LogFAQs > #929298964

Shadowbird_RH posted...

I'd never gotten one before, and not since (I prefer to know whether or not my immune system is in good enough working order to protect me on its own).

Vaccines work with your immune system, not instead of it. If it were an antibiotic, that philosophy might have some merit, but vaccines only work if your immune system is already functioning well enough to make use of the antibodies they prompt it to produce. You also aren't going to produce those antibodies without being exposed to the illness in question. It's not a matter of your immune system being strong enough, it's a matter of whether or not you're in good enough general health to avoid developing symptoms before your immune system creates the necessary antibodies (during which time you can very easily be contagious, so flu shots help to protect those around you that are less capable of fighting off the flu on their own).
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