I went to get my free flu shot at work today, and found out chicken eggs were involved in the process (I had to answer whether or not I was allergic to eggs before receiving the shot).
I asked if they had any alternatives, and they said they didn’t because they were too expensive. I ended up getting the flu shot they offered.
Do you get the standard flu shot, or a vegan variant? How much do you pay, if the latter, and where can you find it?
Edit 1 year later: I took FluBlok this time around, which doesn’t use eggs. Offered at my local supermarket pharmacy and quite a few other places nearby.
I’d take it. Generally I only try to reduce harm “as far as possible and practicable”. The consideration is then whether a flu vaccine is a necessity. I’d say it arguably since it reduces risk not only to yourself but also reduces the odds you’ll spread the flu to other potentially vulnurable people. You may want to weigh the costs in terms of suffering, but, while it probably is profitiable for animal aggriculture I’d argue that the usage of eggs as an ingredient in vaccines is probably downstream from direct egg consumption and people who simply take a vaccine aren’t directly responsible.
I did end up taking it, but I think next year I’ll look for the “Flucelvax Quadrivalent” vaccine that uses mammalian cells, and seems less harmful to living beings. I wouldn’t consider myself directly responsible either, but if I have the option where I’m not indirectly responsible either, that seems even better to me.