If Your Patients Reject the Flu Shot: How to Urge Them On

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Hi. I'm Art Caplan and I'm at the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center. Flu season is upon us, which raises the annual question of whether to get a flu shot.

For many Americans, the answer has been no. Uptake of flu shots is very poor, hovering around 50% in many parts of the country. We need much higher rates to achieve herd immunity.

There are many people who need to get a flu shot because they're exposed to others who are likely to have the flu, such as an airline worker, someone who's working on a train, or people in hospitals and nursing homes. There's a large amount of exposure. Even if we can't achieve herd immunity, it's still really important for most people to receive the flu shot.

What do they need to hear and what are the ethical challenges that seem to get in the way of people getting a flu shot? There is the perennial safety issue. People still worry that somehow the flu shot is going to make them sick, or if they take it during pregnancy, it could make their baby sick. To date, every study points out that it's better to protect the baby against the flu and other problems by getting a flu shot.