Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. We edit selections for publication in print.

School stats

On our report on Rochester schools’ low test scores: Reporter Tim Macaluso mentions the scores of students at School 58 but fails to mention the number of students who opted out of the test. School 58 had one of the highest opt-out rates in the state. One hundred percent of 8th graders opted out last year alone. Only a handful of students actually “sat” for the test compared to the majority of students who sat for it in Fairport.

I would expect City Newspaper to dive a bit deeper rather than presenting only one thread of the story. The comparison between the city schools and the suburban ones in this fashion supports what so much of the community already believes: that you simply cannot get a good education in the Rochester school district. There is already enough institutional racism within our city. This doesn’t help.

SARA OLIVEIRI

Flu season

I moved to Rochester four months ago to start my residency training in family medicine. Just barely into the flu season, I’ve already noticed a disturbing trend: Many people do not want the flu shot.

We just recently received the vaccine in my office, and of the handful of patients I have offered it to, all declined it. Earlier this year, as a fourth-year medical student in North Carolina, I watched peoples’ lungs fail, require a ventilator, and in some cases die from the flu.

Some facts about the flu vaccine:

1) The flu shot does not give you the flu. People who have gotten the shot and then got sick shortly thereafter unluckily came in contact with the virus before the vaccine had a chance to work (which takes several weeks).

2) You can still get the flu long after getting the shot. However, it is usually a much milder and shorter illness because of the shot.

3) People do need the flu shot every year. The exact breed of virus is different from year to year; thus the vaccine is different every year.

4) Some people say, “I’ve never had the flu, so I don’t need the shot.” Again, the flu virus is different from year to year. What happened last year says nothing about what will happen this year. Every year without getting the vaccine is a roll of the dice.

5) There are some instances where the specific formulations of the vaccine can be unadvised in some patients. Thus if people have questions, they should speak to their doctor.

DOMINICK DEFELICE

This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2018.

13 replies on “Feedback 10/10”

  1. Regarding the flu vaccine, no mention is made of how effective it is….or isn’t. Growing up, I had all the recommended vaccines, yet stll got the chicken pox and mumps. What was the point? A false sense of protection and safety?

    Now as an adult, I am unconvinced of the effectiveness and necessity of vaccines, especially the flu vaccine. I have never had a flu vaccine and have never had the flu.

    Then there’s the issue of insurance. When my doctor recommended the shingles vaccine, I wanted to get it. However my insurance will not cover it until I am 65. That’s a 10 year wait.

    Instead of being part of the two main rival camps–the pro vaccine crowd and the fanatic anti-vaccine crowd–count me among the mildly skeptical. Convince me with research that continually improves the safety and effectiveness of all vaccines and maybe I will come around.

    Finally, if vaccines are vitally important, they should be free for everyone at any time.

  3. 40% effectiveness is false hope in my eyes. The fact that I have never had the flu is way more than luck…it’s a healthy lifestyle.

  4. Tom Janowski, do you travel anywhere by plane? You can be healthy as the proverbial horse, but when you’re trapped in a tin can full of recycled air full of flu germs, you’re going to get it.

  6. Tom – Make up your mind. First you state that you are unconvinced of the effectiveness of vaccines and ask for research proof. Then when you’re shown that the CDC studies have shown a high percentage (40% – 60% for flu shots) of effectiveness, you reverse 180 and now accept the effectiveness but argue that 40% (you seem to have missed that that’s the low end) is “false hope”. In the real world, a minimum chance of 40% of avoiding the flu is far from a false hope.

  7. I did not ask for statistical data. I know the data. Some vaccine effectiveness is as low as 35%. If anyone thinks that is good effectiveness, I totally disagree. People will argue that parents who don’t vaccinate their children put other children at risk, yet I hear no such fear about ineffective vaccines.

    If effectiveness is 40 to 60%, would you not agree there is great room for improvement? Wouldn’t everyone prefer effectiveness in the 70 to 90% range or even higher? What’s wrong with putting effort into research to continually improve vaccines?

    No one comments on the insurance issue. I want a shingles vaccine, but why should an insurance company overrule my doctor’s recommendation by not covering the cost until I am 65? I work a fulltime job but really can’t afford the extra expense of the shingles vaccine. Why aren’t all vaccines free?

  9. Sorry Tom, but when someone states that, “People will argue that parents who don’t vaccinate their children put other children at risk, yet I hear no such fear about ineffective vaccines”, then they are a hell of a lot closer to being part of the “fanatic anti-vaccine crowd” you originally mentioned rather than just being “mildly skeptical”.

    By the way, isn’t it interesting how someone who claims that they” know the data” calls for continued improvement of vaccines, missing the point that such improvements are on-going?

    https://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/national-vaccine-…

  11. Tom, if you would really like to know why the shingles vaccine may not have been covered by your insurer, which is doubtful, this article goes about explaining cost effectiveness. The good new is that flu vaccines are covered without copays, so you should immediately go get one. And when you do reach the age to be covered for the shingles vaccine, the new version is much more effective than the old one.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-…

  12. You have to wonder why someone who argues that vaccines aren’t all that effective also complains that he can’t get them for free. Why would he care?

  13. Tim….read the original article.

    Lux…you seem to know about my insurance…tell me specifics.

Comments are closed.