From the CDC site:
From Wiki (yes, I know, but....)
So there's only enough flu vaccine available for half the US population, even though the CDC recommends everyone over the age of 6 months should get it.
Is the flu shot available, free of charge, for all US residents? My understanding is no. If you have a job that provides health insurance, yes. If you now have health insurance under the ACA, probably. If you're poor, working minimum wage or unemployed, and the $15+ it'd cost to get the shot would mean your kids don't eat for a day..... Maybe it's not so much about "not bothering" to get the shot as "not able" or, even, "not a person whose life is valued by society simply because of your socioeconomic status".
Hi, Unimportant.
Not having insurance should not prevent one from getting the vaccine, as there are programs to assist the poor, and most insurance plans pay for it.
http://www.vaccines.gov/getting/pay/index.html
My comment was addressing those who are panicked about Ebola but aren't concerned enough about a higher risk illness (influenza) to bother to get the shot. I was simply commenting on the irony. (I was on topic! ) And there are plenty of people who don't bother.
This is an article from Jan 2013:
Why Don't People Get The Flu Shot?
Still, despite universal recommendations by public health officials urging just about everyone over the age of six months to get vaccinated, most Americans don’t get the flu shot.
As of November, only 35 percent of American adults and 40 percent of kids had been vaccinated against the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and those numbers are pretty typical for an average year. Even among pregnant women, who are a high-risk group, a recent report found that compliance rates are only about 50 percent.
The reasons why the majority of people fail to line up for flu shots, even in pandemic years, are varied, complicated and differ from person to person, experts say. Driven by misinformation, some fear that the vaccine caries risks. Others are simply lazy. Some think the flu shot is unnecessary or won’t do any good.