news-record.com

You'll feel just a little pinch

We published this photo by Jerry Wolford on the front page Friday accompanying a story about swine flu vaccinations at UNCG.

As you can imagine, some people didn't like it.

A nurse wrote: This is not the picture I would choose if I was encouraging folks to get this vaccine. The needle is tiny and shot is over in no time. How about a picture of a calm, cheery person next time to help allay some of the fear and hesitation over getting the vaccine?

A mother wrote: My 6-year-old son saw that picture of the "big baby" and wants no part of that kind of pain. He's going to get his shot next week and instead of the little pinch we told him it would feel like, he thinks it will be more like a bullet shot. In the future could you please refrain from putting pictures of adult men getting shots. Obviously, he never learned to take it like a man------or maybe we should say take it like a woman or even child.

Ouch!

Our other photo choice was to show the long line of people waiting, which was our secondary photo on the page. I doubt that was encouraging either. But it's a shot; it's supposed to sting, isn't it? Oh well, we liked the emotion of the photo.

Me, I just appreciate a 6-year-old who reads the paper! 

Update: I just heard back from the mother, who wrote me: Actually, I think that picture helped my son. He went today for shots and said he wasn't gonna' act like the big man in the newspaper. He didn't even flinch.