Flu Shot...Are you getting one?

[monkeybug]

I have friends that get it, premie babies and the whole family gets it. I choose not to.

You know people who got the flu shot for a premature baby? It's my understanding that babies can not be vaccinated against the flu until they are 6 months of age, which is why they always recommend parents and caregivers of babies under the age of 6 months get the vaccine, to help prevent the unvaccinated infant from contracting it.

 

[mhsjax]

You know people who got the flu shot for a premature baby? It's my understanding that babies can not be vaccinated against the flu until they are 6 months of age, which is why they always recommend parents and caregivers of babies under the age of 6 months get the vaccine, to help prevent the unvaccinated infant from contracting it.

This is what I get for trying to multitask. I just can't do it. lol I meant to say the the family got flu shots every year. They have triplets that are now around 10 years old and they were premature and run the risk of getting sick and one has lung issues to begin with, so they all get flu shots. Sorry didn't mean that the premies got the shots.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

I find it interesting that there are a handful of Guillain-Barre cases on here. It's so "rare" but yet everyone knows someone who has had it.

I also find it interesting that those reactions are not being addressed by other posters. Our son had GBS (NOT caused by a flu shot) when he was in high school. A serious competitive athlete, he was paralyzed from the neck up and the waist down. Very lucky. It took him four months of intense physical therapy and acceleration training to get back.

He was told NEVER to have a Menningitis vaccine or a flu shot. Every other type of vaccination is to be run by his Neurologist before he gets it.

Our family is in health care and we have never, and will never get flu shots. I would rather be sick for two weeks in bed than spend a good part of a year trying to recover from GBS. I believe we are at higher risk than most because there was a case in our family.

To each their own, but there ARE real risks to getting the flu shot.

 

[mrssmee]

I got mine today. I have been getting them every year for the last 9 years (had my first flu shot during my first pregnancy). I am one of the unlucky ones who actually does experience most of the mild reactions (the ones listed on the information sheet from the CDC they give you when you get the shot), however those are NOTHING compared with having the flu.

For those of you who say you never get sick and have a great immune system....I hope you don't end up like my husband. In the 17 years I have known him, he never had the flu. He was on an antibiotic ONCE for a sinus infection. I can count on one hand the number of times he had ANY type of illness. He has never thrown up since I've known him. I worked at day cares in college, then I taught elementary school after graduation, so I brought home all kinds of bugs! He never caught them from me. Once we had kids and they brought home bugs from school, I would catch them....he wouldn't. We would joke that he was like Superman!

And then....he caught the flu last year. He was in bed for two weeks. He ended up in the hospital. It was HORRIBLE. So just because you've always been healthy does not mean you will never catch the flu....and it does not mean you won't get very sick if you do!!

 

[pigletgirl]

Yes, yes and yes!!!

Once you've had the true flu you will never ever ever skip the opportunity to get vaccinated.
Plus, there have been people who are perfectly healthy die from the flu. Why risk it?

 

[scbelleatheart]

Never!

 

[knitster]

Yes, yes and yes!!!

Once you've had the true flu you will never ever ever skip the opportunity to get vaccinated.

...I've had the flu. The true, tested, diagnosed, knocked me out of commission for 2 weeks, flu and I have never and will never get the flu vaccine.

 

[DebbieB]

Getting it October 4 at work. I get one every year for the past 5 or 6 years and have not been sick. I travel frequently so I worry about picking something up.

 

[pigletgirl]

...I've had the flu. The true, tested, diagnosed, knocked me out of commission for 2 weeks, flu and I have never and will never get the flu vaccine.

I don't get it?!

 

[tlbwriter]

I find it interesting that there are a handful of Guillain-Barre cases on here. It's so "rare" but yet everyone knows someone who has had it.

The plural of "anecdote" is not "data." Threads like this tend to attract people who are interested in the topic, and have a strong opinion about it. And often they have a strong opinion because of their own personal experience or that of people they know, so of course they're going to end up here. That's kind of like saying "I find it interesting that only 2% of the American population has gone to WDW, and yet so many people on this board have gone there. It's so 'rare' and yet we've all done it."

Anyway, you're right, there ARE risks to the flu shot. There are also risks to not getting the flu shot. I have no problem with people (like your son) who know they are at an increased risk from the vaccine and make an informed decision not to have one. That's smart. What's not smart is making a decision without finding out what all of the risks are on both sides, and spreading misinformation.

 

[powellrj]

Yes, yes and yes!!!

Once you've had the true flu you will never ever ever skip the opportunity to get vaccinated.
Plus, there have been people who are perfectly healthy die from the flu. Why risk it?

I have had the true flu twice in my lifetime and I am over 50, and both time I had it were the years I decided to get flu shots. I had the shots in the fall and had the flu in Feb, so it wasn't a reaction to the shot, I just think it weakened my immune system. I discussed it with my Doctor last month and she agreed that I could pass on the flu shots.

 

[bevgray]

Four months to recover from GBS? He was very lucky indeed. For those who have no experience with this nasty stuff, a common name for it is French Polio.

As to "everyone knows someone who has had it", perhaps it is because there are far more survivors now. 40-50 years ago, acute patients typically died at the catastrophic onset because there were fewer hospitals and not all had the ICU set up to provide patient support during the crisis of the illness. Also, due to the Swine Flu innoculations a couple of decades ago and the H1N1 epidemic last year, there has been a lot of media coverage about it.

 

[Geoff_M]

The plural of "anecdote" is not "data." Threads like this tend to attract people who are interested in the topic, and have a strong opinion about it. And often they have a strong opinion because of their own personal experience or that of people they know, so of course they're going to end up here. That's kind of like saying "I find it interesting that only 2% of the American population has gone to WDW, and yet so many people on this board have gone there. It's so 'rare' and yet we've all done it."

Anyway, you're right, there ARE risks to the flu shot. There are also risks to not getting the flu shot. I have no problem with people (like your son) who know they are at an increased risk from the vaccine and make an informed decision not to have one. That's smart. What's not smart is making a decision without finding out what all of the risks are on both sides, and spreading misinformation.

Aaaaaaaaaamen!!! But it's getting better, it's impressive that this year we've made it 8 pages so far and no one's tried to claim that there's "human fetal tissue" or "agent orange" in flu shots.

 

[Pigeon]

Once you've had the true flu you will never ever ever skip the opportunity to get vaccinated.

Had the flu, bought the t-shirt, not getting vaccinated.

 

[sbell111]

Well actually I had about 2 days of feeling like crap and running a fever. With the flu, and yes I was tested...

I think that it's important to remember a few things. First, since the flu vaccine contains no live virus, you can't actually catch the flu from the vaccine shot. It's also important to note that the vaccine doesn't protect you immediately upon receiving it. It takes time to become effective. During this time, a person can certainly catch the flu (perhaps from those sick people in your doctor's office when you went to get vaccinated ). Finally, the flu shot doesn't provide protection against all strains of the flu. It includes vaccine against what has been predetermined to likely be the few worst flus, but others are certainly out there.

I got the flu shot last year for the first time ever. I think it was November. I was very ill in January, so bad that after five days I dragged myself to ER. They took Xrays and discovered I had a horrible case of pneumonia and probably had the flu.

Again, teh flu shot doesn't provide protection against every flu strain.

You know people who got the flu shot for a premature baby? It's my understanding that babies can not be vaccinated against the flu until they are 6 months of age, which is why they always recommend parents and caregivers of babies under the age of 6 months get the vaccine, to help prevent the unvaccinated infant from contracting it.

Our doctor 'ordered' my wife to get vaccinated last year so the wiggly one would receive the antibodies via breastmilk.

The plural of "anecdote" is not "data." Threads like this tend to attract people who are interested in the topic, and have a strong opinion about it. And often they have a strong opinion because of their own personal experience or that of people they know, so of course they're going to end up here. That's kind of like saying "I find it interesting that only 2% of the American population has gone to WDW, and yet so many people on this board have gone there. It's so 'rare' and yet we've all done it."

The reason that analogy is flawed is because this is a Disney forum, not a GBS forum. Also, it should be noted that people sometimes 'color' thier posts by saying that something has directly affected them, when it hasn't. Sadly, this is behavior is fairly common and is just one more reason why no one should believe anything that they read on an internet forum without doing additional research. (This, of course, is not to say that those who have stated in this thread that they have been personally affected by GBS are lying. )

 

[Geoff_M]

The reason that analogy is flawed is because this is a Disney forum, not a GBS forum. Also, it should be noted that people sometimes 'color' thier posts by saying that something has directly affected them, when it hasn't. Sadly, this is behavior is fairly common and is just one more reason why no one should believe anything that they read on an internet forum without doing additional research. (This, of course, is not to say that those who have stated in this thread that they have been personally affected by GBS are lying. )

I think it's fitting, while this isn't a GBS forum/thread, the poster was talking about the group of people drawn to this thread. The posters correctly noted that it's going to mostly draw people that have a strong feelings and/or personal experiences about the subject, pro or con. Therefore, the relative experiences expressed here shouldn't be taken as representative of the general population... and that was the point (I believe) of the analogy.

Also, one other note about the Swine Flu vaccine and GBS from the 70's... In the final analysis the CDC found that the instances of GBS were only somewhat elevated from what is normally expected from flu vaccines. More importantly, the reason that the CDC stopped the vaccination program wasn't so much the media reports of cases of GBS, but the fact that the "outbreak" of Swine Flu never made it outside of the gates of Fort Dix, NJ. The CDC concluded that it didn't make sense to subject the population to possible side-effects of vaccination (both real and feared due to media reports) for an epidemic that petered out before it started. The CDC also reported that if the actual outbreak had happened as feared, the program would have continued as the benefits would have outweighed the risks. Similar calculus was done in the wake of 9/11 when some in the government wanted to start vaccinating people against smallpox again due to the threat of bio-terrorism.

 

[SnowWtch]

I used to not get the shot but with my asthma and me being sick so often my doctor recommended it. So, I got the flu and the pneumonia last year and I haven't been sick even half as much this year. Looking forward to getting the shot again this year. In fact, I'm thinking of getting if after work today so I have it done before we go down to Orlando next weekend.

 

[bettymae1121]

At 34 I've never had the flu so don't feel the need to get the shot since I'm generally healthy. I'm not anti vax (very much pro vax, actually), just feel that anything medical related should only be done if truely necessesary, and for me personally, I don't think it's needed.

 

[tlbwriter]

I think it's fitting, while this isn't a GBS forum/thread, the poster was talking about the group of people drawn to this thread. The posters correctly noted that it's going to mostly draw people that have a strong feelings and/or personal experiences about the subject, pro or con. Therefore, the relative experiences expressed here shouldn't be taken as representative of the general population... and that was the point (I believe) of the analogy.

Thank you, that was my point exactly - this group is NOT a random sample.

 

[disney_mommy]

The whole family gets them every year. Last year my son and I both got H1N1 and I was reminded of why we get them. Count us among the vaccinated.