Since retiring from the military in 1999 and with their mandatory must-take-the-flu-shot campaign....I quit flu shots immediately upon retirement. So in 20 years, I’ve had two mild cases of the flu (the 24-hour bug). The previous ten years (with the shot)....two serious bouts with the flu, and a yearly 24-hour bug episode.
I’m like you....I do the beef, pork, chicken and turkey thing. I believe a good portion of my yearly good health leads back to that trend as well. I might go and agree with these people that some meats (hot dogs in particular) probably aren’t that good in your diet. But to suggest a vegan diet is something we should desire? No, that’s a bold lie.
I, too retired, less than a year after you did (unless you retired on January 1). I regularly get flu shots, and haven’t had the flu for some 40 years. I limit my beef intake to about once a month, but have pork a bit more (maybe twice weekly, and that’s mostly lean ham). I eat lots of fish. I get a cold no more than about once a year. The point is that individual anecdotes are important to the individual, but must be considered with inputs from large numbers of people.