Flu shots - why not?

[design_mom]

I have a friend who no longer gets them because she believes that the flu vaccine (or her body's reaction to it) triggered her fibromyalgia... and she's been miserable for years. She claims to have found a number of other people with similar stories. (Stories like that make me nervous, but I still get one under the "benefits outweigh the risks" argument.)

My family continues to get them because my father has some health issues that would make getting flu very serious for him. His doctor recommends vaccines for the whole extended family -- and dad avoids crowds during flu season -- so we try to comply.

The one year I did not get one (shortage), I ended up getting "true influenza" and I'll tell you that is something I do not wish to repeat!

 

[LisaR]

I'm not talking to anyone on this thread in particular, but this is just in general. . .

I understand the arguments where people have felt like the shot had side effects or was ineffective. Whether or not the shot was involved in any way with your symptoms, you still associate it in some way with miserable symptoms you experienced. I can understand that. It's kind of like being afraid to go to the dentist because you had a bad experience.

I don't feel this way, but I kind of understand people saying, "I'll just take my chances", or "I don't want to bother."

I don't understand the arguments where people don't get it simply because it might not have the right strain in it. What if it is the right strain? That reason just always sounds like people who are afraid of shots coming up with an excuse not to get a shot.

For me though, that is my number one argument. If you had a medical condition that was non-life threatening (and I believe the flu is non-life threatening to most of the US) and a doctor said, "Here is a drug that I want you to put into your body. It may help your condition but it may not. Either way, I want you to continue injecting this vial of chemicals into your system. We don't have any way at all to see if it is working but just keep at it" would you do it? I wouldn't.

That is what the flu shot is to me. People inject something into their body and many end up not getting the flu but does that mean the shot worked? There isn't any way of telling. Would you take Advil every day because some day you might get a headache? I won't get a yearly shot because someday I might get the flu. If it ever comes down to the flu being a potential threat to me or my family due to chemo or some other serious immune compromising problem, I would risk getting the shot. At this point in my life, it doesn't make sense to inject an unknown into my system when my system seems to work just fine without it.

 

[Deb in IA]

For me, it's because it's such a crapshoot on which strain goes in the shot. It isn't always the one that ends up being prevalent.

There are 130 national influenza centers that conduct year-round surveillance and monitoring on which strains are circulating, how they are spreading, and how the vaccine is working against them.

So, no, it is not a "crapshoot" - it is based on science. Immunology, epidemiology, virology.

I got the flu twice when I got a flu shot. Those are the only times I have ever gotten the flu. My friends gets her whole family the shot every year and every year they all get the flu.

The influenza vaccine is made from KILLED virus. You cannot "get" influenza from the vaccine. (However, you may have contracted the virus before or at the same time you were immunized.)

For me though, that is my number one argument. If you had a medical condition that was non-life threatening (and I believe the flu is non-life threatening to most of the US) and a doctor said, "Here is a drug that I want you to put into your body. It may help your condition but it may not. Either way, I want you to continue injecting this vial of chemicals into your system. We don't have any way at all to see if it is working but just keep at it" would you do it? I wouldn't.

YES, I would, and have, annually, for 20 + years.

 

[U2_rocks!]

By the time flu shots were offered here for whoever wanted them, I was already an adult in my 30s and had never had influenza in my life - it didn't seem necessary then. Now I'm 43 and I still have never had the flu (nor a shot). Even when H1N1 was going around I wasn't worried. My kids have also never been very ill - colds here and there, but nothing remotely resembling the flu.

I figure if we are healthy enough to avoid catching these things when they are going around, we are healthy enough to deal with an infection if we ever do get one. Not all "avoidance" is luck - often our body does come into contact with a germ but the germ doesn't get the better of us, usually because the immune system takes care of it right away. I have occasionally felt as though I could be starting to come down with something, but I fight it off before it can take hold, and it goes away without my ever knowing what it was. We don't use hand sanitizer and we don't handwash frequently - we really don't take many precautions against germs (mostly we keep things sanitary in the kitchen and bathroom). At WDW, for example, the kids touched everything, we did no cleaning of our condo, half the time we even forgot to wash hands before eating something (horrors) ..... and 2 of them were thumb-suckers when tired (imagine those thumbs after a day in the parks ...... shudder) ! Hey, maybe our constant exposure to all sorts of germs has made us stronger!

If any of us had health issues that would make the flu very dangerous, then we'd do what we needed to to protect ourselves, but we don't need to right now IMO.

 

[java]

Influenza, real flu, not just a stomach bug???

Real flu, first time I was dead to the world for a week. Doctor said if I didn't get the shot it would have been worse

Then second I ended up hospitalized, because I was pregnant and dehydrated. So yes real flu.

 

[SaraJayne]

There are 130 national influenza centers that conduct year-round surveillance and monitoring on which strains are circulating, how they are spreading, and how the vaccine is working against them.

So, no, it is not a "crapshoot" - it is based on science. Immunology, epidemiology, virology.



The influenza vaccine is made from KILLED virus. You cannot "get" influenza from the vaccine. (However, you may have contracted the virus before or at the same time you were immunized.)



YES, I would, and have, annually, for 20 + years.

I would guess that since you're a dr., you're required to get the flu shot. Both my Mom and sister (both RN's) are required to get the shot for their jobs. No opting out for them.

I don't believe the flu shot is effective, so we'll continue to pass on them.

 

[FireDancer]

I don't get one because I feel like I don't need it. I avoid drugs (including vaccines) that I don't feel are necessary and this is one I don't feel is necessary. I'm neither pro nor anti vaccine. I think some are great, some are marginal, and some are unnecessary. For me the flu shot is unnecessary and I don't put unnecessary drugs into my body.

I'd never tell anyone what they should do though. I don't like the people who try to push their choice onto anyone else whichever side of the vaccine debate they fall on.

 

[furb & dez]

I used to get sick all the time, and let's face it, NO EMPLOYER gives an adequate number of sick days. Since I started getting a yearly flu shot, I haven't been at all.

I also have friends with immune system issues. I'd rather not be the method of their demise...

Would you take Advil every day because some day you might get a headache?

No, but I do take a low-dose aspirin every day; it's been scientifically proven to help prevent heart attacks. That is a better analogy.

 

[golfgal]

I would guess that since you're a dr., you're required to get the flu shot. Both my Mom and sister (both RN's) are required to get the shot for their jobs. No opting out for them.

I don't believe the flu shot is effective, so we'll continue to pass on them.

There is a very good chance that you are not getting influenza because those around are getting the shot and are not getting influenza

 

[NikitaZee]

I used to get sick all the time, and let's face it, NO EMPLOYER gives an adequate number of sick days. Since I started getting a yearly flu shot, I haven't been at all.

I also have friends with immune system issues. I'd rather not be the method of their demise...
No, but I do take a low-dose aspirin every day; it's been scientifically proven to help prevent heart attacks. That is a better analogy.

This, also. One of the comments my friend made was 'so many people get shots - it's not necessary for us who don't want them to have to'. This implies to me that she is relying on the fact that many of us do get immunized - for her protection. But - I'm not commenting on it with her because I don't want to provoke an argument.

 

[pigletgirl]

Yes! I had the swine flu 2 years ago, and it was the most sick I have ever been in my life. I've gotten "sick" from the flu shot, but nothing compares to the true influenza.

 

[Micca]

I have never had a flu shot. Last time I had flu was 25-30 years ago(lasted about 48 hours and honestly wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to me). A few years ago the nurse at my doc's office asked me if I was getting a flu shot, I told her no and asked if she got one. Her reply was "no", and she's around sick people every day.

 

[ead79]

I get the flu shot every year. I have not had any negative side effects, so it's a win-win for me. This year my whole family has to get one as I'm pregnant and due in the middle of flu season (January), so my OB recommended it. DH and I already get one every year, as does my dad, but I don't think my mom has always gotten one previously.

 

[LisaR]

No, but I do take a low-dose aspirin every day; it's been scientifically proven to help prevent heart attacks. That is a better analogy.

Just like I believe there are much better ways to prevent the flu than with a shot, I also believe there are much better ways to prevent heart disease than with a baby aspirin. However, that isn't the point. I do believe my example of taking a headache medication daily to prevent a headache that you may only get once or twice a year is a better example then taking a baby aspirin to prevent heart disease. Headaches and the flu will not kill or disable a healthy human being. A heart attack will and is certainly much more serious than a flu bug or a headache (unless your health is truly compromised). If you have never had the flu or only get it once every ten or twenty years, I can't imagine getting a shot to prevent something you rarely got in the first place.

 

[hambirg]

There are 130 national influenza centers that conduct year-round surveillance and monitoring on which strains are circulating, how they are spreading, and how the vaccine is working against them.

So, no, it is not a "crapshoot" - it is based on science. Immunology, epidemiology, virology.

Well, it's an educated guess, but still a guess nonetheless.

I used to get them when I was teaching, but I don't anymore. I don't think they have been proven to be effective. We know the polio vaccine is effective. . .it has pretty much eradicated polio. Flu vaccination hasn't eradicated influenza. I can't remember the exact details, but something like 65% of the elderly now receive flu vaccination, but the incidence of influenza and complications of it hasn't declined. You would think there should be a correlation.

Just as an aside, I know someone who has a pharmaceutical company that makes flu vaccine. He was loving the H1N1 scare and believes everyone should get the flu vaccine. . . .BUT he, himself, doesn't get it.

 

[mhsjax]

I am 48 years old. I have had the flu one time, I have had the flu shot one time. I felt no worse with the flu, than I did with the flu shot. I will take my chances without one.

 

[powellrj]

People have been telling me for years that just because the only 2 times I have ever had the flu were also the only 2 times I have ever had the flu in my life, is no reason not to get a flu shot, but still, I am going to gamble again this year and not get my shot.

My Dr is fine with it. Both times I had my shot in October and both times I was sick in February.

 

[Disneygirl3715]

It's important for your health

 

[drag n' fly]

I don't get it because Im allergic to eggs (it is egg white based). I get it for my kids because 2 out of three of them has asthma and it helps lessen the flu symptoms and length.

 

[Nette]

I have a friend who no longer gets them because she believes that the flu vaccine (or her body's reaction to it) triggered her fibromyalgia... and she's been miserable for years. She claims to have found a number of other people with similar stories. (Stories like that make me nervous, but I still get one under the "benefits outweigh the risks" argument.)

My family continues to get them because my father has some health issues that would make getting flu very serious for him. His doctor recommends vaccines for the whole extended family -- and dad avoids crowds during flu season -- so we try to comply.

The one year I did not get one (shortage), I ended up getting "true influenza" and I'll tell you that is something I do not wish to repeat!

That's why I don't get one. I got a Guillian-Barre varient. Yeah, I think I'd rather be sick for a week or two (or three) than go through the slow process of losing control of my legs and arms.

DD had the flu this year confirmed by the doctor. I did not get it from her. She was put on tamiflu and was right as rain in about 3 days.

DH was in the military and had to get flu mist (live virus vaccine) every year. Every year he got sick. Really sick. EVERY YEAR. Since he retired 2 years ago, he hasn't gotten the flu vaccine and he hasn't gotten the flu either.

I'm not anti-vac either, but I do question the necessity of certain vaccines. I'm not willing to take the chance that my kids have a bad reaction to a flu shot when I'm not convinced it actually works. In fact, I'm leaning more toward, flu shots are nothing but crooked business. But then, I'm getting cynical in my old age.