An article in the Washington Post earlier this month discussed vaccines.  In the United States, when you mention vaccines, thoughts turn to measles, small children and bogus claims about childhood vaccination. But the real problem, says the author, David Ropeik, is the small take-up of flu vaccination.  As many as 49,000 older people a year are killed by influenza (the figure varies). An average of 200,000 people have to be hospitalized for it, including 20,000 children under 5.  In 2011-12 37 children under 18 died of the flu, and the figures for the two years before that were 122 and 348.  These figures are much higher than deaths from measles and whooping cough.

This is despite the fact that you can be conveniently vaccinated at any drugstore and every GP’s office, the cost being covered by insurance (for those insured, of course).  A government report in 2014 said that, had flu vaccination levels met the government targets of 70% in 2013-2014. 5.9 million illnesses and 42,000 hospitalizations could have been avoided.  Despite this, vaccines are still not being used sufficiently frequently.

Why is this? Some people think of vaccinations in terms of children only. Some “don’t get round to it”. Others claim they never get flu, or the vaccines “were nor available”.  The silliest excuse is fear of needles (when vaccines can be given by nasal spray), or “it might give me the flu”.  14% of people interviewed said they didn’t believe in vaccines at all.
If you hadn’t read this you would scarcely believe it.

Why can this be seen as an Epicurean issue?  Because people walking around with flu give it to others.  It is an act of laziness and selfishness not to be vaccinated, and Epicureanism means thinking of others, quite apart from work absences and the probably unnecessary pressure it puts on colleagues during your illness.