Simple questions:
First, are you concerned about Ebola spreading in the United States?
Second, if so or if not, have you (or do you soon intend to) get a flu shot?
Not concerned about Ebola. If it changes, yanno.
I get a flu shot every year – I’m asthmatic. The one year I didn’t get a flu shot, I had two ER visits, a month of steroids, and two weeks at home on the couch with bronchitis from the flu.
This. Except I didn’t end up in the ER. My asthma makes winter hard enough without adding flu to it.
Really not concerned about Ebola. I read too much Tom Clancy as a child. Watching it, yes. Worried, no. We shall see.
No, I’m not worried about Ebola and I will get my flu shot in the next day or two. I’m a little worried about the enterovirus because I have two young grand children.
Woo, I bucked the trend!
I am worried that someone will unknowingly bring the Ebola virus to the US and spread it in a community. Am I worried that a pandemic will ensue? No, I know that it is actually a difficult virus to spead. I know that we are equipped to contain an outbreak, and that basic health services will reduce the mortality rate greatly. But I am worried that someone will unknowingly bring the virus over, and spread it to a small number of people, and thus cause a widespread, albeit unneccessary, panic.
And yes, I will get my flu shot like I do every year. These two items are not related.
Not worried. I got a flu shot but normally don’t.
I have never had a flu shot and my biggest concern about Ebola is the hassle of trying get through USA customs and immigration line at the airport.
I’ve had my flu shot already. As to the OP, what does “worried about Ebola” mean?
Am I fearful for myself catching it next week? Of course not. Am I dismayed that somebody somewhere will die of it tomorrow? Of course. Where between those two poles does my interest in or attitude towards in Ebola become “worry?”
Without a better question, there’s no way to know what anyone who chose “yes” or “no” really meant by their choice.
You are free to use use your own judgment as to whether you think you are worried about Ebola.
Some respondents may think that Ebola is on the verge of a massive outbreak in the US. Others may not be concerned about the odds of that happening, but could be distressed to the point of losing sleep over seeing their loved ones suffer from the disease if lightning were to strike. Those are substantially different scenarios, so I leave it to the reader to characterize their own thoughts as being worried or not.
No, and probably not.
Unsure what 1 has to do with the other, but I did get my shot.
I’m guessing the point is that the average person in the US is far, far more likely to die of the flu than of Ebola. The person scared of Ebola and not getting a flu shot needs to understand statistics a bit better.
Got mine a week ago. Our medical center has a Sunday clinic. Fast and easy.
I assume this is a thread about risk estimation. Lots of people, and almost all of the media, are more or less freaking out about ebola, but the flu is virtually certain to kill far more Americans in the coming months. People pay relatively little attention to mundane threats compared to sensational ones.
I am curious to the extent that people are worried or frightened by an exotic danger, but dismissive of routine ones. Like, if someone were terrified of being carjacked, but refuses to wear a safety belt.
Also, I’m rather curious to what degree people may be worried about the threat of Ebola, but simply not understand – or even reject – the concept of public health services.
Concerned about Ebola?
Yes, but not that we’ll have a pandemic of it. It’s a difficult disease to transmit, but it is tragic that a lot of people are dying/will die from it, even more so that the deaths are increased by the ignorance of some of those people.
Did I get a flu shot?
Not yet, but I will. They encourage those in the military to get them :). My family will also get them since the flu really sucks and if we can avoid it, we will.
The enterovirus is scary.
Maybe because Ebola or carjacking or mercury causing autism gets more sensationalist press, which overrides common sense?
No, and no
I’ve never had a flu shot, (I’m 45) and the last time I’ve had the flu was way back in high school
Currently unconcerned about Ebola, will get a flu shot.
I’m 56 and have never had a flu shot. Did get flu for the first time in my life in 2012, and it was truly awful and I was sick as shit for days. However, I figure I am now immune to most if not all of the current flu strains? I am one of those people who seriously does not get sick, Hardly ever. I have had the common cold three times since 1979, and the flu once in my life.
Given my history, I’m thinking the only possibly valid reason for me to get the shot is to contribute to herd immunity?
I don’t see Ebola as a major problem in the US. We have better infrastructure (like running water, sewage treatment and easy access to transportation) and we have a medical system with a much higher capacity.
I’m only concerned about Ebola in two ways, both essentially using it as a canary in a coal mine:
- it shows how much Africa suffers because it lacks so much of what the first world considers the bare minimum; this is a serious problem that I think harms the economic and social well-being of the whole world
- it shows that the world is very poorly equipped to deal with real outbreaks. The Spanish flu could happen again, I see no reason to think we could even slow it down. (Though we could at least make it more survivable.)