I used to be very lackadaisical about my flu vaccines. I'd get them if they came to my office, for example, but I'd never make appointments myself.

Then, about 20 years ago, I had a job where they wanted me to have a note from a doctor if I called in sick. I knew I was sick with something, probably contagious, but I wasn't feeling very bad. But since I thought it was probably contagious, I didn't think I should go in. So, that was the first time I went to the doctor for something that I'd call a cold. The doctor ran some tests, and diagnosed me with influenza.

It was at that point that I realized I needed to be careful and make sure I get the flu shot every year. The thought I had was, "I can't tell the difference between a cold and the flu, but for some people, the flu is deadly. I don't want to be responsible for somebody else getting gravely sick, so I have to start making an effort to get the flu shot every year."

Since then, I haven't gotten that yearly cold that I used to get, which I now know was probably the flu. So, it's been good for me... but I do it because I don't want to be the cause for other people suffering.

It's just so weird, isn't it? This decision by Pete Hegseth will almost certainly cause some deaths. Even if it's not the soldiers, maybe it's their small children. Maybe it's their parents. Maybe it's the people they meet when they're deployed somewhere. We'd literally be better off if we appointed a coma patient rather than Hegseth.