Some people are skeptical of the benefits of the flu vaccine, but the author, whose childhood was marked by steady anxiety over polio, measles, and mumps, has developed a healthy respect for immunization. She notes that many people do not get the flu shot because they believe it will compromise their healthy immune systems, or they once became sick after getting the shot. Studies that definitively demonstrate that the vaccine works to reduce the incidence and severity of the flu would help to push doubters over the edge, she suggested. Further confusion is caused by the publicity surrounding the vaccine's safety, fueled by controversial studies questioning the safety of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. She points out, however, that the most current British studies have demonstrated that the risk of autism is nearly identical in unvaccinated and vaccinated children.