The H1N1 virus has gotten a lot of attention from the media in the past year and flu shots are hard to find, but where are they going? A recent poll shows that the majority of flu shots are not going to young adults between the ages of 18 to 29. The results show that two out of 50 of these young adults actually took the time to get vaccinated. The common response when asked if they had gotten the flu shot this year was, “I never get sick. I don’t need one.”
In addition to low numbers of young adults that did receive the flu shot, none of them were the new H1N1 vaccination. Many people are worried that this was rushed to market because of the recent scare, therefore are very uncomfortable with the idea of putting it into their bodies.
However, when speaking to young adults there were several misconceptions they had about the regular flu shot. “I had the flu shot once years ago and it made me sick,” said Erin Vander Wyst, a 22 year old college student. “They do offer the flu shot on campus but most of us will not even consider it.” Several other people shared this view point, that the flu shot is not preventative because it gives you the flu.
Some of the people interviewed even volunteered at a mass inoculation for kids ages 5-9. Having been exposed to the vaccine and having the education of the flu shot did not seem to help sway their opinions. “The inoculation was the closest I got to flu shots,” said Jarrod Hammer, a 26 year old volunteer.
Alyson Saunders, 19, responded to the poll by saying, “I did not get any shots, even when my work was giving them away free.” Like most of the others she was not educated on the benefits of the shot and that preventive action is the best defense against the flu.
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5 comments:
This really doesn't surprise me. Younger people seem to think they are invinsible.
Good pick!
I wondered if anyone would choose H1N1 for the topic of their story. I like the way you wrote it. I think you did a good job of including interesting quotes and formatting your story to make it an easy read.
You wrote a good story. You also had a lot of people to poll. I agree with most of them as well, I rarely ever get sick and don't like needles to begin with.
oh my goodness Sarah your story is sooo good! It really is. It's well written, organized very efficiently, and contains the most useful information. I love that you took the time to get the names of the people interviewed and quoted them.
I'm not surprised either, I would never get the flu shot because everyone I know just gets sick from it. I think it's all just a big hoax. I think it's better for your body, if you do get it, to let the simple flu run its course and you'll be fine..
I love your story though! I think this is the most well written story I've seen you write so far- congrats! I hope you get a great grade on this.
Not only was this a timely topic, but you approached it from a different angle that applied to students. It's unbelievable how much attention has been given to the flu this season.
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