It's Only a Little Prick (Reflections on a Flu Jab)

I've never had flu - not even man flu - but I appreciate the seriousness of this condition written in the stars and so this year, against my better instincts, I was convinced to be vaccinated against four of the strains of the disease anticipated to be in circulation this season.*

Now, my arm aches. And I'm sat here anxiously anticipating further adverse reactions, of which I've been given a long list, although, annoyingly, I was only told of such after I'd been given the jab, which surely makes a mockery of the idea of informed consent.   

Whilst assured that none of the ingredients in the vaccine can cause flu, it seems they can trigger mild flu-like symptoms, although these are re-branded within the small print as mere side effects. 

Of course, if you're unlucky enough to be in the 10% of people who experience headaches, muscular pains, fever, shivering and general malaise after being vaccinated, then you might not be so reassured to know these things have only epiphenomenal status.   

And if you're one of those really unlucky people (1 in a 100) to experience less common side effects - dizziness, diarrhoea, nausea, etc. - then you might be pretty pissed off that you agreed to the jab in the first place; especially when you read that even the World Health Organization admits that the vaccine is only modestly effective in decreasing transmission rates and the seriousness of symptoms in healthy adults.

If you're elderly or very young, have a chronic illness or are immuno-compromised, then it's probably worth having a flu jab. Otherwise, it seems pretty pointless: unless you like needles and have a thing for your local pharmacist ...   

*Note: the flu vaccine is reformulated each year for a few specific strains, but it certainly doesn't protect against all the strains presently active in the world, or any new strains that may as yet remain unidentified.