The Science of Viral Mutation: Why Routine Vaccination Matters

On Seasonal Virus Vaccines, Herd Immunity, and The Fascinating World of Virus Adaptations

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I hate getting shots. Being due for an immunization is my least favorite sort of doctor visit — just thinking about it makes me feel a little woozy. When a doctor springs the news that I’m due some immunization or booster, it’s often accompanied by a cold chill of dread in my spine and a visual cringe on my face (which I’ve found, by the way, doctors don’t usually appreciate seeing).

Trypanophobia, a.k.a. , and other reasons for wanting to avoid a vaccination or booster ( cultural preferences, lack of trust, medical dissatisfaction, worries about side effects, or lack of concern about getting the specific illness), often outcompete the shots deemed less important relative to the big, scary diseases. While of children in the U.S. are vaccinated against polio, for example, only of our country’s children were vaccinated against influenza in 2023. In practice, adults sometimes decide, even if they are pro-vaccine, that they and/or their children can go without the annual vaccines — forgetting to schedule it, opting to just get sick instead, or just not making it a priority.