A Case Study Involving Influenza and the Influenza Vaccine by John Bennett

Part IV—Who Should Get Vaccinated?

Karen was still tempted to take the risk; she was generally healthy.

  1. Mary:

    Besides, if you get the shot, and protect yourself from infection, you won’t spread the virus to other people. Consider this; if you became infected, you could spread the virus to your mother and her friends at the retirement home.

  2. Karen:

    Oh, I would hate to see that happen.

  3. Mary:

    Did you know that approximately 36,000 people die each year in this country from influenza? That means influenza causes more deaths than breast cancer, and most of the people who die of influenza are elderly.

  4. Karen (sobered by the possibility):

    So, if I get the shot, I probably won’t get sick, but more importantly, I am less likely to pass the infection on to my mom?

If that were the case, then Karen thought it might be worth doing, despite her lingering doubts. On the other hand, she was deathly afraid of needles. If only there was another way to get a flu vaccine ….

Questions

  1. Should Karen’s mother get an influenza shot, or is she too old?
  2. What about Karen’s sister who works in a daycare center or Mary’s six month old niece?


Originally published at http://www.sciencecases.org/influenza/influenza4.asp

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