College students are reluctant to get flu shots even when the school gives them out for free, reports NBC News.
Brockport student Tori Martinez declined to get the flu shot and was sick for more than a week. “I hate getting poked with needles,” she told NBC News. “I hadn’t gotten the flu since I was 12 … I didn’t think I needed it.”
Martinez said she won’t get vaccinated next year either. “I’ll just stay away from my boyfriend for a few days,” she said. “He’s the one who gave me the flu in the first place.
“Flu vaccinations just don’t seem like a necessity. I’m young and healthy. Even if I get it again, my body will fight it off within two days.”
But even though the worst effects of the flu are seen among people with underlying illness and those over 65, vaccinating young people is still important, according to Dr William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville.
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