I caught swine flu and damn near died. I've never gotten the flu shot and I don't ever plan on it. Most people don't know this but, the "flu" shot one recieves is made for a specific permutation of the flu virus (virus is the key word here) which they believe will strike soon. There are many different ways the flu virus can mutate; the shot you recieve is structured for their "best guess" at what flu virus will actually be ravaging the population.