The flu shot is in

[missbrooke06]

Yep! I always schedule them three weeks before our November vacation so we can all be nice and healthy. I've gotten one every year but one - and being in bed for a week taught me to never skip again and my kids will always get them. They aren't 100% effective but the oldest hasn't had a vomiting flu yet!

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I get one every year. I was hospitalized in college for 3 days because of a serious case of influenza, and after that I worked in healthcare where flu shots were all but mandatory, so it's a fairly well-ingrained habit for me.

 

[winterman]

I have gotten a flu shot every year since 1990 and will certainly continue. But, I don't get it until the middle of October.

 

[Dawnlight]

No- not previous years, not this year, not anticipating to in coming years.

Husband, 6 children, and I have never had the flu shots and have never had the flu.

I'm a proponent of immunizations in general, but am hesitant about the flu and HPV vaccines.

 

[tennisfan]

I have had flu once years ago but never bother with the jab. I work as an EMT and we are offered it at work. I know many had it last year and were ill after.

My mum had it for 12 yrs and was really ill every year, hasn't bothered the last 3 yrs and has been fine.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I don't usually get one, but now that I've started college again I am seriously considering it.

 

[bdcp]

As I have for the last 18+ years I will be getting mine free at work in early Oct. I haven't had the flu since my kids were in elementary school and then I had it two years in a row (whole family did), no thanks. I know very few who get it and actually got sick afterwards. Just because you catch a cold or stomach bug or something right after the shot doesn't mean squat. Most everyone at my workplace get the shot and the illness rate right after the shot is no more than any other time of the year. It's coincidental. BTW, the flu shot is a very weakened virus so while you may have mild reaction to it, it won't give you the flu. People need to learn the difference between causation and correlation.

Another thing that always bugs me is what some people think the flu is. It's not a stomach virus or a cold. It's aches, fever, cough, lethargy.

 

[teacup princess]

I will get one if my work requires it but generally no. We lived in a flu shot hotbed last year and none of us got the flu except my husband who was also the only one of us who had gotten the shot.

 

[bdcp]

I will get one if my work requires it but generally no. We lived in a flu shot hotbed last year and none of us got the flu except my husband who was also the only one of us who had gotten the shot.

Last year, the shot didn't cover the strain it needed to, so it had nothing to do with him getting the shot. Everyone I knew last year who got the shot and got the flu, got the strain that wasn't covered. Everyone else I knew who got the flu but not the shot got a variety of strains.

 

[acebatonfan]

Get mine every year. Some of the clinical agencies my nursing school works with require a yearly flu shot, and I also have health issues that could complicate having the flu. Better deal with one extra jab than risk life-threatening DKA because of something I could have prevented.

 

[Sehsun]

I plan on getting mine sometime this fall. Last year I received it at the CVS Minute Clinic for free - will most likely do that again this year.

 

[Poohforyou]

Nope, my doctor doesn't recommend it because of some other health issues. The only time I got one it wreaked havoc on my immune system and I was sick for 18 months. I'll take the flu over that in a heartbeat.

 

[Poohforyou]

we don't do the flu shot because is doesn't work. wash your hands and cover your mouth and you will be ok. if you are real sick please stay home and keep your kids home as well.

it bugs me as a teacher when parent's send their kids to school sick and I end up sending them to the nurse five mins after school starts. save yourself some time and keep them home.

1st off, the shot does work but can't cover every strain of the flu. As for kids being sent in sick, while I know that does happen, kids also can go from fine to sick very quickly. I remember a few times sending my dd to school healthy and happy only to get a call within an hour or so that she had a fever, had thrown up etc.

 

[nkereina]

I guess I don't see the logic in not getting it if you're eligible for one? To each their own of course, but if it's a measure I can take that may even slightly decrease my chances of getting sick, I'm going for it. Same reason I take probiotics. I will do everything I can to avoid it. If you react poorly to it or can't get it due to other health concerns, then I understand that. But otherwise, I don't understand it.

 

[bdcp]

1st off, the shot does work but can't cover every strain of the flu. As for kids being sent in sick, while I know that does happen, kids also can go from fine to sick very quickly. I remember a few times sending my dd to school healthy and happy only to get a call within an hour or so that she had a fever, had thrown up etc.

Yep. Flu can and does come on pretty quickly. It's not something you tend to just wake up with in the morning. The last time I had it I was on my way home from a trip, riding in the car with DH and friends. I went from feeling fine to having aches, fever, cough in less than 2 hours. So, yes, it's very possible to send a kid in with no symptoms and have them develop a 100 degree fever in a couple of hours. Most parents don't send their kids in sick, some do, but most do not. My oldest son came home from first grade with chicken pox. He was fine when he went in, but by the time he came home he had spots and a low grade fever. His teacher said looking back that she should have realized it because he was quieter than usual, but didn't complain to her. I was a SAHM so they always stayed home if they were sick. So, you just never know.

 

[Bilberry]

I remember reading an article on the research group, the Cochrane Collaboration"(a collective of international doctors and scientists supposedly dedicated to objective assessments of treatments by proper review of the evidence)", assessment of the flu shot. It can help, but isn't impressive with how much and how many it helps prevent the flu. It's good to take additional steps if hoping to avoid a winter bug this flu season.

http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/11/25/...te-what-your-government-may-have-you-believe/

excerpt ~

....Here’s a plain language summary of the study in the authors’ own words:

Over 200 viruses cause influenza and influenza-like illness which produce the same symptoms (fever, headache, aches and pains, cough and runny noses). Without laboratory tests, doctors cannot tell the two illnesses apart. Both last for days and rarely lead to death or serious illness. At best, vaccines might be effective against only influenza A and B, which represent about 10% of all circulating viruses. Each year, the World Health Organization recommends which viral strains should be included in vaccinations for the forthcoming season.

Authors of this review assessed all trials that compared vaccinated people with unvaccinated people. The combined results of these trials showed that under ideal conditions (vaccine completely matching circulating viral configuration) 33 healthy adults need to be vaccinated to avoid one set of influenza symptoms. In average conditions (partially matching vaccine) 100 people need to be vaccinated to avoid one set of influenza symptoms. Vaccine use did not affect the number of people hospitalised or working days lost but caused one case of Guillian-Barré syndrome (a major neurological condition leading to paralysis) for every one million vaccinations. Fifteen of the 36 trials were funded by vaccine companies and four had no funding declaration. Our results may be an optimistic estimate because company-sponsored influenza vaccines trials tend to produce results favorable to their products and some of the evidence comes from trials carried out in ideal viral circulation and matching conditions and because the harms evidence base is limited....

 

[daughtersrus]

Yep! I always schedule them three weeks before our November vacation so we can all be nice and healthy. I've gotten one every year but one - and being in bed for a week taught me to never skip again and my kids will always get them. They aren't 100% effective but the oldest hasn't had a vomiting flu yet!

The flu shot does not protect against what many call "stomach flu"

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm

 

[sam_gordon]

I guess I don't see the logic in not getting it if you're eligible for one? To each their own of course, but if it's a measure I can take that may even slightly decrease my chances of getting sick, I'm going for it. Same reason I take probiotics. I will do everything I can to avoid it. If you react poorly to it or can't get it due to other health concerns, then I understand that. But otherwise, I don't get it.

Here's why I don't get it...

1) Chance of a reaction to it
2) It may not prevent the flu (wrong strain, taken too early or too late, whatever).

I'll personally keep washing my hands and drinking lots of fluids. As I mentioned previously, even my kids' pediatrician has no problems with our family not getting the shot.

 

[scdak]

I don't have a choice but to take it - its mandatory at work, it almost takes an act of God to get excluded from it. But since I am exposed to many people that have the flu (confirmed by lab tests) and my elderly mother lives with me I would take it even if I didn't have to take it esp since its free to me.

 

[missbrooke06]

The flu shot does not protect against what many call "stomach flu"

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm

Seasonal flu can still often have vomiting symptoms.