Flu Shot

[CentralFloridian99]

I've never had a flu shot and never had the flu, even though both my children had the flu in the past.

I haven't had the flu shot since 2007 or so, but I saw alot of sick people back in October, so I just got the shot.

 

[DebbieB]

Not to mention that the flu shot this year only has about a 62% effectiveness rate, so getting it is no guarantee of anything.

Even though it's not 100%, I think a reduction in the chance is worth it. I used to travel alot and started getting it, 7 or 8 years ago. I've never got the flu. Was I exposed and didn't get it because of the shot? Or was I never exposed? No way to know.

 

[hellow]

I won't get one. I have had so many other vaccines like HEP A, B & C , malaria plus more and had no reaction. I got the measles vaccine because I never had the measles when I was TTC. I got the measles at Christmas 1 week after the vaccine.

This happened to my son, but he got mumps. It was actually the second MMR dose. So the dr. said the first dose left him virtually unprotected.

 

[alecshawn]

Sounds a little harsh to me. It is a personal choice, like many health care issues--best discussed between a patient and their doctor. Do you not have sympathy for people who die from breast cancer because they didn't get a mammogram every year, or not have sympathy for someone who contracts AIDS because they had unprotected sex? Many people do "what they should" and still get sick. There is no guarantee in any health issue.

The fact is, we as a society are bombarded with "the sky is falling" garbage from the media constantly. And the information changes so quickly it is hard to keep up with. We just have to go with what our trusted doctor and our gut tells us to do and hope for the best.

Those are extreme examples you gave.....the flu shot is a simple effective was to prevent the flu. A Mammogram...may detect cancer....but it doesnt prevent it. I dont accept the premise of your examples....totally different things.
But, we are educated people...one has a choice that is educated..if they choose to not get an effective vaccine....thats their right....but they only have themselves to blame if the get the flu. I always get one..and since the military and even now, i have HAD to. Work requirement....BUT i would anyways..its a public health issue and if more people got the flu shot...the epidemic wouldn't be one to begin with...it would be more controlled...and localized.

 

[Baliezer]

Those are extreme examples you gave.....the flu shot is a simple effective was to prevent the flu. A Mammogram...may detect cancer....but it doesnt prevent it. I dont accept the premise of your examples....totally different things.
But, we are educated people...one has a choice that is educated..if they choose to not get an effective vaccine....thats their right....but they only have themselves to blame if the get the flu. I always get one..and since the military and even now, i have HAD to. Work requirement....BUT i would anyways..its a public health issue and if more people got the flu shot...the epidemic wouldn't be one to begin with...it would be more controlled...and localized.

Where is your proof? A lot of people got the flu shot this year and yet it is still an epidemic. People that got the shot are still getting sick. My mom got the flu shot and she still got sick, and she had it for over a week. Where is your proof?

 

[alecshawn]

Where is your proof? A lot of people got the flu shot this year and yet it is still an epidemic. People that got the shot are still getting sick. My mom got the flu shot and she still got sick, and she had it for over a week. Where is your proof?

Have you ever heard of the what was it....1918 flu pandemic..it killed close to 50 million worldwide....that was a fatalist for a vaccine. No one gets polio much anymore...why. The vaccine. Now as for the flu....the vast majority that has it this year.....when ask..didn't have the flu shot. The vast monorial that got it...won't get the flu or the severity will be minimized greatly. The proof you ask is the successful history of the flu shot preventing the widespread flu virus..it's historically proven...just the same as vaccines preventing many diseases. That's why when folks travel to say.....Africa or say central America.....they get vaccinated.

 

[Robbi]

Those are extreme examples you gave.....the flu shot is a simple effective was to prevent the flu. A Mammogram...may detect cancer....but it doesnt prevent it. I dont accept the premise of your examples....totally different things.
But, we are educated people...one has a choice that is educated..if they choose to not get an effective vaccine....thats their right....but they only have themselves to blame if the get the flu. I always get one..and since the military and even now, i have HAD to. Work requirement....BUT i would anyways..its a public health issue and if more people got the flu shot...the epidemic wouldn't be one to begin with...it would be more controlled...and localized.

Bologna, you might think an epidemic would not be a problem but you can't know it. People come here from other countries and can introduce strains the flu vaccine is not effective against. Not to mention the strains in our own country the vaccine will not stop.
It's a crapshoot. They think they have a pretty good idea of which strains will be a problem but they don't know.

 

[alecshawn]

Bologna, you might think an epidemic would not be a problem but you can't know it. People come here from other countries and can introduce strains the flu vaccine is not effective against. Not to mention the strains in our own country the vaccine will not stop.
It's a crapshoot. They think they have a pretty good idea of which strains will be a problem but they don't know.

Other than simply not wanting it...there is no educated reason not to get it.
Not getting it is out of ignorance of the whole vaccine process.
So you won't or didn't get a polio vaccine? Do you have kids...because in many districts including ours......it's mandatory to get flu shot and all other vaccines.
Oh and they knew and this flu strain that's severe right now.....is included in the shot. It's not a crapshoot. Is educated people in that area of expertise....scientifically predicting and most often....very much most often. Spot on

 

[hellow]

]Other than simply not wanting it...there is no educated reason not to get it.[/B]Not getting it is out of ignorance of the whole vaccine process.
So you won't or didn't get a polio vaccine? Do you have kids...because in many districts including ours......it's mandatory to get flu shot and all other vaccines.
Oh and they knew and this flu strain that's severe right now.....is included in the shot. It's not a crapshoot. Is educated people in that area of expertise....scientifically predicting and most often....very much most often. Spot on

Blindly trusting what is being injected into your body is not always a wise idea--just ask the thousands of people who received tainted steroid injections recently.

For serious diseases such as polio, the risks are worth it. I am not sure that you could say the same thing for a vaccine to prevent the flu in an otherwise healthy adult. I know many doctors who don't get flu shots.

 

[Robbi]

Have you ever heard of the what was it....1918 flu pandemic..it killed close to 50 million worldwide....that was a fatalist for a vaccine. No one gets polio much anymore...why. The vaccine. Now as for the flu....the vast majority that has it this year.....when ask..didn't have the flu shot. The vast monorial that got it...won't get the flu or the severity will be minimized greatly. The proof you ask is the successful history of the flu shot preventing the widespread flu virus..it's historically proven...just the same as vaccines preventing many diseases. That's why when folks travel to say.....Africa or say central America.....they get vaccinated.

The polio vaccine = 99% effective
flu vaccine= ~50-60% effective against 3-4 strains
As I posted previously, you want it, you get it. I don't want it and won't get it. I eat right, exercise, take vitamins and have never in 54 years had the flu.

 

[Christine]

The polio vaccine = 99% effective
flu vaccine= ~50-60% effective against 3-4 strains
As I posted previously, you want it, you get it. I don't want it and won't get it. I eat right, exercise, take vitamins and have never in 54 years had the flu.

Thank you! I am a believer in vaccines. I have them all. The important vaccines are all proven to be very effective with hard data behind them. Flu vaccine, not so much. The risk and side effects of the shot are no longer worth it to me. That said, I have my moderately asthmatic son and college-aged daughter get it because the chances of them contracting it are way higher than for me and, for my son at least, getting the flu could be dangerous for him. As a person who has adverse reactions to some injectables, I will forgo a vaccine that has, on a GOOD year, a 60% risk reduction.

 

[Bonniec]

This is the most frustrating topic. If you don't want it, don't get it. But STAY HOME if you get sick and stop spreading it around. Don't use the "I have to work and my kids have to go to school excuse" if you don't want to vaccinate.

And I wish people would stop saying "I eat right and take vitamins and have never had the flu" as if that is all you need to do. Sure eating healthy helps, but that doesn't mean you won't get the flu. My child eats right and still manages to catch everything. I don't blame parents for sending sick kids to school because our system encourages it. But I will blame them if they didn't vaccinate and then bring it around my kid (or me). It's not like I go around asking people if they vaccinate, but I can see by the tones of this thread that so many people really don't understand how the vaccine works at all. It's very frustrating.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I usually don't get the flu shot but I broke down on Friday and got it after work. My main reason for getting it was, in 2 weeks I will be on a plane to Vegas. Who knows how many germs will be on those slots! LOL

TC

 

[mombrontrent]

Other than simply not wanting it...there is no educated reason not to get it.
Not getting it is out of ignorance of the whole vaccine process.
So you won't or didn't get a polio vaccine? Do you have kids...because in many districts including ours......it's mandatory to get flu shot and all other vaccines.
Oh and they knew and this flu strain that's severe right now.....is included in the shot. It's not a crapshoot. Is educated people in that area of expertise....scientifically predicting and most often....very much most often. Spot on

I am starting to believe that you really work for some big pharm. company

 

[gert]

I used to get the flu shot every year when my daughter was younger, but there was a shortage one year and the general recommendation was if you were in generally good health and not elderly or school age to hold off so the available vaccines could be given to those who were more susceptible first. That was... maybe 6 years ago? I can't remember.

Since then, my daughter has gotten the flu vaccine every year, as has my fiance (high-school teacher). Then this year, we went to Disney a few weeks before Christmas so I got the vaccine to be on the safe side. Most of my coworkers were swearing off getting the vaccine - said it didn't help, caused you to get sick, made green horns grow out of your head... whatever the conspiracy du jour. Anecdotal, but, flu is rampant in my office right now and I haven't gotten sick NOR have I grown green horns.

 

[SaraJayne]

This is the most frustrating topic. If you don't want it, don't get it. But STAY HOME if you get sick and stop spreading it around. Don't use the "I have to work and my kids have to go to school excuse" if you don't want to vaccinate.

And I wish people would stop saying "I eat right and take vitamins and have never had the flu" as if that is all you need to do. Sure eating healthy helps, but that doesn't mean you won't get the flu. My child eats right and still manages to catch everything. I don't blame parents for sending sick kids to school because our system encourages it. But I will blame them if they didn't vaccinate and then bring it around my kid (or me). It's not like I go around asking people if they vaccinate, but I can see by the tones of this thread that so many people really don't understand how the vaccine works at all. It's very frustrating.

Neither does getting the flu shot.

 

[clarkshel]

This is the most frustrating topic. If you don't want it, don't get it. But STAY HOME if you get sick and stop spreading it around. Don't use the "I have to work and my kids have to go to school excuse" if you don't want to vaccinate.

And I wish people would stop saying "I eat right and take vitamins and have never had the flu" as if that is all you need to do. Sure eating healthy helps, but that doesn't mean you won't get the flu. My child eats right and still manages to catch everything. I don't blame parents for sending sick kids to school because our system encourages it. But I will blame them if they didn't vaccinate and then bring it around my kid (or me). It's not like I go around asking people if they vaccinate, but I can see by the tones of this thread that so many people really don't understand how the vaccine works at all. It's very frustrating.

I also don't agree with the comments from some posters when they say that they take vitamins and eat right and never have the flu. My wife and I don't take vitamins, our two kids do. We try to eat healthy, but we do tend to eat kind of junky sometimes. We do get the flu, but not very often and not too severe. We get the fly shot every year. My sisters family on the other hand, they eat very healthy, takes lots of vitamins My sister doesn't allow her kids to have hardly any junk food. They never get a flu shot. They get bad cases of the flu just about every year. Sometimes multiple times a season. The same thing with close neighbors of ours. They eat healthier than we do, never get the flu shot. They also get the flu frequently. This year their entire family of 5 had the flu at the same time. It was very bad and lasted a long time. They now say they will get the flu shot next year.

I just wished people would use common sense and wash their hands for 20 seconds WITH SOAP. If that happened, then the flu would not be so widespread as it is. It is unbelievable how many people don't wash heir hands, or they sprinkle a little water on their hands, with no soap. Like all the germs are going or magically disappear when water touches them. I notice this quite often in my washroom at work. When I'm in their washing my hands, I see quite often people leaving a stall and walking straight out of the bathroom. Or they run some water over their hands for a few seconds. These are the same people that probably don't understand why they are always sick. Lol

 

[Pigeon]

This is the most frustrating topic. If you don't want it, don't get it. But STAY HOME if you get sick and stop spreading it around. Don't use the "I have to work and my kids have to go to school excuse" if you don't want to vaccinate.

And I wish people would stop saying "I eat right and take vitamins and have never had the flu" as if that is all you need to do. Sure eating healthy helps, but that doesn't mean you won't get the flu. My child eats right and still manages to catch everything. I don't blame parents for sending sick kids to school because our system encourages it. But I will blame them if they didn't vaccinate and then bring it around my kid (or me). It's not like I go around asking people if they vaccinate, but I can see by the tones of this thread that so many people really don't understand how the vaccine works at all. It's very frustrating.

Roughly 40% of the people who do get the vaccine and are then exposed are going to get the flu. Anybody who gets the flu, vaccinated or not, should stay home if they are sick obviously. But people are contagious before they exhibit symptoms so getting hysterical about the non-vaccinated staying home is silly.

 

[ez]

Roughly 40% of the people who do get the vaccine and are then exposed are going to get the flu. Anybody who gets the flu, vaccinated or not, should stay home if they are sick obviously. But people are contagious before they exhibit symptoms so getting hysterical about the non-vaccinated staying home is silly.

I am interested in this statistic, how does it compare with unvaccinated people who are exposed to the flu? what percentage of them get sick? Like I know we had a few unvaccinated people in our house over Thanksgiving who did not get sick even though my son had flu confirmed by swab, type b, and then I got it

 

[Christine]

I am interested in this statistic, how does it compare with unvaccinated people who are exposed to the flu? what percentage of them get sick? Like I know we had a few unvaccinated people in our house over Thanksgiving who did not get sick even though my son had flu confirmed by swab, type b, and then I got it

It's just a toss up.

I am moderately healthy, don't take vitamins, don't do anything special. I *think* I had the flu ONCE. I chalk it up to luck and being fanatical about hand washing, staying out of crowds, etc.