This Year 

How many of you get flu shots?