I'm getting the jab so that I can tweet that I have tested positive for the flu but am thankful that I was jabbed or would have been much worse.
But seriously, I have not decided if I'll get a flu shot this year or not. Probably will. It is designed as a true vaccine in that a small amount of actual chopped up virus is injected to help your body create an immune response to help prevent infection. I am also not trying to convince anyone to get it or not. I got a flu shot last year and still got the flu. It sucked. I also work in an environment where I have a high probability of being exposed. As we both stated, it does not always work due virus mutations. Some years it works better than others:
From a WebMD article(
https://www.webmd.com/LUNG/NEWS/20200902/HOW-EFFECTIVE-IS-THE-FLU-VACCINE)
Because flu viruses mutate constantly and the
vaccine wears off over
time, you can’t get vaccinated once and expect to be covered for years, as you can with other diseases. The vaccine must be changed each year, in hopes of matching the ever-mutating viruses. And that’s been a challenge. On average, it’s been 40% effective, meaning it’s prevented illness 40% of the time. Since health officials started
tracking it in 2003, effectiveness has varied from year to year, ranging from a low of 10% in 2004-05 to a high of 60% in 2010-11.