# Flu shots **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085 "2020-01-07T19:22:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/21 "2020-01-20T18:01:17Z")
Still waiting for someone to explain how if a certain number of people don’t get the shot, how that makes others who have had the shot get sick. Herd immunity means say, all the children in a neighborhood getting the chicken pox and then they are all immune. How can my not getting the shot hurt others especially since I don’t get the flu? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/22 "2020-01-20T18:21:32Z")
You haven’t been getting the flu because you’ve been getting…dun dun DUUNNN…vaccinated. You NOT getting vaccinated makes you a potential incubator/distributor of the virus If most people around you are vaccinated, then the viruses you shed when you’re sick have a lower chance of landing on potential incubators/distributors of the virus. Vaccination is not 100% effective–either because the vaccine isn’t quite right or because it just didn’t have sufficient effect on your immune system. So even if you get your shots, you might still get sick but the odds are far lower. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/23 "2020-01-20T18:23:32Z")
I’ve only gotten the shot ever in the last 3 years. Before that, I never got it and still didn’t get sick. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/24 "2020-01-20T18:27:17Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I’ve only gotten the shot ever in the last 3 years. Before that, I never got it and still didn’t get sick. I didn’t wear my seatbelt until I was about 20 years old. Never once got injured while in a car, much less ejected from the car during an accident. Also, I was never in an accident. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/25 "2020-01-20T18:31:52Z")
Still wondering about me, being well, can get others sick. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/26 "2020-01-20T18:34:29Z")
From [http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/cbn/2005/cbnreport\_103105.html](http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/cbn/2005/cbnreport_103105.html) > [@](#): > > As many as 50% of infections with normal seasonal flu may be **asymptomatic** , which may in part be due to pre-existing partial immunity. So you can harbor and transmit the influenza virus even if you don’t think you are sick. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/27 "2020-01-20T18:39:01Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Still waiting for someone to explain how if a certain number of people don’t get the shot, how that makes others who have had the shot get sick. It does and it doesn’t, I suspect you may not be understanding something and therefore not asking the right question. In any case, the answer to your question is that someone with the flu can infect other people, vaccinated or otherwise. The vaccine isn’t 100% effective, it can be a different strain, it may not have had enough time to incubate etc… > [@](#): > > How can my not getting the shot hurt others especially since I don’t get the flu? How can my not getting the shot hurt others especially since I don’t get the flu? As mentioned earlier, you can still carry the virus, but more importantly, and the part you seem to be missing is that if you don’t get the flu shot, you’re considerably more likely to get the flu and therefore infect others. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085/28 "2020-01-20T19:07:36Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Still waiting for someone to explain how if a certain number of people don’t get the shot, how that makes others who have had the shot get sick. Herd immunity means say, all the children in a neighborhood getting the chicken pox and then they are all immune. > How can my not getting the shot hurt others especially since I don’t get the flu? If someone gets a virus, they may become immune to it after recovering from the sickness. This contributes to herd immunity. You seem to recognize that herd immunity has benefits for society. If you get a vaccine for a virus, or may become immune to it without getting sick. This contributes to herd immunity. You should recognize that this has benefits to society, using the exact same logic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/846085.md?page=1)