Persuasive Essay: Flu Season

Well, it is that time of year again. We all know how it goes, you’re sitting in class, it’s the middle of September, and there’s that one annoying kid always coughing and sniffling and blowing his or her nose. Then the next class you come in and more people are coughing and sniffling. And then as October rolls around, the coughing has become nonstop and you feel like everyone is sick but you. Personally, this is when I start using hand sanitizer religiously. “I refuse to get sick, I refuse to get sick,” I say to myself when I wake up one morning feeling crappy. And then, the inevitable happens: you get sick. It’s back to school, the weather’s getting colder, and it’s just bound to happen. But when you feel like your immune system is forever failing you, the worst happens. It becomes flu season. Technically, flu season is September to May, but Centers for Disease Control studies have shown that most cases occur in December and February. However, that doesn’t mean you should wait until you start feeling crappy during finals week to get a …show more content…
If more students get the shot, and the vaccine is effective, hopefully we won’t have a UVA plague in the form of the flu around Grounds this December. It benefits more students if high numbers of other students get the vaccine, because then there are less people to spread it. Don’t believe the myths that the “flu vaccine will make you sick.” The vaccine in the form of a shot only contains a dead virus. The dead virus is there in order for your immune system to build up antibodies, which takes about two weeks, but it won’t cause you to have the flu. The nasal spray, however, does contain a live form of the virus but it is a “weakened form” that the CDC says will not cause you to become ill. While there are some side effects that are “flu-like” such as low fever, aches, and a runny nose, it’s not the flu