The Wrong Way To Decide About A Flu Shot

How do you decide whether or not to get a flu shot? How much it hurts? (It doesn’t.)  How inconvenient it is? How much it costs? All of the above, by the way, are bad ideas in wide circulation, and bad idea number three–how much it costs, is particularly popular, according to research conducted at Tulane University. A Tulane news release reports that researchers  at the school conducted several surveys to gauge consumers’ reactions to different medications based on cost and perceived risk. They presented different health messages about getting a flu shot, emphasizing individual risk in one scenario and the larger public health risks in another. They told some that the vaccine cost $25 and others $125. Even though all were told the cost would be covered by insurance, those in the high-price group felt that they were at a lower risk of getting the flu. The bottom line: Researchers found that consumers inferred that the more expensive the medicine, the less important it must be. Wrong. Read more from Tulane.