As a bad asthmatic, I consider the flu shot to be a no-brainer. My doctor evidently agrees; when the vaccine becomes available, he summons all the asthmatics on his patient list to needle parade. He gets plenty of argument, but his position is uncompromising: an asthmatic with after-effects of the flu shot is mildly uncomfortable, but an asthmatic with the full-blown flu is a hospital patient. Case closed.