Of course they would. And no one in this thread has a problem with people in your situation declining the shot.
I’m diabetic. When my husband’s insurance was Blue Cross, I got the flu shot every year, without fail. Now, his company went to a different insurance. United Healthcare. I am no longer able to get a flu shot, except at the doctor’s office. I must make an appointment for that to happen. I don’t understand why the insurance company wants to pay more for me to see the doctor, and get a flu shot, than just allowing me to get it at a pharmacy for $40. It’s insane. Bah.
I used to be liek you, maybe get a few sniffles when everyone was down sick. Then I got the flu one year and I was sick as a dog for about a week. Not the fun kind of sick, where you drink soup and watch TV, no the "I wish i was dead’ kind.
Well, what part of the shot are you allergic to? They change the formula.
Just about every drug store and of course your doctors office.
And if you get one outside your medical providers, it’s usually like $20 or so.
Generally not a limited supply.
Then just pay the freaken $30 at walgreens or whatever.
If anyone reading this is not getting a shot for financial reasons, PM me and I will fund your shot.
I also have a debilitating needle phobia. I’d like to give Flumist a shot if it’s ever available and affordable.
I’d honestly rather not have the phobia though. 
That’s assuming I have a doctor.
You can get one at CVS or any other large chain drug store for a nominal fee. As I mentioned, I will pay for it if you can’t afford it.
I have asthma, and my biggest trigger is viral infection. Also, both my mom and the SO’s dad are getting up there in years, so I wouldn’t want to give it to them (though his folks are currently on a vaccines-are-poison kick, and my mom gets her shot like clockwork, so I’m not certain of the efficacy. Finally, I teach college students.
So, yeah, I get my shot. A bad enough cold will land me in urgent care for additional steroids, and I don’t really want to deal with something potentially worse. Plus I get it for free from the university, and the SO gets his free from work, so we both get it each year.
You seem to be going to great lengths to avoid this flu shot. Much greater lengths than…the effort of getting this cheap, readily-accessible vaccination.
I’ll say this again because people don’t read the whole thread. Under the ACA, insurance MUST cover certain things without copay, including an annual checkup AND A FLU SHOT.
The flu shot is FREE IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE. And you should, really.
My experience is that my doctors (2 different insurance companies in the last two years) will give you the shot on an in-and-out basis without appointment because it’s fast and efficacious–even if not a perfect defense.
Even if you don’t have insurance, as many many many posts in this thread have noted, you can get a flu shot for a minimal amount at many pharmacies. Can’t afford $30? Can you afford to miss two weeks of work?
The problem is with your doctor, not United Healthcare. When I was on UHC I got flu shots at my doctors’ clinic without appointment. They had times set up on Sunday where you just got on line, filled out a simple form, gave your id, and got a shot.
Now you can just walk in.
I didn’t get a flu shot again this year but only because I’m allergic to the vaccine. I have an egg allergy and just about all vaccines are made with eggs.
8.8% of Americans (28.5 million) dont have insurance.
13.5% of Americans (43.1 million) live below the poverty level, with an additional 50 million living just above.
15 million Americans are unemployed.
Uncounted millions of Americans dont have easy access to healthcare of any kind (even if they wanted it) due to lack of reliable transportation or living farther than 20 mins away.
You might wanna come down off your high horse and take a look at the nearly 1/3 of your fellow Americans for whom a flu shot is not a practical reality.
mc
The testing to determine that is not covered by my insurance and I can not afford to get it out of pocket so no one knows, and no one seems interested in finding out.
The STANDARD flu shot is required - alternatives are not.
Insurance have to make regular flu shots available, but they are allowed to require jumping through all sorts of hoops to get a non-standard shot or flumist. And by and large they do.
I suspect most of the people reading the SDMB can afford $30 for a flu vaccine, but there are plenty of people out there who can’t. When choosing financial priorities, “missing two weeks of work” isn’t a certainty, it’s a risk - One that some people are willing to take, if the alternative (paying for a flu shot) means not making the rent this month, or having your kids go hungry. This is what it means to lack financial security: when resources are limited, you are forced to take risks (like not getting a flu shot), and if those risks result in bad outcomes (like getting the flu for two weeks), it may mean ending up jobless and/or homeless.
Same here. My wife and I had the flu simultaneously about ten years ago and there were times when I was trying to figure out which of our friends and neighbors I could trust with our infant daughter if we both ended up hospitalized or dead. It was a very, very bad week and a half. I’ve gotten the flu shot every year since then and have thankfully remained flu-free.
Also, one of my wife’s friends dropped dead in her 40s of a flu-related infection that spread to her heart. She was, up until then, a lively, active and apparently healthy woman. The flu - real flu - is a bad thing and best avoided at all costs.