All this turmoil around players and their objections to getting a flu shot feels like we've lost sight of the bigger picture.

(And don't get me started on how signing a waiver is going to help in the war against the coronavirus pandemic.)

Sure. If someone contracts the coronavirus and the flu at the same time the symptoms can be much worse.

Sure. It would be a completely different kettle of fish if we were talking about players getting vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus.

Sure. There's lots of evidence that vaccinations for diseases like chickenpox, measles, mumps, polio and tetanus saves lots and lots of lives. But that's not the issue here.

Sure. A lot of the 20 or so NRL players and staff - including Canberra Raiders stars Joe Tapine, Josh Papalii and Sia Soliola - would probably refuse to have an injection for the coronavirus as well.

But we're a long way from there being any such vaccine. So that's a hurdle there's no need to jump just yet.

Instead, we're jumping a flu hurdle. For whatever reason. It's never been a problem before.

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Take Soliola - sorry Sia, it's simply because you're the oldest. He made his NRL debut in 2005. Probably didn't have a flu shot then. Probably didn't have it any of his 16 seasons as a professional footballer.

Including last year. When he missed just one game of football. Rested for the Green Machine's final-round clash against the New Zealand Warriors to ensure he was fresh for the finals. Not because he had the flu.

According to renowned sports doctor Peter Larkins, this year's flu is a particularly nasty strain. And so was last year's - 745 people died in Australia due to the flu, with more than 200,000 suffering serious infections.

But the flu shot doesn't guarantee you won't get it. Plenty of people say they actually get sick from having it. Some - like yours truly - don't get it because they rarely get sick from the flu. Others object to having vaccinations of any kind - unlike yours truly.

It's unclear where the Raiders three sit in all of this. They have their own reasons for taking their stand. A stand they feel strongly enough they're willing to be stood down from playing over.

So why all of a sudden all this fuss about the flu?

Can anyone point out the last time a team was completely shut down because of the flu? Or an entire competition?

I can tell you when the last time a competition was shut down due to the coronavirus though.

Yet here we are. Sidetracked. Three Gold Coast players stood down in Queensland because they didn't want to have the flu shot.

Apparently it was part of the agreement between the NRL and the Queensland government to allow teams to return to training so you can understand that. Probably shouldn't have been there in the first place. At least not until the NRL had checked whether everyone involved would get one.

Those in NSW and the ACT are seemingly free to carry on without it. The signed waiver 2.0 is fine.

Meanwhile, the ACT Brumbies will return to training on Monday. Without any requirements to have flu injections. Ironically though, they all have.