Did you/will you get a flu shot?

[disneychick0412]

I got my flu shot a couple days ago (I get one every year). I've really been
amazed by the people who don't get one because they think they will get sick or they know someone who got sick.
One of my co-workers said she doesn't get one because her dad did, and ended up with pneumonia afterward. Another insists that she got one 4 years in a row, and ended up violently sick each time.

Do you get the flu shot? If not, why???

 

[jenrose66]

My two boys have gotten one every year since they were 6 months old. They are preservative free and I believe it's important to protect them from sickness. I got my very first flu shot this year. I'm pregnant and there will be a newborn in the home at the height of flu season plus my son is in preschool for the first time so there will be enough sickness in the house...if I can help prevent her from getting sick I will. DH is still holding out. Needles make him squeamish and he says he can't get the shot. I told him I'll take him for the shot and he's being selfish to put his newborn at risk by refusing to get a shot that takes all of two seconds.

 

[pixiedustaholic]

Yes, I already got mine...didn't even make my arm sore like it usually does. I have gotten mine yearly and have never had the flu. Both my kid shave gotten them and have never had the flu....except H1N1 last year before the vaccine was available. DH won't get one b/c he says it makes him feel bad. I don't push the issue...but think having the flu would make him feel much worse.

A lot of people have been misinformed about the flu shot giving you the flu, etc. by other people who have beeen told by other people, who have been told by other people, who have been told....you know..."THEY" say....

 

[kimblebee]

Nope. Never had one and don't plan on starting. Didn't get the H1N1 last year and neither did my 10yo daughter. It is just a flu, it won't kill you, despite what people will have you believe.

 

[powellrj]

I have had 2 flu shots in my life and that was also the only 2 times I have had the flu in my life, so no, I no longer get flu shots. When my new Doctor asked me if I wanted a flu shot this year, I told her no and why and she agreed that if it were her, she doubted that she would either.

You can tell me how wrong I am, but I remember just how sick I was both times, so thats enough to make me say no thanks.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DH and I got our shots on Monday. Our two boys got theirs today at their Dr's. office. DS12 got flu mist while DS15 opted for the shot. I get one every year, especially since I work in a special needs preschool class. The kids bring in every germ you can think of and many aren't good about keeping their fingers out of their noses and mouths. Before my boys started getting the shots, they would each spend a week or so out of school with the flu. Neither has gotten the flu since they started getting shots.

I have heard so many people saying they won't get the shot because it makes them get the flu. It's a dead virus and cannot cause the flu! Some people get colds or other viruses and mistake those for the flu when, actually, they had nothing to do with getting the shot.

Jenrose - Maybe your husband could get Flu mist instead of a shot? It's just like sniffing nose spray. My needle-hating 12 year old doesn't mind it at all.

 

[Miss Peach]

Hi!

Up until four years ago we (the hubs and I) never got the flu shot, neither of us had ever had the flu, and not being fans of the needle we never really thought about it.

Then in 2006 we both got the flu, it was so awful. We were so sick for two weeks, and then it took months before we felt truly over it. The next year we RAN to get the shot!! Yah, no flu. The same for the next year.

Then the whole swine flu confusion. The two shots, and they were being rationed. By the time they were readily available we were fighting colds, and well, just never did it. BUT didn't get sick either!!

But this year, not wanting to press our luck, off we went. Got our shots, got the achy arms and that sort of 'dauncy' feeling. But we are set for the season!!

And now we have that--"I'm a good citizen' feeling---like when I get when I give blood!!

Cathy

 

[taylor3297]

Shot=dead virus
Mist=live virus

 

[DebbieB]

I got it on October 4, no problem except a sore arm. I've had it the last 4 or 5 years and never got the flu.

 

[si-am]

Sometimes I get the shot and sometimes I don't.

I've gotten the flu on years I've had the shot, and I've gotten the flu years I haven't.

Then again, there have been some years I've NOT gotten the flu after not getting the shot, and some years I've not gotten the flu without the shot anyway.

I really think there are so many strains out there, it can't cover everything.

 

[tvguy]

I've gotten one the last 6 years, my employer provided them for free, and STRONGLY encouraged employees to get them.
Got one in about 1997 too, and got a swine flu shot in 1976....no choice in that one, my mom was a nurse, and her employer REQUIRED all employees and everyone living in their households to get them.
Can't remember the last time I had the flu, I think it was in the early 1990's, but I don't get a lot of colds either.

 

[locolala]

DH already got his, and I'll be getting mine very soon. We have a 3 month old in the house.. we have to protect her as much as we can. DH doesn't have an option since he's active duty, I have to if I want to go back to work this winter.. which I do.

 

[LuLuO]

Before I had kids, I never bothered to get the flu shot, mostly out of laziness and I rarely got sick so I figured, why bother? But since having kids, I've gotten the flu shot mostly to help protect them, but also because I feel that I am exposed to a lot more than I was before the kids came along, especially since DD has started school. The kids and DH also get vaccinated.

I did not get the H1N1 shot last year but DH and the kids did. DH was required to by the Military and the kids fell into one of the most at risk age groups. I did not fall into one of those at risk categories and the clinics around here were not giving the shot to "regular people" and neither was my PCP. So it was too much trouble and I gave up.

We've all had our shots for this year.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

Yes, I got my flu shot a couple weeks ago.

 

[Mama-san]

I will be getting mine this week (free through DH's work). Got them free at my previous job. Never had any bad reaction or gotten the flu. My kids will get them at school if they give them out this year like they did last year.

My DH has never had one and won't get one. I know it's pointless to try to convince him otherwise.

 

[Michelle and crew]

No, not getting one. We aren't high risk, and we tend to be healthy. No one here has ever had the flu.

I suspect that the people choosing not to get one because they became ill before are making reasonable decisions for themselves. If they don't get one, then get the flu, they can decide next year whether they will get one or not.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

I got mine yesterday at work for free. DH will do the same next week. DS got his flu mist at a check up, DD didn't get one. If she went to the dr for something and it was convenient, she probably would, but going to the peds is a pain and she's healthy so I'm not paranoid about it.

I know you are not supposed to get sick from the shot but some people are adamant that they do, and who am I to judge? They don't have to get it if they don't want to, but it bothers me when they scare other people out of getting one.

It won't protect you from all strains so it's not a guarantee that you won't get sick, but some protection is better than none.

My great grandmother lost 2 sisters in the flu epidemic of 1917, so the flu can kill even young people, although I admit that was a particularly bad strain. Young kids and the elderly are the most vulnerable, as are the people in close contact with them. Most healthy young adults probably don't really need a shot, but it's still a good idea.

 

[5 for WDW]

I got my flu shot today. I get it every year. My kids got theirs three weeks ago and my husband got his (as well as the pneumonia vax) two weeks ago since he was going in for major surgery on the 11th.

We are a high risk family. Two of my children and I all have asthma. None of us have ever had the flu and we hope we don't ever get it!

 

[MattsPrincess]

I can't remember the last time I got one, but I also can't remember the last time I got the flu.

DH has to get it every year and, without fail, has gotten an upper respiratory infection within a week every single time. *they do the nasal spray version* He hates it, and tried to fight it last year but lost that battle, and got sick as usual.

 

[arminnie]

I got mine at work for years.

Last year I never got one. Just was never convenient.

I got one last week at Walmart (where I seem to go every day now). It was so easy and was free.