Saturday 14th December

I know I have written about this before, but some things are worth repeating; I am sure you have read similar posts on the economy and politics in general from me.   Anyway – Winter is almost upon us and that perennial chestnut is here again “whether to have the flu-jab or not?”   And here is a little secret, I have never had the flu-jab.  It is almost a sign of weakness, an acknowledgement that one is part of a vulnerable group, and admittance than one’s own defences just aren’t up to the job.  And they aren’t, every year I get colds – some worse than others.  But actually nobody’s defences are any good.  The flu virus mutates with remarkable speed, and the cold you had last year will almost certainly be a different viral infection than this year’s.

My partner is at the moment laid low with a pretty bad cold, that could be flu or maybe not (no signs yet of me getting it).  She, of course had the flu jab, as she does every year.  And every year she swears by it and yet every year she gets bad colds, sometimes they coincide with mine and sometimes they are far worse than mine.  I don’t see how the flu-jab benefits her at all.   Or anyone.   And yet when I pick up my prescription or visit the Doctor’s I am reminded by the Public Health Warnings to get my flu-jab.  It is just theoretically possible that if everyone had the flu-jab then the virus wouldn’t spread.  But that argument falls flat on its face as my partner often accuses me of giving her the cold.  But I thought the flu-jab was meant to stop you catching flu, even if someone in the same house had it (although this argument gets me nowhere as you can imagine).

I think that the truth is somewhere in between; it probably works for some people but there are so many strains of the flu virus that it cannot be a guarantee.  So, I will soldier on regardless, even if when I get the inevitable Winter cold and am suffering I will ask myself again if I should have had it.