"Nobody is suggesting no vaccine would be an improvement so that isn't relevant."
There are lots of people doing so. Probably very few here on Hacker News, but there are many in the real world. Many people who read the linked article will use that as an excuse to not get the flu vaccine next year.
One of the top level comments here questions if the vaccine is worthwhile, with a strong implication that a) it's not worthwhile for a disease which a healthy adult can recover from without it and b) nobody has been smart (or unbiased) enough to ask the question before.
There are lots of people doing so. Probably very few here on Hacker News, but there are many in the real world. Many people who read the linked article will use that as an excuse to not get the flu vaccine next year.