Flu Shots...

[Agschmid]

Last edited Fri Jan 11, 2013, 07:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Should I be getting one? Looks a bit scary...



**New Chart**



http://www.google.org/flutrends/us/

90 votes, 2 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I got one!
	56 (62%)
	I am getting one!
	7 (8%)
	No way!
	24 (27%)
	Ambivalence... the strangest place.
	3 (3%)
	2 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Big break out in NC, covered by our insurance, no charge, took 5 min..why not?

[Agschmid]

2. Yah I am pretty sure I am going now, maybe Wegman's does it?

Time to Google.

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. I got mine at Walgreens. n/t

[WorseBeforeBetter]

3. They don't always prevent the flu. Or,

as I've recently learned, lessen the effects. I had my first flu shot ever around December 15th and have been sick/recovering from cold and* flu for the past 10 days. If it weren't required for work, I would rather have taken my chances...

(*edited for Skittles.)

[Skittles]

6. you do know a cold and the flu are not the same thing

right?

[Agschmid]

8. One would hope since I feel they may be involved with either

a medical practitioner or education?!

Since they were required to get vaccinated.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

14. Oh, Skittles.

Without getting into gory details, I'm well aware of the symptoms of both cold AND flu. And even bronchitis. But thankfully never any pneumonia.

Right!

[uppityperson]

27. They do for me. Haven't had the flu since I started getting the vaccine. If you had the shot on

12/15 and have been recovering since 12/30, you got vaccinated too late, were already exposed. If you are already exposed, no, it won't prevent it.

[WolverineDG]

62. bingo!

they start offering shots in August, so you should get one by late September-early October for the best results.

and if you say "cold or flu" (or cold AND flu), you have a cold. Flu knocks you flat.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

100. Aches, chills, temperature pushing 102...

yes, flu. Flattened.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

97. Quite frankly, I think I was exposed...

at a Christmas Eve Open House, in which someone with possibly poor hand hygiene was mixing mojitos. I watched her mash the mint thinking "ugh, maybe I'll pass, it's flu season," but I went for it. So did a couple of others, and we all started feeling woozy that Thursday/Friday, and it was downhill from there.

How soon will I get sick if I am exposed to the flu?

The time from when a person is exposed to flu virus to when symptoms begin is about 1 to 4 days, with an average of about 2 days.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/disease.htm

Shoulda stuck to bottled beer.

[aquart]

158. Me, either.

I stay off eggs the whole summer to avoid sensitivity complications and get the shot as soon as it's offered.

[Warren DeMontague]

35. The flu is a constantly changing virus with a whole alphabet of different varieties.

Every year the CDC makes a series of educated guesses as to where the season's flu is likely to go. And they craft a vaccine; since it's gotta be put together in advance- that will hopefully target what they believe will be the prevalent strains of flu over the season.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/vaccine-selection.htm

On February 23, 2012 the WHO recommended that the Northern Hemisphere's 2012-2013 seasonal influenza vaccine be made from the following three vaccine viruses:

an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
an A/Victoria/361/2011 (H3N2)-like virus;
a B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like virus (from the B/Yamagata lineage of viruses).

While the H1N1 virus used to make the 2012-2013 flu vaccine is the same virus that was included in the 2011-2012 vaccine, the recommended influenza H3N2 and B vaccine viruses are different from those in the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere.

The letters/numbers have to do with different strains of flu, which (as far as I understand it) relate to different protein arrangements on the outer shell of the virus. (if I'm wrong, medical experts, please correct me)

The bottom line is, "the flu" is a quickly mutating, always changing virus and as such it's possible the shot may miss the strain that infects some people, or it may only provide partial immunity, etc. To say "they don't prevent the flu" is incorrect; I'm certain in some cases they DO prevent the flu, but not always.

[Agschmid]

48. Do you know/or know a source...

Which lets us know if the vaccine contains the correct medicine to fight the strain which is the most virulent this year?

[stevenleser]

58. The CDC puts out information on this every year. If you need me to, I can look it up nt

[WorseBeforeBetter]

99. From the FDA website...

Based on that information and the recommendations of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, the strains selected for inclusion in the 2012-2013 flu vaccines are:
A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus
A/Victoria/361/2011 (H3N2)-like virus
B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like virus.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm315365.htm

And...

Flu season worst in a decade, H1N1 and H3N2 make appearances

Influenza A (H3N2), 2009 influenza A (H1N1), and influenza B viruses have all been identified in the U.S. this season, it said. During the week of December 23-29, 2,346 of the 2,961 influenza positive tests reported to CDC were influenza A and 615 were influenza B viruses. Of the 1,234 influenza A viruses that were subtyped, 98 percent were H3 viruses and two percent were 2009 H1N1 viruses. Those virus variants are all covered by the current 2012-2013 Northern Hemisphere Flu vaccine, it said.

http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/28192?c=federal_agencies_legislative

As they say at my office, "Stick it to the flu!"

[proud2BlibKansan]

59. And this is why they change the shot every year.

My husband's uncle died from the flu. I wouldn't dream of not getting a shot.

[Logical]

50. Wow, really? That is what you base your logic on?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

95. Half a century of living is what...

I'm basing my logic on.

Year after year I listen to early-bird coworkers cluck about getting their flu shots, and year after year many of those same coworkers get felled by the flu. My mother gets a flu shot every year, and rarely gets the flu. My brother gets a flu shot every year, and gets hit with it almost every year. There's a misperception among many that a flu shot will always prevent the flu, but that is not necessarily the case.

I'm not anti-vaccination, or suggesting that anyone do one thing or the other. But my experience is that it's one big crap-shoot.

[Logical]

96. Overall it reduces chances of getting the flu. Outliers akways happen...

Just like people smoking till they die at 100 and health nuts dying at 30. Pure scientific method.

[phylny]

114. One of my coworker's daughters is a hospital nurse

and said that what they are finding is that about 60% of the people who have had a flu shot this year are still getting the flu.

I get too sick from the flu shot. This year I got the pneumonia shot and shingles, but decided against the flu shot. Maybe next year I'll change my mind, but this year I did not.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. I've had more flu after the vacc

last time i had a flu shot was in the 70s and I got sick. Same thing happened again

[WolverineDG]

64. that's happened to me too a couple of times

but compared to full-on flu, which I also have experienced, is nothing. I'd rather get sick from getting the shot than getting the flu without it.

[could it be seitan]

80. That'll happen when "they" shoot you with a live virus..

I mean, if it's not a live virus, then how does it supposedly work?

[Lars39]

89. ffs you are being highly irresponsible

[nadinbrzezinski]

138. Within two weeks?

You do not get the full benefits until after two weeks.

They are also not 100% guaranteed, this year they are matched to about 60%.

[OriginalGeek]

7. Ambivalent about your choice

but I'm not getting one. My work has offered them every year for the last 8 or 10 that I remember. Not worried about it.

[longship]

32. Tell that to my grandfather

He died in the influenza pandemic in early 20th century. He died of pneumonia, in other words the flu bug made him not able to breath.

The flu vaccination is the only attack we have against a future pandemic like the one that killed my grandfather along with millions of others.

It is a dodgy vaccination, a bit of a crap shoot. This year's construction is based on the known viruses at the time. But the influenza virus mutates; it changes. So the infectious disease researchers are always aiming at a moving target.

But, only a fool would not get it, if offered. It is the best chance to stop a future pandemic. It's safe. And it could stop a real worldwide problem, like what killed my grandfather, and millions of others.

[OriginalGeek]

73. "dodgy", "crap shoot", "Moving target"

and I'm a fool.



Gee whiz, you are one helluvva salesman!






(FWIW I did accept the hepatitus vaccinations)

[leftyohiolib]

163. call me a fool never got it never get sick- had a stroke - but never the flu (that i remember)

i think it might be b/c iwork outside and have a minimal contact with others

[ZombieHorde]

9. I may get one. I like them, but I don't always have the money,

and it is not something I think about very often.

[Agschmid]

10. I work retail and I come into contact with ALOT of people...

always makes me think twice about pandemics and such.

[ZombieHorde]

12. I can definately see why you would be concerned.

You're probably constantly being coughed on, sneezed on, and handling money.

[Agschmid]

13. Yah... and a few other things occasionally haha.

I LOVE my hand sanitizer.

[ZombieHorde]

15. And it loves you.

[could it be seitan]

81. You actually exercise your immune system by exposing yourself to multiple people..

Think about it: we have vax clinics EVERYWHERE and the "epidemic" is being hyped more than ever?

Do people ever THINK???

[Brainstormy]

107. OMG!

Your post put me immediately in mind of George Carline's famous "You are all diseased" bit.

[Confusious]

134. Maybe you should try smallpox

I hear that REALLY exercises the immune system.

To death.

Ps. If you don't want to get all the permits, I hear polio is still going on in India.

Africa has Ebola. Lots of opportunities.

[WolverineDG]

66. if you have health insurance, they're free nt

[ZombieHorde]

72. Unfortunatley, I do not have health insurance. nt

[Eleanors38]

77. Try your county/city health dept. They are free in

Travis Co., Tx, and may be free where you are. I'm 64 and don't want the strains floating around out there this yr. Get one Zombie, the season for flu is peaking late -- there's still time.

[WolverineDG]

92. Sorry :(

but do check around. I know Walgreen's was charging about $25. Plus keep on top of your local community. They may offer free/low cost shots from time to time.

[Marrah_G]

164. Give your city/town hall a call

Sometimes they have them available at little or no cost.

[RomneyLies]

11. Got one yesterday. Horrible experience

The needle failed and about half of the serum ran down my arm, so I required a second injection meaning I had about 50% more serum than normal.

I had a few flu=like symptoms today, off and on. My shoulder is much more sore than it should be due to two injection sites.

Overall, I'm glad I did it.

[nobodyspecial]

18. Who did that too you?

That certainly is not normal.

[RomneyLies]

29. It happens occasionally

It has everything to do with issues on manufacturing. The pharmacist.caught the problem right away and Wendy for a second injection as a single injection would have been inadequate.

[handmade34]

16. have never had a flu shot

don't intend to get one... assume I will stay healthy

[cali]

42. I've never had one either. Now I have the flu

This is the first day since last Thursday that I haven't been in extreme discomfort. I have had severe shortness of breath. It's like an elephant sitting on my chest. Haven't been able to eat, just tea. Today, the shortness of breath has eased a bit. I'm still really sick. It sucks. I may get a flu shot next year.

[Eleanors38]

78. Boy, it'll take the macho outta you fast. ny

[cali]

113. it has nothing to do with "macho"

and the flu vaccine is only 60% effective anyway.

[Lex]

140. It's been 100% effective for me. nt

[Siwsan]

105. Never had a flu shot, and never had the flu

I cook with a lot of garlic - natural antibiotic properties and eat a lot of of spicy foods, particularly Indian cuisine - keeps the immune system in good shape and prevents inflamations. I haven't had anything more than a mild care of the sniffles in about 10 years.

That being said, I realize I have a freakish immune system and would never discourage anyone with health concerns from getting the shot. But, the garlic and spices can't hurt.

[handmade34]

109. sound like

a kindred spirit... I am blessed with a pretty healthy body... but, I too would encourage all who aren't so blessed to do what they need to do.

That being said, I know anything can happen (even I may get sick one day ) but I drink a BIG spoonful of cayenne every morning in V-8 juice and eat pretty well... I believe tha goes a long way towards helping me stay well!

[Siwsan]

112. My grandfather ate a big clove of raw garlic, every morning

In his 90's, he had the blood pressure of a 20 year old athlete and lived to be 97. I grow my own garlic and while I don't do the morning garlic chew - and my co-workers are very thankful - I do bruise and then swallow the smaller cloves, whole.

I'm about to add coconut oil to my diet - said to be a great immune system booster, and helps maintain memory as you age.

[railsback]

17. Get your flu shots

My whole family came down with it before the official 'season' opened. Sucks something bad.

[Agschmid]

19. Apparently most people did!

I sort of thought my poll would have fewer people who had gotten them.

Good to see we are all paying attention to our health... ahem... I'm gonna get one!

[aikoaiko]

20. Dooo eeeet.

[taught_me_patience]

21. Got one for sure. I'm taking my 2yo to get one tomorrow

The flu is serious business and I don't take chances. I got the flu five years ago and I hope to never go through that again. It wasn't so much the week of sickness, but the horrible cough that lasted for months afterward that was so painful.

[nobodyspecial]

22. I have asthma and already have had pneumonia a couple of times

I definitely get one every year now.

[TorchTheWitch]

23. didn't get one this year and I now have the flu

Got it the afternoon of New Year's Eve. Just recently was able to finally crawl out of bed. I just didn't have the money this year and pretty much forgot about it dealing with other health issues. Now I'm paying for it. I'd forgotten just how terrible it is. For a few days there I really thought I might die. I still feel like I may never ever feel normal again.

Next year I don't care what the shot costs I'm getting it. I never ever want to deal with this nightmare again.

[crim son]

24. I used to always get the shot

until a few years ago when I got a bad reaction to one. The result was an uncontrollable bout of asthma that lasted three months. My (seasonal) job involves speaking on the phone for eight hours at a stretch and I had to leave the position early because I couldn't do the work. Since then I haven't had the shot. Ten days of the flu is nothing compared to what I went through that year. Never again.

[rightsideout]

25. Get those flu shots!

I have asthma too and my doctor reminds me to get one. Just got one back in December.

My son got his flu shot then came down with the flu a week later. The doctor said his flu wasn't a bad case because the flu shot had already started making antibodies and his fever never went above 100. The doc said it would have been 104 if he didn't get the flu shot and this episode didn't affect his asthma so he was over it in a few days. The doctor gave him Tamiflu to help relieve the symptoms.

So it does help to get it. My doctor said the flu is real bad this year and there are several strains going around so it would be wise to get the shot.

If you aren't allergic to eggs it shouldn't be a problem. I've been getting them for years with no ill affects.

[lpbk2713]

26. I never got the flu or colds very much.

But now that I'm 68 my doctor recommends it highly so I follow his advice.

[fairfaxvadem]

28. Never did until this year.

Have to start a 6-week class w/ folks from all over in a few days. Figured I'd get one just in case. Normally I don't bother.

Had zero side-effects. Not even a sore arm. Was surprised after some of the horror stories I'd heard and read about. Just didn't know what to expect.

Hope I don't get nailed w/it - it's been years and I'd like to keep it that way.

[onehandle]

30. I've been getting them for many years. Haven't had the flu since the early 90s. nt

[MFM008]

33. im with you

since ive been getting the flu shot ive never had it. Five years at least. Before I got it twice a year without fail. Get your shot, especially if you have any lung problems.

[riderinthestorm]

31. Got the shot AND got the flu. My asthma has made this miserable!!!

I came down with a mini flu when I got the shot just after Thanksgiving. Achy, sneezing, congestion like crazy along with a cough that hasn't ever gone away.

But got whalloped again, last week with a full blast of flu. Still coughing, hacking, wheezing, running and sleepy a week later. The coughing is so bad I'm throwing up with it almost daily.

I'm 10x worse than anyone else in my family who've come down with it and none of them got a flu shot. I don't think I'll get the flu shot again - its like I got a double whammy of this. I fully admit to being the plague dog on this bout but nobody else has gotten it nearly as bad as I, even though nobody else got the shot.



Honestly, at this point I think the shots are a crock.

[defacto7]

34. I got a flu shot every year for 31 years

for work related reasons and never had the flu once during that time. I stopped getting the flu shot about 10 years ago and have never had the flu once during that time either. I'm not sure what that means, really.

[Motown_Johnny]

142. maybe so many immunities built up that you are really really low risk

[MADem]

36. It's not as effective this year as others....sometimes it works better. It's also not so hot for

old folks or infants...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=flu-shots-may-not-protect-the-elderly-or-the-very-young

Flu Shots May Not Protect the Elderly or the Very Young
Despite government recommendations, there is little evidence that flu vaccines help individuals older than 65 or younger than two


http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/pandemics/2012/12/flu_vaccine_safety_tamiflu_and_vaccines_save_lives_and_show_public_health.html

The Flu Vaccine Controversy
Are drug companies really more dangerous than the flu virus?

[Agschmid]

47. Good articles, thanks! n/t

[A Little Weird]

61. Caretakers should get shots

I helped take care of my grandmother for awhile. Her doc gave her the flu shot but also stressed that I should get one too, as well as anyone else she was in frequent contact with. We were the ones that would likely be in a position to expose her to the virus in the first place.

[Raine]

37. No way ... never got one and never will. nt

[xchrom]

38. I always get one. Have for 25 years or more. Nt

[Recursion]

39. Few vaccines work like polio's

Some vaccines (polio comes to mind) mean you individually are protected from the disease. That's awesome.

Most vaccines (flu, for instance) mean you're less likely to get it, and if you do it will be a weaker disease, and you'll be less likely to spread it to others. Flu vaccination confers herd immunity if enough people get it, rather than individual immunity. If you are in frequent contact with children or the elderly you should definitely get it.

[sense]

124. Polio?

http://digitaljournal.com/article/323371

A new report by two Delhi pediatricians suggests that the sharp rise in childhood paralysis in India is due to the increased usage of the oral polio vaccine, a drug that was banned in the U.S. over a decade ago.

Dr. Neetu Vashisht and Dr. Jacob Puliyel of St. Stephens Hospital created the report after analyzing data from India’s 10-year-old National Polio Surveillance Project, which is available online. Their findings, which were published in the Indian Journal of medical Ethics, revealed that rates of non-polio acute flaccid paralysis (NPAFP) have increased 1200% since the oral polio vaccine was introduced to India a decade ago.


Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/323371#ixzz2GPm84RNn

The doctors provided other troubling details in their report:
“In 2011, there were an extra 47500 new cases of NPAFP . Clinically indistinguishable from polio paralysis but twice as deadly, the incidence of NPAFP was directly proportional to doses of oral polio received.”

[AngryOldDem]

40. Nope. Not getting one.

I'll take all the usual precautions, but if I get it, I get it. I have no underlying conditions so I feel comfortable in spinning the influenza wheel and seeing what happens.

Most people I've known who have gotten these shots have more often than not wound up sicker than dogs. I especially remember my mom, who was never sick a day in her life (in my memory) up until she got a shot during a big epidemic in 1976. She waited in line all day for it and then was laid up for a week. No thanks.

[PotatoChip]

41. I don't know what strain of flu is going around this year,

but I had H1N1 in 2009. The word miserable does not even begin to describe how awful it was. Lesson learned. I've been getting flu shots every year since. Usually much earlier in the flu season than this, but for various reasons, I never got around to doing it.

Will be getting one during my annual doctor's visit on Wednesday.

[Omaha Steve]

43. We got ours free

Between ins, employer, and coupons.

[whistler162]

44. Never got flu shots until recently...

worked alone, or just about, for 24+ years so no real need. Now that I am working around a hoards of rugrats everyday I figure it is safer, for me and them, to get one.

[hobbit709]

45. The only two times I've had the flu since 1968 was the two times I got a flu shot.

Every year Donna would get a flu shot and every year she'd get the flu. And every year I nursed her through it. When I first met her in 1976 she had the flue, then she got secondary strep throat and pneumonia. I'm sleeping in the same bed and I didn't even sniffle-she hated me.

[Logical]

51. You know this means nothing scientifically, correct?

[hobbit709]

57. Yes, but personally it does.

The poll was not about the scientific aspects

[gollygee]

46. I got one early in the season, but I still had the flu a little while back.

Oh well. One daughter and I got the flu shot, and we both got the flu. My husband and the other daughter were too busy and we didn't find time to get them in. Neither has had the flu yet. I'm sure it's a coincidence but there you go.

[Yo_Mama]

70. My doctor said that the local strain is not covered by the flu shot this year

He said that three-quarters of the patients he is seeing have the flu and that he gave at least half of them the flu shot himself, so the strains mutated or something. Also he and all his staff got sick, and they all had the flu shot, so the CDC is wrong about it being a good match this year at least where he is.

Some years it provides better protection than others. The formulate the flu shot months in advance to cover the common strains circulating then, and some years they shift before the end of the flu season.

My brother's family all got it, and they got the flu shot. They are in the Midlantic area.

[aquart]

159. Now that makes me nervous.

[stevenleser]

49. I get the flu shot every year and have never gotten the flu. This year I have delayed it longer than

I usually do, but seeing your graph, I am going to get the shot today!

[Logical]

52. People voting no I assume are not science minded or just cannot afford it.

[phylny]

115. See my post above. Insurance covers it, and I am science minded :)

I get sick every year from the vaccine, and have heard this year's formulation is not really working. I don't want to spend the weekend in bed from a vaccine. I had my pneumonia vaccine, and I'm not getting a flu vaccine.

[RobinA]

118. You Assume Wrong

The science doesn't support the flu shot.

[sense]

125. Perhaps your assumption is wrong

Most voting no have simply done the research, not followed the party line. The flu vaccine efficacy doesn't warrant its use. Follow the money.

[Logical]

126. OK, I get it, Big Pharma is evil. LOL.

[1-Old-Man]

53. First One: I'm in the middle of Chemo treatments and my Dr. insisted I get a flu shot

I never had one before but when the Oncologist insisted I have one this year I got it done right on the spot.

[seabeyond]

54. i never had the flu. i have never had the shot. nt

[Coyote_Tan]

55. Mandatory ... So yes...

[ReverendDeuce]

56. ATTENTION: If getting the flu shot, request an INTRADERMAL SHOT...

Since your insurance covers these things, just go to Walgreens or CVS and ask for the Fluzone Intradermal shot. SO much better than the kind with the big needle!

The intradermal shot barely punctures the skin, depositing the vaccine directly beneath the skin.

The standard intramuscular shot with the big needle actually has to go into the meat/muscle of your arm.

Intradermal is far, far less painful and the aches associated with the shot remain superficial at the worst. My arm just had a localized bruise effect and was warm for a few days (like a fever). So much better!

[Motown_Johnny]

143. my insurance didn't cover my shot

I just ran to Walgreens for the shot and they ran my card while I was there, no luck.


I had little or no side effects from the shot. A tiny little sting while receiving the shot and maybe a little body aches for the next day. They were so minor that they could have easily been from something else or maybe I was just imagining them.

[Agschmid]

149. May I ask who insurance Co. is? n/t

[Motown_Johnny]

152. Blue Care Network

Maybe because I went to Walgreen's instead of my doctor. I could have easily been out of network.

[Agschmid]

153. Ok thanks! I am going to do some Googling.

Curiosity is going to get me one day!

[Motown_Johnny]

155. thanks, but it was less than 32 bucks

so it could also be possible that I have a higher copay


not a big deal so don't take any risks on my account

[jdadd]

60. Got Mine at the VA clinic....

Before I started using the veterans administration clinic as my healthcare provider, I seldom got one.

[Turbineguy]

63. So a few years ago....

I had chest pain. I went to the Dr. They did a lab test. Came back "just" positive for "heart attack". They sent me to the hospital. Cardiac ward. Tests. They found nothing. I had the flu.

$23,000 hospital bill or $18 flu shot? Hmm.... that's a tuffy.

[Gothmog]

65. I got a flu shot in September

I have been fighting off a nasty cold for most of December and I really do not want to catch the flu

[Marrah_G]

67. I never had one before I had a 34 year old friend die of the swine flu

I don't know if the vaccine helps with the nastiest strains, but I'd rather take the shot.

[peace13]

68. The last flue shot I had gave me a welt, 4x6 inches at injection site.

No more for me. Of course the Health Department and doctors office have nothing to say about the reaction. 'Never saw that before', so that was the last shot, five years ago.

I had the flu before Christmas. I was down for the count five days. Not pretty. Asthma to boot so life was pretty exciting!

[Brainstormy]

69. Only flu symptoms I've had

in ten years were after a flu shot. I would never get one again. In terms of actually protecting you from this season's flu, they're a shot in the dark anyway.

[LisaLynne]

74. That was my experience, too.

I'm not in the health care field or a high risk population, so I skip them. Like you said, they have to guess what strains are going to be active, so it's not like a silver bullet.

[mucifer]

71. I'm a hospice nurse. I go to 4 or 5 homes a day.

I'd feel horrible if I was making families sicker by not having the shot. This year we have extra shots and we are offering some for free to low income family members of our patients.

[Sissyk]

170. Thank You for what you do!

Unfortunately, I have had four occasions where I have been around Hospice Nurses. You are the best, most caring, compassionate people I have ever met.

Again, Thank You for what you do.

[LisaLynne]

75. Ambivalence... the strangest place -- yet the funniest option I've seen in a poll.

[Eleanors38]

82. Got a chuckle out of that, too. I once wrote a short story

about the seductive power of ambivalence; the cooling of bath water, yet reluctance to leave.

[Agschmid]

110. Haha I try...

Sometimes ambivalence is good thing sometimes it's bad thing, I guess I am indifferent to how you took the phrasing.

(It would have been way to easy to be ridiculous with that post!)

[judy]

76. No way!

Not only last year did I get viral meningitis from the shot (as a neurologist told me), but I also got the flu...
Flu shots are like TSA Airport rules: they are made after the fact, and only look for last year's flu.

[Robb]

84. Um. Is that common?

I've never heard of getting viral meningitis from a flu shot.

[Lars39]

88. You were already "incubating" the flu when you got the shot.

[judy]

137. I have thought of that...

I think it is definitely possible.
But the neurologist I was with on my trip, said he had seen quite a few cases of meningitis after a flu shot.
I'm a medical ignoramus, so I don't really know...but it was not pleasant

[Lars39]

139. Here's the CDC on the flu vaccinations:

"It's dead, Jim"
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm

Interesting about viral meningitis:

http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/viral.html

Spend too much time on that site...

[Marrah_G]

166. There is no way to get the flu from the flu shot.

I also was curious and checked for information about the meningitis being caused by the flu vaccine and found nothing.

Do you live in Michigan? I did find this story: http://www.wlns.com/story/19866899/health-officials-flu-vaccine-not-connected-with-meningitis-outbreak

[davsand]

79. I got one this year.

Left me with sore arm for a few days.

A few days before Christmas, I started running a fever and felt like shit. Had the cough and all the other symptoms of flu along with it. Was bitching about this to my Doc, and was informed that the STRAIN of flu they were expecting (and I was vaccinated for) was not the one that I'd picked up. He told me that locally this year that has been a lot more common than in past years.

YMMV.



Laura

[Mr Dixon]

85. SMH

Haven’t had a flu shot in like 13 years, when I got out the military I stopped taking the Flu Shots I have not had the flu ever since, things that make you wonder. Side note in the military it is mandatory.

[Robb]

86. Please do not decide based on this thread.

The plural of "anecdote" is not "data."

Read the data, it only makes sense to get the shot.

[Posteritatis]

102. If I decided health advice based on DU threads I'd have to retroactively die, I think. (nt)

[Agschmid]

111. Oh my! n/t

[Eleanors38]

87. Google free flu shots. Haphazard scroll of agencies offering free shots

[Burma Jones]

90. Well, one year we decided to skip the Flu Shots for the kids due to the pseudoscience scare BS

And our son with asthmatic bronchitis wound up in the ICU with breathing problems.

That was the last time I listened to the bullshit.

Anyway, this is just another anecdote, so you just look at the data and figure it out. Once I just took a cold hard look at the data, we get the shots.......

[Fearless]

91. Meh

I'm a healthy person in their 20's. If I get the flu I'll get over it. Moving on....

[WolverineDG]

93. I was a healthy person in my 20s when I got kicked in the ass by the flu

was out of work for 1 week. All I did was sleep, then wake up long enough to go to the bathroom & take Nyquil & orange juice. Even though I took it really slow, it took me almost 3 months to come close to feeling "normal."

[Fearless]

94. I've got a weeks vacation time sitting around.

And I've worked the last 9 or so straight days. Meh. I've had it before. It won't kill me.

[Posteritatis]

101. A friend of mine was pretty much crippled by the really bad flu strain a few years ago

Month in a coma, neurological damage from secondary infections, the works. He's still got a cane, but doesn't use it that much anymore. He was in his mid-twenties at the time.

[Motown_Johnny]

146. What if you pass the flu onto someone who can't just move on?

Isn't breaking the chain of infection worth a shot?

They are only about 60% effective so if you get one and you are in that 60% you are helping those in the 40% stay healthy, as well as those who do not get the shot.

[Marrah_G]

165. I used to think that way

Then I had a 34 year old friend die from swine flu.

There are many different varieties of influenza and there have already been a number of healthy teen deaths this year.

I hope that if you don't get one, you at least act with alot of caution this flu season.

[politicat]

98. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive.

I have to use the nasal, attenuated version rather than the killed injection. This actually rather sucks, because it means I get influenza-lite for three days afterwards. (But this is much better than either getting the flu or the reaction to the injection.) Thus, I have to take it on a Thursday (so I can have several days to feel normal again.)

But the two pharmacies that carry it (my doc does not) have been out of stock.

[Mdterp01]

103. Child.....I got my flu shot

My doctor recommended it when I went in for a check up. First year I've ever gotten the flu shot. I've never had the flu before but considering how bad it is this year I'm glad I got it.

[ileus]

104. Sure go ahead, it isn't working that great this year

but it does shorten the lifespan of the sickness, and if you get tamaflu early enough it's not much worse than a cold.

My wife and I both have had the flu this season and in just a few days we were over it.

[kestrel91316]

106. Herd health: We who get flu shots are shouldering the burden of protecting the entire herd.

But 61% isn't enough to stop the virus from propagating through the population. Vaccination rates need to be even higher.

I walked across the street to our local giant grocery chain about a month ago for mine. They do $25 flu shots in their pharmacy area. Completely uneventful. My arm was a little sore to the touch for a couple of days.

[CTyankee]

108. I think you are nuts not to have one. I got mine pretty late, actually, in early December.

I was out of the country in October and just didn't get to it until early Dec. But I got it done because I'd heard all the horror stories and I didn't want one to be me!...

It's all good since...so, no worries...

[Quantess]

116. It's not "ambivalence is the strangest place"-.

I choose not to vote because I don't like your biased wording.

I am ambivalent, in that I don't see it being worth the money or effort. It's actually not that a "strange" of a "place".

[Agschmid]

117. Well them I suggest ambivalence is not really your answer...

Since you have already made up your mind.



http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambivalence

[Agschmid]

119. Getting worse!

The flu is currently at epidemic levels across the five boroughs, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley announced Thursday.

Officials said a full 5 percent of emergency room visits are flu-related.

“It’s a bad year. We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe. So we’re seeing plenty of cases of flu and plenty of people sick with flu,” Farley told reporters including WCBS 880?s Rich Lamb.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/10/farley-severe-strain-of-flu-reaches-epidemic-proportions-in-new-york-city/

[REP]

120. Changed my vote from "getting one" to "got mine" - also got pneumo jab updated

Yay! I feel like crap! (Always do after vaccines)

[Agschmid]

121. Got mine too, forget to change my vote I will get on that ASAP!

Fell better!

[REP]

123. I feel better just knowing I won't feel worse! :-)

[City Lights]

122. Got mine today!

[pinto]

127. Got mine.

[budkin]

128. I always end up getting the flu when I get one, so I'm not

[99Forever]

129. Yes, it's a no brainer.

There have been over 2 dozen deaths in our state alone from the flu, including previously healthy kids and zero from the vaccine.

[Agschmid]

130. +1 Please get it! n/t

[KT2000]

131. It worked for me...

have been at a hospital in Seattle for several days while my brother underwent major surgery. The hospital was swamped with flu patients and we had to wear a mask and use hand sanitizer when he was in ICU in case we did have it.
The area has several large hospitals and apartment buildings so a trip to the store would bring us in contact with sick people.

So far so good! They said it was a good match this year.

[1StrongBlackMan]

132. I haven't gotten a flu shot ...

because everytime I did, it worked ... I got the flu.

For the last 6 seasons; no shot, no flu.

[HockeyMom]

133. My daughter gave her cold to me for Christmas

Very bad cold, but not the flu. However, if you already have a cold, you cannot get a Flu Shot.

[Jennicut]

135. I get one every year but I'm a type 1 diabetic.

My daughter has asthma and I have her get one every year too.
The young, the old and those with underlying conditions really should get it.
I have never had a bad reaction to the shot.

[enlightenment]

136. CDC

planned for three strains (and multiple varieties within those) this year.

Since October 1, 2012, CDC has antigenically characterized 521 influenza viruses, including 17 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses, 327 influenza A (H3N2) viruses and 177 influenza B viruses.

All 17 of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses were characterized as A/California/7/2009-like. This is the influenza A (H1N1) component of the Northern Hemisphere vaccine for the 2012-2013 season.

Of the 327 influenza A (H3N2) viruses, 325 (99%) were characterized as A/Victoria/361/2011-like. This is the influenza A (H3N2) component of the Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine for the 2012-2013 season.

Approximately 67% of the 177 influenza B viruses belonged to the B/Yamagata lineage of viruses, and were characterized as B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like, the influenza B component for the 2012-2013 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine. The remaining 33% of the tested influenza B viruses belonged to the B/Victoria lineage of viruses.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/summary.htm

I'm definitely not a medical person, but it looks like they're saying that 33% of the B viruses are a variety they didn't have in the vaccine and two (2) viruses from the H3N2 set aren't covered . . . so out of 521 different viruses, there are (roughly) 60 that this year's vaccine don't cover.

What does that work out to in odds?

[Motown_Johnny]

141. The gun debate convinced me to get a flu shot

I never get flu shots and I have only had the flu twice in my life ( I am pushing 50 ). As a rule I don't worry about it because I am not high risk and I figure the shot can go to someone more needing. If the vaccine was in short supply I still might have skipped it but since it is so late in the season and there seems to still be a reasonable supply I went ahead and got one.

The gun debate made me rethink this a bit. The people who are killed from this disease are catching it from someone, who caught it from someone else.. and so on and so on...

If my dropping $31.99 and getting a flu shot breaks that chain so that I don't pass the flu onto others, then it was worth it. Maybe not for me directly but for the people who are higher risk that are somewhere down that chain. I will never know if I prevented others from getting sick but I did lower the probability of others getting the flu. That is the best I can do so I did it.


I hope others who have not gotten a shot consider this line of thinking and ask themselves if getting the shot is worth it to help protect others.

[Lars39]

144. Community Immunity ("Herd" Immunity), posted by littlemissmartypants....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022186994

Good chart.

[Motown_Johnny]

147. thanks

Edit because I misunderstood the post

I thought I misspelled Immunity and this was a correction... DOH!


Nice chart though, thanks again.

[Lars39]

150. Eh, it's still my bifocals' fault. :-)

[Motown_Johnny]

151. edited post, my bad

[Agschmid]

148. Great chart, posting here so no link required.

Thans for sharing!

[NCTraveler]

145. I am middle age and kind of healthy.

That is why I don't get one. I live in a hotbed of the elderly. Want to make sure there is enough for them. I will get one when I get a little older.

[Motown_Johnny]

154. please look at the chart posted right above your post

[NCTraveler]

157. That is interesting and makes obvious sense.

But we will not get to a point where most are immunized.

[Motown_Johnny]

162. all you can do is break the chain for those you might expose

the chart is just a way to illustrate the possible benefits

[Marrah_G]

167. I would suggest getting one if you can

One way these things are controlled is by vaccinating as many as possible, this would be especially important in an area with alot of at risk citizens.

[NCTraveler]

169. That is a valid point. nt.

[revolution breeze]

156. My cousin's husband

And I know it was a 1 in 100,000,000 chance of this happening, got his flu shot in 2006 and the doctor somehow hit a nerve with the vaccine. He went home, developed a low grade fever and aches, but the next morning he was in a coma. He was put on a respirator to help him breathe while waiting for his children to make it home. When they took him off the machines, he continued to breathe on his own. He tested positive for the flu virus for weeks. He remained comatose for almost six months, but recovered and was paralyzed from mid-abdomen down. The pain our family suffered during the ordeal and seeing a former marathon runner in a wheelchair due to a vaccine will not allow me to get vaccinated.

[johnnyrocket]

160. No way? Who answers "no way"? Vaccines are fundamental to human health...

...they've been around in various forms for thousands of years. And besides, not getting a shot means you increase chances for others to get sick.

Get a damn flu shot.

[Marrah_G]

168. Some people are afraid of anything the government is backing

Some people don't trust doctors.

And then there is the misinformation flowing through the rumor mill that people easily believe.

Without vaccines, the world would be a much scarier place.

[Undaunted]

161. Never found that I needed one.

[graywarrior]

171. Never had a flu shot. Never had the flu.

[ismnotwasm]

172. Yes please

I work as a nurse, and while any single vaccination is not going to cover all viruses, it does provide good protection. we've been seeing way too many hospitalized flu cases this year; granted, the cases that mostly end up in the hospital are immunosuppressed in someway, elderly or in the case of the children's hospital quite young.

We've had more than one patient get the the flu brought in from a family member.