Flu Shot...Are you getting one?

[luvmy3]

Yes, flu shot every year in our house.

 

[MissyDVC]

I just had a my first one last week at Walgreens--no problem--and my kids will have theirs in 2 weeks. My DS had H1N1 last year and it was bad and I'd like to do what i can help prevent it. And P.S., we live a healthy, active lifestyle but after seeing my son so sick, I wanted to try to do what I could.

 

[Pigeon]

Nope, never do.

But I do love the annual flu shot hype, last year's being the best. First there's the big push to get everybody to get the shot. If you don't get the shot, you will drop dead.

Then there's the inevitable shortage. If you are old or a member of specific groups, you must get the shot or drop dead. Everyone else will be fine if they don't get the shot, and they should stop worrying about it.

Then the supply catches up. Now all those people who didn't get the shot should get it immediately or again they will drop dead (even if flu season is over).

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

Yup all the kids are done & I've got my appt. all set.

 

[LuvLDM]

Yes, the entire family gets it every year.

 

[charming23]

Nope. I had a reaction the one and only year I got it and have decided not to do so again. I am in fairly good health, allergies being my biggest downfall. I have yet to get the flu. My mom however gets the shot due to her age and health issues and does fine with it every year.

 

[okeydokey]

Sure will.

 

[AristocatFan]

Nope. Never do. I'm allergic to thimersol. DD received it once when she was a year old and 3 days later was in the hospital with RSV. So nobody here gets flu shots.

 

[pooh4evr]

absolutely- Dh kids and I all do-Dh is in healthcare (and has Ms) so he is in a higher risk group that has to have it -- and FWIW the PP are right you don't get "sick" from the shot, you may have areaction from something,or youwere exposed to the virus before you had the shot but the vaccine itself does not make you sick.

 

[Nette]

Nope. I'm one of the "lucky" few who got Guillian Barre from a flu shot. My kids don't get them either... just in case whatever caused me to get GBS is hereditary. DH will not get his this year for the first time in 22 years... he retired from the military in March.

 

[Aristomommy]

Nope, never do.

But I do love the annual flu shot hype, last year's being the best. First there's the big push to get everybody to get the shot. If you don't get the shot, you will drop dead.

Then there's the inevitable shortage. If you are old or a member of specific groups, you must get the shot or drop dead. Everyone else will be fine if they don't get the shot, and they should stop worrying about it.

Then the supply catches up. Now all those people who didn't get the shot should get it immediately or again they will drop dead (even if flu season is over).

First, my family gets the seasonal flu shot and last year the H1N1 as well.

The "hype" you refer to is pretty insulting to us in the healthcare field. We take care of the ones who are deathly ill as a result of the flu complications. Esp. with H1N1, it was children that would not have died from regular flu, that died from the swine flu. Many people that fall into the high risk group, don't even consider themselves high risk (obesity has been added as a high risk for complications). To say "it's just the flu" takes a different meaning when it takes a loved ones life.

It's better to discuss with your doctor the need for the flu shot. While not everyone needs it because they would die from it, there are many people who should get it for various reasons that put it off as hype.

 

[crashbb]

I'll be getting it. The one time I got the flu, I managed to turn it into pneumonia in both lungs. And that was long before I got diagnoses with Lupus, which puts me at greater risk for complications.

And I work in a hospital (though I am not in a position where I am required to get the shot). They come right by my office to give the shot (and then give me candy), so it is very, very easy to get done.

 

[emdav]

Nope. For us, I don't think the benefit outweighs the risk. YMMV.

 

[Jennasis]

I got mine on Monday.

Since we are travelling to WDW and will be surrounded by thousands of germ carrying strangers, I thought it would be wise. My dad contracted H1N1 on a cruise last year and became supremely ill.

 

[C.Ann]

Yes - already have my appointment.. I don't have health insurance right now either - I'm in the midst of obtaining new coverage - so my doctor was kind enough to say she would waive the cost of both the flu shot and the office visit.. She's a gem!

 

[I*heart*MickeyMouse]

Yes, we will all get the flu shot this year. The flu shot is NOT HYPE, and how degrading and belittling to even suggest it. Do you know anyone who has died from the flu? Not H1N1 in particular, but any flu? I know TWO people - one was a 5 year old girl and the other was an elderly woman. The girl's mother can not and will not ever forgive herself for not getting the flu shot for her dd... you do everything to protect your kids - car seats, helmets on their bikes, etc, and yet you don't get a flu shot? The elderly woman never got the shot because nobody could take her and she died early in the flu season...

Of course if you are anti-vax for your kids you aren't going to get the flu shot for them, but since I vax, and I've always had to get the flu shot for work, we all get them.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

"Flu seasons are unpredictable and can be severe. Over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, estimates of flu-associated deaths range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people."

 

[Jennasis]

There was a sign at my doctor's office and at Walgreen's stating the CDC was recommending that everybody get vaccinated this year, not just the very old or very young. From the CDC website:

Who Should Get the Seasonal Flu Vaccine?

Phtoo: A familyEveryone! For the first time, all people 6 months and older are recommended for annual influenza vaccination. This year's flu vaccine will protect against three viruses (an H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus and the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season).

 

[dodukes]

There was a sign at my doctor's office and at Walgreen's stating the CDC was recommending that everybody get vaccinated this year, not just the very old or very young. From the CDC website:

$$$ of course everyone should get vaccinated!

 

[Jennasis]

$$$ of course everyone should get vaccinated!

Does the CDC get paid for every flu shot given out?

 

[2binak]

My employer also offers free shots and I will be getting one again this year. In 2001, I got my first flu shot and that was the first year I was not hit with the flu. I've gotten the shot every year since and been healthy since. Before getting the shot, I would get the flu at least once, sometimes twice a year. DD and DH will be getting flu shots as well.