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Opinion Article

Is The Flu Shot Worth It?

Isabelle Kidd and Elle Pickering 

Staff Reporters

 During this 2019-2020 flu season, according to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention there have been 15 million flu cases nationwide, with only half of those Americans being vaccinated.  

According to Preliminary estimates from the CDC there have been 280,000 people hospitalized, followed by 16,000 deaths. These statistics are extremely unsettling for one person to read.

For example, a couple years ago my two younger sisters, Cate and Cameron got the flu shot at our local pediatrician, and my older sister Emma and I never did. Cate and Cameron ended up getting sick that year with the flu, and Emma and I did not. Ever since then, my mom has never spent her money on a single flu shot. There is no reason to spend money on a shot that has been ineffective. 

This shot is not worth your time or money because of how ineffective it has been, especially after this year’s flu season. According to Everyday Health, this vaccine is only 40% effective. Every year researchers run tests and make an educated guess on which strand they think will be prevalent, and most of the time their predictions are incorrect. They treat millions of people against the wrong flu strand every year. Many of these vaccinations also include toxins, that contain mercury, which can be very unsafe. According to  Live Science, the main strand of the flu that has recently been going around has been one of the worst they have seen in a few decades. 

It is no surprise that there is a lot of controversy that comes along with the flu shot, and it doesn’t take much research online to find that millions of Americans have lost their trust in the large pharmaceutical companies that run almost all healthcare in the country. These big authorities have been deemed untrustworthy by the scams they have put customers through, like raising life saving drugs to extreme amounts just for profit. This includes prescribing more medications that are not needed for recovery. 

It seems to be that a lot of these extra over the counter drugs that come from these companies, are unreliable and can end up making a consumer feel even more sick, by experiencing  side effects like potential liver damage. Because of the decrease in flu shot effectiveness, many are no longer considering it necessary.