Why the big Flu outbreak?

[Iwasthere]

I would like to see someone take a poll from even just one of the hospital waiting rooms that are filled with flu sufferers. If they all say they had flu shots, and none say they did not, well that would be VERY telling, imo.

If 20 out of 20 flu sufferers said they got the shot, what would your conclusion be?

[Lochloosa]

1. The flu shot this year missed the main active strain.

[ProudLib72]

4. I read 10% effectiveness against the main strain.

[Hortensis]

13. I heard 12%, same thing. Still need to get vaccinated.

Not only would a 10% reduction in cases during a pandemic be huge (and lifesaving), but vaccination tends to reduce severity of symptoms.

[ProudLib72]

16. I got the shot in October

I always get the shot. I had the flu one time that I can remember, and it was not fun.

[Hortensis]

18. Us too. I used to be casual about it, and if

I did get it took the "leave me alone while I sleep it off" approach. Same for my husband, with some additional moaning and neediness.

But one time waking up with first-ever hallucinations, which turned out to signal a fever of 105, "serioused" me up for both of us. Realizing 105 could go up instead of down if I sank back into sleep this time scared me into the car. Then I was dismayed by the crowd in the ER. Not a good place to be in high flu season. I noticed some alarmed looked aimed at me, huddled in a blanket and shaking with rigors right there among the concerned parents, broken fingers, etc.

Flu shot: It's a good thing.

[ProudLib72]

19. I don't think my experience was as bad, but it was bad enough

Two days of sleeping 18 hours per day and feeling horrible. Two more days of sleeping 12 hours a day and feeling miserable. I don't remember how long it took to get back to normal.

On a lighter note, there was one flu season when Kaiser Permanente set up a booth in their parking lot so that people could just drive up, roll down their window, roll up their sleeve, and get it done in a matter of seconds. I had no end of fun telling people at work that day that I had been involved in a drive by shooting.

[Hortensis]

21. Lol. Great! Wish the pharmacies did that at their

drive-through locations. In any case gives a whole new meaning to seeking drugs and getting shot up.

[Aristus]

35. This is pretty accurate.

It happens sometimes when making educated guesses as to what the dominant strain will be from year to year.

But even vaccnation against the non-dominant strain can offer some protection if exposed to the dominant strain.

But reports that the current vaccine is not primarily effective against the dominant strain can either stimulate prejudice against vaccines, or worsen existing adverse perceptions of vaccinations.

So fewer people get the vaccine, and then this happens.

Please. Everyone who is not allergic to the vaccine, get your flu shot. Thank you.

[Lochloosa]

94. I agree. 10% protection is better than the flu.

[SharonAnn]

92. Correlation is not causation.

[Hoyt]

2. I think we should blame it on Trump -- Flu Vaccine is supposedly on 10% effective this year.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/this-years-flu-vaccine-may-only-be-10-effective-experts-warn/

[MFM008]

3. There is obviously

Something else involved.
"Flu" vaccines only cover one strain.
2 years ago 6 of us in the family got some horrible
Stomach bug after 4 were vaccinated 2 months prior.
Other than total gastrointestinal symptoms
No one had flu type symptoms like chills.
Headache. Etc.
Still worth getting a flu shot for.

[Drahthaardogs]

9. A stomach bug has absolutely NOTHING to do

With influenza. I cringe everytime I hear that. Influenza is a severe viral.infection that affects many systems but especially the respiratory system. High fever, cough, severe body aches and pain

You can have committing etc, but that is NOT the main symptoms of the flu

[MFM008]

71. my point

Is you should still get a flu shot.
Stomach bugs are not flu, that was my point, you can still get sick and no FLU is involved.
People can be hospitalized with other stuff not Influenza.
GET A FLU SHOT.
for inspiration to do so read all about the 1918 flu.
100 years since one of the worst mass killing outbreaks of anything in history.

[Anon-C]

32. Ok, fine, Im a conspiracist.

Its a horrible flu, already seemingly twice as lethal as last year's strain by this time. Notably more contagious and its long lasting. Anecdotal to be sure, but in my family we had relief from a debilitating malaise and achiness as the virus storm subsided, only to feel bad again a couple of days later - that is, you feel its passed, but presents the worst symptoms a second time.


You probably don't recall the 2011 brouhaha over the scientists publishing in open source methods for weaponizing bird flu.

Is it normal for a virus to mutate in its communicability and presentation of symptoms to such a degree year on year?

[BadgerKid]

47. Flu vaccines cover 3-4 strains, not 1.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

[panader0]

5. Haven't had the flu for years.

I've never had a shot--I heard that this year there were so many
different strains that a shot was not advised. I've been sick for a week.
Pretty bad for two days, now just a nuisance.

[USALiberal]

45. "I heard that this year there were so many different strains that a shot was not advised."?????

Who in the hell said that? Link please.

[GoCubsGo]

56. Yeah, I heard that one should get it anyway,

even if it isn't as effective as it is in other years. A less-effective vaccine is still better than no vaccine.

[Laffy Kat]

84. Where did you hear that a vaccine was not advised?

That's odd. Can you cite? (I'm not trying to be a jerk, just curious as to who would say that.)

[MoonRiver]

6. A major flu pandemic is decades overdue. Stay tuned.

[hunter]

7. Telling of what?

Researchers have to predict which varieties of flu are likely to flair up next flu season, before they make all that vaccine.

More often than not, they predict correctly. Sometimes they don't.

Science ain't magic.

I get a flu shot every year because I'm part of an at-risk population. (I've had flu infections that turned into pneumonia requiring hospitalization. Not fun.)

If this year's vaccine isn't spot-on, maybe I'll be lucky, having already suffered a similar flu, or having got a vaccine that does work in previous years, making me immune or resistant.

[Iwasthere]

8. ?

If 20 patients came to a hospital with horrible stomach sickness after using an over the counter cold preventive medication what would your conclusion be?

[Codeine]

24. Where is the evidence that

all the people getting the flu are the ones who were vaccinated?

Seriously, the flu vaccine is a bit of a gamble, a “best guess” about what form the virus will take each year. Sometimes the guess is more accurate than others. This wasn’t a banner year on the accuracy front.

[jberryhill]

41. It's like an episode of Ancient Aliens...

"What if it were true!"

[doc03]

61. That would be evidence the shot gave them the flu wouldn't it?

[OnDoutside]

14. "Researchers have to predict which varieties of flu are likely to flair up next flu season". Exactly

Some seasons they are more right than others.

[flibbitygiblets]

54. I don't like to talk about my flair

I have the required number of pieces of flair.

[OnDoutside]

60. Take that up with Post #7 ..... ;) That's sic ...

[Codeine]

64. Well,

[hunter]

68. Yep, thirteen pieces of flair and socks that don't match. That's me.

If ever I sought perfection in my grammar or spelling I'd never be able to write anything.

[Ms. Toad]

52. More often than not they don't: predict accurately

This year is worse than average, but on average their accuracy is around 50 percent.

[womanofthehills]

69. Actually, the CDC said the main flu virus H3N2 mutated

Much of the influenza virus circulating in the United States has mutated and this year’s vaccine doesn’t provide good protection against it, federal health officials are warning.

Flu season’s barely starting, but most cases are being caused by a strain called H3N2 this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a health warning issued to doctors Wednesday night.

The flu vaccine protects against three or four strains of flu — there’s always a mix of flu viruses going around — and H3N2 is one of them. But the strain of H3N2 infecting most people has mutated and only about half of cases match the vaccine, CDC said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cold-flu/cdc-warning-flu-viruses-mutate-evade-current-vaccine-n261226

[brooklynite]

10. That the shot had limited effectiveness...

...which, since the virus changes year to year, is neither unusual, nor unpredicted.

[Quixote1818]

11. I get a flu shot every year. Never get the flu.

Hopefully won't get it this year even though they missed the main strain.

[Tipperary]

15. I never get a flu shot. Never get the flu.

Never have even had the flu.

[hunter]

22. My great aunt was like that.

Never sick a day in her life, and lived past 100.

I wish I had her immune system. I figure she must have caught things like chicken pox or measles, but her symptoms were so mild and her immune system so quick to respond that she hardly noticed.

[Siwsan]

29. Same here. Don't get the shots - never had the flu

I don't remember anyone in my family ever having it, either. During the big Spanish Flu outbreak, my grandfather traveled around with his priest, who was giving last rites to flu victims. Grandpa never got the flu, and neither my grandmother, or their young children. So, maybe I have some sort of genetic immunity.

The only time I HAD to get flu shots was while I was in the Navy - and that was back when getting the shot could make you sick. I never had a single symptom.

Truth be told, I rarely ever even get a cold, and when I do, they tend to be light in nature and short in duration.

[USALiberal]

44. All of which of course means nothing. n.t.

[Siwsan]

46. If you say so

[RobinA]

62. Well, It Does

mean something about the diversity of human reaction to the flu virus, which might be worth looking at scientifically. I'm one of those flu non-getters. I'm 60 and have had the flu about twice in my life. No flu shot. I know people who get the flu shot every year and they get the flu every year (not from the shot, that's not what I'm saying). My father never got a cold or the flu the entire time I knew him - 59 years, and he worked in a hospital. He actually got Lyme disease and didn't get sick, which I still can't believe. I got Lyme and was very sick. In my opinion it wouldn't hurt to take a look at people who rarely get communicable diseases versus people who get sick from every germ that floats by. It might yield something usable.

[USALiberal]

86. You seriously think medical science has not figured that out already??? nt

[3catwoman3]

76. Any immunization can make someone feel crappy for 24-48 hours.

It's part of your immune system responding to an "invader" as it makes antibodies. The flu injection is a killed vaccine, and canNOT give anyone the actual illness.

[Siwsan]

81. I know that - what I wrote about happened YEARS ago

I remember it so clearly because they gave the flu shots shortly before Thanksgiving, and a whole lot of people were too sick to even eat. The next year they adjusted the vaccination schedule.

I was shot up with all sorts of vaccinations, while in the service, and never had a reaction to any. They actually questioned my small pox vaccination because there was zero reaction. No redness and not even an itch. They talked about revaccinating me but I challenged them saying my biggest risk of developing smallpox was probably their determination to keep vaccinating me until I developed whatever reaction they were expecting. They backed off.

On a side but slightly related note, a friend of mine got the 'shingles' vaccine and later developed shingles. I felt really, really bad for her.

[3catwoman3]

82. I had to get immunized against one of the measles illnesses (can't remember which)...

...as I did not develop sufficient antibodies from Mother Nature's variety. I was born in 1951, and had all the usual childhood diseases. My mom was thrilled beyond words when the first polio vaccine came out.

Smallpox vaccinations used to itch like hell, and you'd be constantly told, "Don't scratch it. DON'T SCRATCH IT!" It was a tough rule to follow.

How awful for your friend with shingles. That disease totally sucks. One of the staff nurses at my practice ended up on an antiseizue med for a while when nothing else would stop the terrible pain she was experiencing when she had shingles.

[Siwsan]

85. I had all of the usual childhood illnesses - measles, mumps, chickenpox

I was lucky that they were either light cases, or my immune system was strong enough to mitigate the symptoms. I remember having each one of them, with no memory of ever really feeling ill.

It has been my experience, if I take good care of my immune system, it takes really good care of me. In my nearly 30 years of employment at the last place I worked, I THINK I took, maybe, 2 sick days.

[3catwoman3]

89. I'm an NP in a pediatric office, so I have...

...a ton of of occupational exposure. I have yet to figue out a way to look at the throat of a small child while using a tongue depressor without getting a faceful of whatever the kid has that the mom is hoping I can fix. Wearing a mask is not very patient frinedly, but I have done so on occasion. I probably get 3-4 colds a year. There doesn't seem to be any way around it. I'm glad I only work 2 days a week.

There are days when I wish I could wear a hazmat suit.

[Siwsan]

93. I am a big proponent of raw garlic. Not to repel people or vampires - to stay healthy.

I know - sounds harsh. But I grow my own and utilize the smaller cloves. I peel, bruise and swallow them whole, usually 2 or 3 per night. And I'm also a fan of making and consuming medicinal soup, during cold and flu season - cabbage, tomatoes, onions and LOTS of garlic are the base and then one can add whatever else sounds tasty. I generally use mostly cruciferous veg. It is a great detoxing agent.

I applaud your profession. I used to credential/recredential physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. I'd much rather sit and discuss my health with a PA or NP, any day of the week.

[USALiberal]

43. Still stupid not to get one. But I assume you know that. nt

[Orrex]

49. Yeah, everyone says that. You've been lucky.

And then one year they get the flu and either they change their tune or they insist that they got it from the vaccine.


People who've never been in a car accident should still wear seatbelts.

[Ms. Toad]

57. Umm neither.

I don't get vaccinated for the flu, occasionally get the flu. I'm not changing my mind merely because I've experienced the flu and now it is assinine to suggest that the vaccine gives you the flu.

[Orrex]

65. I get vaccinated for two reasons

To improve my own chances at avoiding the illness, and to reduce my chance of putting an immune-compromised person at risk.

I've seen your posts on this over the years, and I know that you're not shunning vaccines for some crazy Jenny McCarthy-esque reason.

[tavernier]

53. Do you work in an elementary school?

Do you live in an area that sees millions of tourists every winter and spring?

I do. I get a flu shot.

[Quixote1818]

80. I was just pointing out to the OP that the flu shot doesn't cause the flu

Curious where you got the name Tipperary? Have you been to Tipperary, Ireland?

[ismnotwasm]

12. Every fucking year is a bad flu year

Sure it can vary and the H1N1 year was horrible. So here’s the thing. With every immunization you get a certain amount of immunity. If you are healthy, and reasonably prudent about exposure your chances of getting the flu are less.

I get the flu shot every year. Every year I am exposed to the flu from various patients—some got the immunization but are immunocompromised, and are very vulnerable to not only the flu, but colds, c-diff, opportunistic viruses, fucking tuberculous—some with resistant strains, “super” bacteria —we had one that just scared the shit out of everybody and had to call the CDC.

I never get the flu. Without PPE’s, (personal protective equipment I could get coughed on, spit on, vomited on, all the body fluids you can imagine I get exposed too. I’m also a dialysis nurse so I’m constantly exposed to blood. My co-workers with 2 exceptions all get immunization from the flu. None have had the flu this year. I have zero patience with anti-vaxxers since I’ve watched people die from the flu because of unnecessary exposure.
Save a life. Get the vaccine.

[blogslut]

17. Oh, I get it.

You're being coy. You want us to say that it's the shot that makes people sick.

Sorry.

[Ms. Toad]

20. The flu vaccine is a guess, and generally not a very good one,

about which virus will be circulating in any given year.

This year, it was 10% accurate. (Frequently the accuracy is around 50%)

[Codeine]

23. You have created an imaginary scenario

(that everyone who got the flu had been vaccinated against it) based on absolutely ZERO evidence, and now you’re attempting to argue your case from that standpoint.

Logical fail or intellectual dishonesty?

[Iwasthere]

28. I genuinely would like to see someone take that poll

And why can't I ask the question? Would YOUR view of vaccinations change if my imaginary scenario proved 100% true?

[Codeine]

31. Sure it would, and my view of Alex Jones

would change if Hillary Clinton morphed into a lizard alien before our very eyes, but neither of those things is even remotely in the realm of reality, so it matters not.

What do you base this notion of yours on? You’ve got zero science backing up your hunch, and your reluctance to just come out and say what you think is going on is indicative of a weak intellectual foundation. Just come right out and say it.

[Iggo]

37. .

[hatrack]

48. Thanks, Codeine . . . .

If there's one thing that tires me more than Woo, it's those who fish for and shit-stir Woo.

[jberryhill]

42. I would conclude that people who do not get the flu, do not go to the hospital

Duh.

[progressoid]

77. Facts aren't understood via polls or opinions.

Start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method

[alarimer]

25. My conclusion would be that they got the vaccine wrong this year.

It happens. Scientists try to model which ones are likely to be a problem and then they include a few of those strains in the vaccines. Sometimes they are wrong.

It doesn't mean the flu vaccine is of no value, though. You should still get one, because those other viruses are still out there.

[womanofthehills]

70. the virus mutates big time - that's the main problem

[WhiskeyGrinder]

26. I would like people to have a clear understanding of science before they post crap, but we can't

have everything, I guess.

[skylucy]

33. I agree with you.

[gopiscrap]

27. flu shots are only 10% effective this year

[left-of-center2012]

30. Are you suggesting space aliens?

Those damn lizard people?

[Codeine]

34. Wellllll. . .

[Iggo]

36. And if my aunt were my uncle...

Eh? Eh?

[Codeine]

38. Balls!, said the queen. . . nt

[Hekate]

39. I'd say I'm truly sorry my daughter is an anti-vaxxer with a preemie just out of the NICU

She and the baby have been thru a really rough 3 1/2 months and she has two older boys at home, but her friends and FaceBook have convinced her that vaccines are killers. No, honey, FLU is a killer, and polio is a crippler, and little babies who get whooping cough can still die. But what do I know? I lived thru the last polio epidemic, is all.

Certain viruses have proven difficult to tame because they change so rapidly every year, the common cold and influenza among them. That doesn't mean a flu vaccine is a lost cause.

[Demsrule86]

67. My oldest daughter and both nieces had dangerous reactions to the pertussis vaccine. I did too or so

my Mom told me. The ped refused to give it to my youngest daughter. I gave them all their other vaccines but, I did it more gradually...I didn't want all those shots at one time. It is my opinion that giving all shots at once can cause issues but this is not an informed opinion based on evidence...just a hunch. Doing it this way, we had no fevers or side effects (my oldest son ran a scary high fever after receiving his all at once). The vaccinations were completed in a short amount of time, and I was home with the babies so the risk of infection was minimal. I would like the girls to try the acellular vaccine perhaps after some testing. Whooping cough is a dangerous disease, but for them so is the vaccine. There are allergies to vaccines. That is true, but it is rare. I can't take the regular flu shot. I am allergic to thimerosal so I have to make sure my vaccine comes from a single dose or pre-filled syringe or the spray which doesn't have thimerosal in it. It used to be in contact lens solution and my eyes swelled shut with the lenses in them! This is how I learned about the allergy.

People need to inform themselves and anyone who has seen a kid with measles would not subject their kid to this dangerous disease...mumps too. My Mom was anti-vaxxer to a degree at first. We did get the polio one but later than most kids...she feared the vaccines. She had seen reactions in the early ones. But my sister got measles so we were all vaccinated immediately. My sister was sick for well over a month. We were quarantined too. The rest of us had light cases of measles (still miserable). My sis has a droopy eye as a result. And she was lucky. We also got mumps which were awful. When we hit school, we had to have all our shots thankfully...I think we did by then. People should consider that one of the reasons infant/child mortality has gone down is because vaccinations are available.

[Hekate]

75. One of my younger brothers was somewhat allergic to horse serum; other people are to egg serum...

The lot of us are Boomers, so born between 1947 and 1957, with vaccines and illnesses accordingly. Allergies are a known factor -- and really need to be taken into consideration, always. So are other reactions, like fever, but the difference is that some fever and swelling are to be expected as the immune system kicks in.

I'm with you on the idea of spreading out vaccinations more, simply because there are so many now.

But like you, my sibs (and our mother, who had to nurse us) had the joy of getting measles, chicken pox, and mumps, one after the other. The baby got them all in her first year of life from us, and it impacted her overall health for many years after. We didn't get polio, but every single school had it's share of crippled survivors.

Our eyewitness memories and family history from our now-departed mothers, means nothing if (a) schools fail to teach the history of public health in science and history classes, and (b) we don't pass it along orally. I feel a sense of personal failure (my daughter was a rebellious buzzsaw from an early age and would not listen to anything I had to say) and societal failure ( the school system).

[Demsrule86]

91. I agree...I knew kids in school who had polio...don't know why because the vaccine should have been

available. My mom said there were sporadic shortages...the kids were older than me...but I well remember the braces and such...these were the lucky kids...not on an iron lung. Vaccines are essential. And many of us need boosters but there is no public health apparatus these days to inform the general public. We used to have public health nurses.

[3catwoman3]

79. Many people had significant reactions to the old...

...DPT vaccine, which was a whole cell vaccine. It tuned out that the problem was the cell wall fragments of the pertussis organisms.

I don't know how ls you and your kids are. Anyone over 25 would have likely had the whole cell vaccine.

For at least 20 years, the vaccine offered has been DTaP - the "a" stands for acellular. No more cell wall fragments. It has made a huge difference, and it has been years since I last saw a patient who had a serious vaccine reaction.

The foreign proteins that cause our immune systems to create antibodies are called antigens. The total number of antigens contained in ALL the recommended immunizations from birth thru 6 months total about 200. A single smallpox shot used to contain 300.

A newborn is immediately exposed to thousands of antigens the moment they are delivered. Babies are sturdier than they are given credit for.

[Demsrule86]

90. My older girl can not get the new shot so far as no doctor will agree to give her the vaccine

because of her reaction. It nearly killed her. As for babies I am against giving them so many shots all at once. I was home with my younger kids and took a more gradual approach...way less side effects. I am not anti-vax. Many kids are alive today because of vaccines. The younger one did not receive the shot because numerous women in or family had a bad reaction. My Mom's cousin died after being inoculated. I ran a high fever and went to the hospital but was fine in a day or two.

[jberryhill]

40. My conclusions would be several...

My first conclusion would be that anyone who would make a conclusion based on that sample is an idiot.

[Orrex]

50. If 20 out of 20 flu suffers got the shot, then they should obviouslybe executed in the public square

Preferably via some painful and humiliating method, like intestinal hyperinflation or the like.


Does that answer your ridiculous question?

[tymorial]

51. That the vaccine missed the major strain. This isn't hard .

Eom.

[Captain Stern]

55. I was just at the hospital...

....and walked through one of the waiting rooms. There happened to be exactly 20 people there suffering from the flu.

I asked each of them if they'd had a flu shot this season. Every single one of them said they had not. That was VERY telling, imo.

If 20 out of 20 flu sufferers said they hadn't gotten the shot, what is your conclusion?

[onenote]

58. Here's a chart from the CDC on flu vaccine effectiveness

It can and does vary widely from year to year. In 2004-05 it was only 10 percent effective. Two years later it's effectiveness was over 50 percent.

They expected this year's vaccine to be more effective than it is turning out to be.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/effectiveness-studies.htm

[DiverDave]

59. Just talked to a couple

Here in our yard in Carlisle PA.
The wife was coughing horribly and I said I hope you get better.
Her husband said she can't seem to shake it.
I mentioned tamaflu.
She shook her head as he told me "SHE DOES HERBAL"
I just said I hope you get better.
Not what I really wanted to say....

[NCTraveler]

63. What if they all told you they didn't get the shot?

What in the world kind of hypothetical is this? Ohhh yeah. We've got a little we report you decide going on here.

[haele]

66. There is the flu, and then there are colds.

The cold that is going around makes you think you are dying even though you don't have the high fever and muscle cramps/spasms. Three to four weeks of pure, snot and cottage cheese head - filled misery accompanied by a wracking cough and loss of appetite.

The other sickness people are calling the stomach flu is pretty much gastroenteritis, more of a sanitary health issue. We have a pair of small mobile petrie dishes here at home - you can remind them to was their hands as much as you can, but since you can't wrap them in a biological barrier, there's going to be some form of tummy bug around the house for maybe a week.

The flu itself, now, can kill - quickly. And it doesn't sneak up on you like the cold does. One day you're fine, and the next something hit you with a weighted sock sap full of virus and you can't seem to get out of bed.

I'd take the flu shot every year. Along with a pneumonia vaccine. I've had both when I was younger, and even though yearly colds are bad, both are magnitudes worse.

Haele

[LanternWaste]

72. My initial conclusion would be there are 20 idiots

"If 20 out of 20 table lamps failed to light, what would your conclusion be..."

My initial conclusion would be there are 20 half-witted idiots who are unable to turn on a lamp, rather than coyly implying electric is a con or simply doesn't exist (but thank goodness there are no half-wits or idiots here, right?)

However, should the analogous be outside of your wheelhouse, I'll answer directly... "If 20 out of 20 flu sufferers said they got the shot, what would your conclusion be?"

Conclusion: 20 people are simply lying.

[trackfan]

73. I got a flu shot this year. Also got the flu.

Still getting it out of my system after two weeks.

[Snotcicles]

74. The one and only time I had a Flu shot I got sicker than I had ever been.

It was on Christmas day I forgot the year.

[matt819]

78. Got the flu shot last month

So far, so good.

I understand it’s a judgment call on the strings used in the various shots that are given to the various age groups. Unless there’s some nefarious objective In this determination, I’m fine with it. Still, keeping my fingers crossed.

[Laffy Kat]

83. It's not just getting over the flu you have to worry about.

It's the secondary bacterial infections, pneumonia, sinus, that come after. Some people won't survive. Even at 10% efficacy, I'd get it (got it in Nov.).

[Starry Messenger]

87. Im a teacher. I vaccinate for everything.

I got the flu shot. I got a horrible cold in Dec, but not the flu. Knock on wood, it’s hitting my County hard.

[BigDemVoter]

88. Flu shots are not magic bullets.

There's quite a bit of conjecture when putting together a flu vaccine. It's never a sure thing that a vaccine will be extremely effective, and NO flu vaccine is EVER near 100%.

It's a good idea to get a flu shot, as the vaccine can very well ensure that the flu strain one might contract will be less virulent than without a vaccine.

This year, there was an unexpected outbreak of H3N2. Unfortunately, the vaccine this year was less effective than it has been at other times, as planning for flu seasons involves predictions of what MIGHT be circulating. Strains from around the world are submitted to surveillance sites, and unfortunately, there was a mismatch. . . . .