Understanding the passage
Conventional wisdom suggests vaccinating elderly people first in flu season, because they are at greatest risk of dying if they contract the virus.
• There is a general belief that elderly people should be vaccinated first in the flu season.
• Because for the elderly, the chances of getting contracting and dying due to the virus are very high.
This year’s flu virus poses particular risk to elderly people and almost none at all to younger people, particularly children.
• This year’s flu virus is especially risky for older people.
• There is little to no risk for younger people, especially the children, from this year’s flu virus.
Nevertheless, health professionals are recommending vaccinating children first against the virus rather than elderly people.
• Despite this, health professionals advise that children be vaccinated before vaccinating older people.
Conclusion: Health professionals advise that children be first vaccinated against the flu rather than the elderly people even though the virus poses no danger to children.
Pre-thinking
Strengthen Framework
What information will help us believe more in the conclusion?
Conclusion: Health professionals advise that children be first vaccinated against the flu rather than the elderly people even though the virus poses no danger to children.
Given that:
(i) The general belief is that elderly people should be vaccinated first in the flu season because they are at the greatest risk of dying if they contract the virus.
(ii) This year’s flu virus poses a particular risk to elderly people.
(iii) There is no risk for younger people, especially children.
Though Process
The passage presents a contradiction between traditional beliefs and the advice of health professionals.
The facts presented in the passage support the traditional belief that elderly people are prone to contracting the virus. Thus, elderly people must be vaccinated first. But health professionals advise that children should be vaccinated first.
Also, according to traditional belief, the virus does not pose any risk to younger people, especially children; therefore, they do not need vaccination. What if the children are suggested to be vaccinated first because the children do not get affected by the virus themselves but spread the disease to elderly people.
Strengthener
If the children are not vaccinated first, they pose a danger of spreading the virus to elderly people. Answer choice along the lines of this statement would be the correct choice.
Answer Choice Analysis
A. Children are vulnerable to dangerous infections when their immune systems are severely weakened by other diseases.
• This answer choice is entirely out of scope because the passage talks about this year’s flu virus that does not pose any risk to children. Vulnerability to other infections would not strengthen the author’s conclusion. Thus, this is not the correct answer choice.
B. Children are particularly unconcerned with hygiene and therefore are the group most responsible for spreading the flu virus to others.
CORRECT• This choice is in line with our pre-thinking strengthener. The lack of hygiene among children would be responsible for spreading the flu virus to elderly people.
• Also, the answer choice indicates that most (majority or greater than 50% up to 100%) children are responsible for spreading the virus to others.
• This is the correct choice.
C. The vaccinations received last year will confer no immunity to this year's flu virus.
• This option does not give any reason why the children are should be vaccinated first, according to the suggestion of health professionals. Thus, this choice is incorrect.
D. Children who catch one strain of the flu virus and then recover are likely to develop immunity to at least some strains with which they have not yet come in contact.
• This option tells us why children are immune to the flu virus. But it does not tell us why the children should be vaccinated if they have built an immunity to the flu virus. Thus, this choice is incorrect.
E. Children are no more likely than adults to have immunity to a particular flu virus if they have never lived through a previous epidemic of the same virus.
• This option does not indicate how vaccinating the children first is going to help the elderly. Therefore, this choice is also incorrect.
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