Have you had your flu shot?

[sandra]

I'm off work today and taking my little 91 year old mother-in-law to get our flu shots. I've been getting them consistently for 10 or more years and cannot remember the last time I even had a cold.

[Blueberry]

I've stopped taking them. I get flu like symptoms for 2 days from the shot, and last year I had the flu anyway:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

So...I'm taking my chances...

[IFjane]

I'm a shot weenie but I feel the need to get one this year. Don't know why - I've played the odds every year prior to this and have been lucky.

[GLC1968]

I've never gotten one and probably won't bother again this year. There are so many people at much greater risk than me, that I don't see the point.

[KnottedYet]

Flu shots made both my mother and brother very sick, so they don't get them any more. I've never had one.

I've had the flu. Not fun at all. If I wasn't afraid my body would react like theirs did, I'd get the shot.

[LBTC]

I'll be avoiding the flu shot again this year. A few years ago, a co-worker's wife had a neurological response to the flu shot. They were wondering about MS, stroke, and other paralysing conditions.

Since I don't work with the elderly or immune suppressed, I'd rather not take that chance. Besides, should I get the flu <knock wood, I hope not to> my naturopath will have remedies to help me through it fast.

We each follow our own path though. I hope it works flawlessly for you and your mom!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Skierchickie]

I never used to get the shot (I figure, if my body never has to fight the regular germs off, then it won't be able to handle the big stuff when it comes along). My SIL thought that was pretty irresponsible (she runs a day care center). Anyway, my reasoning was that if I get exposed to something, hey, I'm a carrier anyway, even if I don't catch it myself. I shouldn't take it from those who need it.

Well, I asked my doctor, and she said there was some study done in nursing homes where they determined that vaccinating the employees had a greater effect in reducing the flu outbreaks than vaccinating the actual patients did. I suppose - they are the ones out and about in the community.

So now I get one (more to protect my 70 year old Mom, and 92 year old MIL). After waiting to see if there will be a shortage that year. Haven't done it yet this year.

So today I'm home sick, with the worst cold (or something) I've had in years. Have barely slept the past 3 nights, from all the choking and coughing.:(

[Tater]

I refuse to get the flu shot. We had them foisted upon us in the military and they made me sick as a dog. Other than a case of the sniffles once or twice a year, I don't typically get sick...unless I had the shot. If they help the very young or elderly, then they can have mine, 'cause I won't be using it!

[kelownagirl]

I'm off work today and taking my little 91 year old mother-in-law to get our flu shots. I've been getting them consistently for 10 or more years and cannot remember the last time I even had a cold.

Let me be the first to say "yes" - I get mine next week. I work with kids and come into contact with lots of sickies. I've had the flu and I don't want it ever again. (And y'all know we're not talking about gastrointestinal stuff don't you? - the flu is a respiratory illness with high fever and aching body.)
And I know you all have your reasons not to get the shot and don't work in the same situation as me but I get a bit cranky at the people at my work who don't get the shot, then get the flu, come to work with it for a couple of days and pass it around to the others who didn't get the shot, not to mention the kids in my class...

And fwiw, all the studies show that you can't get sick from the flu shot - it's a dead virus so it can't make you sick. If you do get sick around the same time, it's generally a bug you already had that anyway. I felt ill for a couple days after my first shot and thought it might be from that, but for the next 3 years, I've had no symptoms afterward.

OK - I'm ready for it - you can blast me now for my opinionated viewpoint. :rolleyes: :D :rolleyes: :D

I have to get my allergy shot AND my fly shot on the same day next week. Two sore arms... :(

[OakLeaf]

I get them, but with a lot of trepidation. It's really short-sighted, IMHO, trading short-term security for long-term major risk.

Generally if I don't get the shot, I get the flu, and when I get the flu, I'm literally in bed for a week.

So I get a shot most years. And instead of the flu, I get the toxic adjuvants and preservatives in the shot, and a greatly increased risk of getting Alzheimer's in the future. :(

[OakLeaf]

you can't get sick from the flu shot - it's a dead virus so it can't make you sick. If you do get sick around the same time, it's generally a bug you already had that anyway.

That's technically correct, but a little misleading. Most of the symptoms you get from a virus are caused by the immune response. The KV vaccines still provoke an immune response - that's the whole idea. Someone who's extra sensitive, or conversely someone who isn't enough in tune with their body to distinguish a ramped-up immune system from actually being infected with something, could get that run-down feeling and conclude the vaccine made them sick, and in some ways of looking at it, they'd be right.

Even in your example, if someone had been exposed to an unrelated virus before they got their flu shot, and then their immune system got taxed by the shot, they could easily have a worse outcome with the initial virus than they would've had they not had the flu shot.

I'm with you in that I hate it when people assume these wild causal relationships, but OTOH the medical community is often way too quick to dismiss people's observations of their own bodies.

[Blueberry]

We've never figured out why I react - but my reaction has happened for 8-9 years, and I really don't think I just happened to be getting sick when I took the shot that many years in a row... I get a 101-102 fever, massive body aches and a stuffed up head for 2-3 days following the shot. Maybe I just happened to be getting a mild form of the flu or another similar illness for those 8-9 years on the exact date I got the shot. I highly doubt it. So, I'm not fighting it anymore.

I really wish I didn't react, and could take it. However, I can't.

[ATL Laura]

We've never figured out why I react - but my reaction has happened for 8-9 years, and I really don't think I just happened to be getting sick when I took the shot that many years in a row... I get a 101-102 fever, massive body aches and a stuffed up head for 2-3 days following the shot.

Are you allergic to eggs? The vaccine is produced from virus that is grown in eggs, so you may be having a reaction to the egg by products.

[TsPoet]

IMHO a healthy person who doesn't work in a hospital, with kids, or with the elderly, probably shouldn't bother to get a shot. If you are over ~55, have an illness, or under ~12, you should get a flu shot.
As someone else pointed out, it has a lot to do with personal preference and availability of the shots. I have not heard about a shortage this year. In past years, when there have been shortages, then I think they should have refused to give them to people in the above category.
I get one every year, I’m 41 and one of the healthiest people I know, except for the pesky type 1 diabetes I've had since the age of 12.
I don't react to the shots at all. If I reacted the way some on this list do, I still wouldn't get the shot. The flu is a bummer, but I don't think it's going to kill me.
I also get them free through work. I know the employees would have a fit if they weren't offered, but since the working population is mostly young, mostly healthy, I've always wondered way they give them out to everyone. I also saw that the Target near me is offering them for $7 this year, so cost isn't too much of an issue.

[Xrayted]

FWIW... :)

I got off the bus at my hospital today and the nursing students were there giving the shot, so I took 5 minutes and got it. My immune system has always been strong and I've never been one to get sick often. I'm around immune compromised people everyday, such as cancer pts going through chemo. I don't want to spread anything that I can avoid simply by getting a shot and as a healthcare provider, I personally feel it would be irresponsible of me to forego it. I can literally have 40+ pts on any given day. I also don't want to drag anything home with me. (there are things much worse than the flu that I'm around, I don't feel the need to push it.)

I can see why some people don't want to get it. I'm ok with that. I've gotten it and they won't be passing it on to me, so whatever. As for those who have gotten it and then still got the flu... the flu vaccine is good for one strain of the flu. It's the one they figure will do the most damage physically and financially. It's not good for the other strains. I do tend to have a minor reaction such as a stuffy nose or achy joints for about 24 hours. I can live with that. And so can my pts and my loved ones.

Take care and have a wonderful day. :D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have a healthy dose of suspicion about any drugs and medications foisted upon us public. I used to get flu shots and never noticed any difference in the amount of flus I got or didn't get. Haven't had them for several years in a row and still no noticeable difference in the illnesses I do or don't get. Flu shots only protect from the strains of current flus they are formulated for each year- they offer no protection from the majority of flus going around at any given time, and certainly don't protect from colds at all.
The heck with them- flu shots carry their own set of risks, and I'll just say no.

[Kano]

Haven't done it yet this year -- I plan to. When there are shortages, I leave them for the more at-risk folk and dread the possibilities. I haven't been good at taking the care of myself I should to prevent stuff. I haven't been good at changing that "habit" over the years, and I never want that crap again, so I get a flu shot when there are enough around. 13 years ago, it knocked me out for an entire winter due all the secondary infections that developed that I couldn't clear up on my own. To this day, I live with repercussions of that winter's illness.

Karen in Boise

[Blueberry]

Are you allergic to eggs? The vaccine is produced from virus that is grown in eggs, so you may be having a reaction to the egg by products.

Nope. I *heart* eggs - and probably eat them more than I should for my health (though I have it down to once or twice a week now:rolleyes: :rolleyes: )

Good thought, though:o

[Aggie_Ama]

Interesting thought X, maybe you can give me advice I will use or ignore. :) My husband's immune system is *supposedly* compromised by his Crohn's therapy, they keep telling him to get a flu shot but should I be the one getting one? Funny thing about him is I have been sick twice this year and he has not but he has the compromised immune system. :rolleyes:

I have never had a flu shot and *knock on wood* never had the flu.

[Flybye]

My husband is an ultra conservative pharmacist and is lovingly insistent that we get our flu shots yearly.

He and I get the shots, while the kiddos get the flu mist version (nasal spray).

For us it is a risk v benefit scenario-

True flu (not throwing up kind, but upper resperiatory kind) is accompanied with weeks of recovery and generally leads to a secondary infection which often requires antibiotics which contributes to mrsa problems we are now experiencing.

Can lead to death. Hospitalization is WWAAYY more expensive than a $25 - $30 flu shot.

CDC not some camp of shot pushers, but educated minds of caring humans who went to school so that they could work to better the lives of others. We aren't conspiracy theorists, can you tell?


Risks:
Feeling a little crappy.
Tiny ouchie poke.
Sore arm for a few days.
No reaction risk for us.
Shot might not be for the "right virus", as they do mutate.
We pad the pharmaceutical companies pockets who produce the shot for a little better health on our end.
Hospitalization.
Time off.
Lotsa $$$ spent on cold remedies if we don't get the shot and become ill, which inevitably pads pharmaceutical companies' pockets anyhow.
Passing it on to others and letting them enjoy the "risk" list.

Just my $ .02
Someone asked!

[jusdooit]

They start offering them at work this week. I went years without the vaccine, then got the flu 3 years running. Now I always get the shot, even though I still got the flu a couple of years ago. I just think the odds work better in my favor with the shot.

[sandra]

I worked for years in a hospital in the home care and hospice division. ALL employees were required to get a flu shot and a TB test every year. After I retired from that, I continued my flu shots. I've been very healthy though, so who knows.

We got ours today and they did not hurt! My arm is not even sore.

[slmdunc]

I have a healthy dose of suspicion about any drugs and medications foisted upon us public. I used to get flu shots and never noticed any difference in the amount of flus I got or didn't get. Haven't had them for several years in a row and still no noticeable difference in the illnesses I do or don't get. Flu shots only protect from the strains of current flus they are formulated for each year- they offer no protection from the majority of flus going around at any given time, and certainly don't protect from colds at all.
The heck with them- flu shots carry their own set of risks, and I'll just say no.

Amen. Nuff said!

[KnottedYet]

My work offers them for free. Like I said earlier, both my mom and brother had big bad reactions to them: autoimmune, almost like an allergy but it attacked their joints. Took my mom about a year to recover and her doc put the kibosh on further flu shots. My brother had the same reaction, and had a longer recovery time. (both of them had terrible hand joint problems which affected their work)

I discussed the situation with my boss, and she cleared me to skip the shot (we don't work with sick folks, and send them home if they are sick, and WE stay home if we're sick).

I'm just afraid my body would do the same thing as my mom and brother. Otherwise I would get the shot. Flu is no fun, and I don't want it again.

[latelatebloomer]

The physicians at my clinic do not recommend the flu vaccine ( or most other vaccines) because of mercury used in preservation. They feel that it can be the cause of serious neurological problems later on. Both the flu & hepatitis B vaccines are pushed heavily at my job, and I had to sign a refusal over the hep B shot, even though the issue at work is hep C. Instead of the flu shot, the clinic focuses on immune system supports.

[BikeDutchess]

The physicians at my clinic do not recommend the flu vaccine ( or most other vaccines) because of mercury used in preservation.

There is thimerosal preservative-free flu vaccine available now per the CDC, albeit in limited quantities: Thimerosal in Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Q&A (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/thimerosal.htm)

I did get my flu-shot, as did my DH and kids. Flu season is hitting Utah early this year. I got the flu a couple of years ago and felt like I'd been run over by a truck. Took weeks to fully recover. I gladly take advantage of the free flu-shots at DH's work. I know it's not a 100% guarantee, but it does reduce my chances of getting the flu, and all the misery it brings with it. In addition this year my elderly MIL will be staying with us for a month, so I want to reduce the risk of exposing her as well.

If I had the kind of serious reactions described by KnottedYet, I would probably decline, but for me that is not an issue. I totally agree with Flybye that it's a risk v. benefits issue. For me the benefits outweigh the risks.

[coyote]

Interesting thought X, maybe you can give me advice I will use or ignore. :) My husband's immune system is *supposedly* compromised by his Crohn's therapy, they keep telling him to get a flu shot but should I be the one getting one? Funny thing about him is I have been sick twice this year and he has not but he has the compromised immune system. :rolleyes:

I have never had a flu shot and *knock on wood* never had the flu.

My SO has Lupus. She used to get the flu shot and end up sick the entire winter. We found some info on a Lupus website...the flu shot can trigger a Lupus episode. She does not get them anymore and she has had some pretty health winters.

I should get them but I've got a really strong immune system. I'm sure I may as I get older.

[Zen]

I rarely get sick.
No flu shot for me, just lots of hand washing and a tin-foil hat.

[emily_in_nc]

I signed up for a free flu shot in Nov. through work. I debated -- I've had one only once before -- but since I have asthma, my doc wants me to get them. I decided to because it's free and because we're traveling for my DH's birthday in early Dec. and I'd hate to get the flu. So many folks at work come in no matter how sick they are, and most of them have children (I don't), so I worry about catching illnesses from my co-workers more than anything. I do think my arm was a bit sore after my one flu shot but no more serious reaction than that. Hope nothing worse this time either. Reading about all the possible side effects (short- and long-term) is a bit frightening. :(

My DH is not going to get one because he's retired, at home a lot more and thus exposed to a lot less sick folks than I am being out in the working world.

Emily

[slmdunc]

My SO has Lupus. She used to get the flu shot and end up sick the entire winter. We found some info on a Lupus website...the flu shot can trigger a Lupus episode. She does not get them anymore and she has had some pretty health winters.


That's interesting, Coyote. My mother has Lupus and gets a flu shot each year and I've been wondering whether or not it was wise. Do you have that website handy??

[boy in a kilt]

I got a flu snort.

The Guard did my annual "yes you have teeth, eyes, blood and all that" a couple of weeks ago. Part of it is bringing me up to date on my shots. After 14 years of this, I'm pretty sure I'm immune to everything except the common cold.

Anyway.

This year the medic handed me a small syringe sans needle and told me to push the plunger while inhaling. Then she handed me another and made me do it again. She assured me that was my flu shot for the year.

If the crap running down the back of my throat is any indication, my stomach won't be getting the flu this year.

[Mr. Bloom]

IMHO a healthy person who doesn't work in a hospital, with kids, or with the elderly, probably shouldn't bother to get a shot.

While I understand your perspective, I'll chime in with a business perspective. My company offers the shots and I always get them.

I think that customers would be very disappointed if they went to the bank and found it closed because all the tellers had the flu:(

So to me, it's not just about the actual health risk, but a fundamental issue of maintaining business continuity.

[mountainchick]

I got a flu snort.

The Guard did my annual "yes you have teeth, eyes, blood and all that" a couple of weeks ago. Part of it is bringing me up to date on my shots. After 14 years of this, I'm pretty sure I'm immune to everything except the common cold.

Anyway.

This year the medic handed me a small syringe sans needle and told me to push the plunger while inhaling. Then she handed me another and made me do it again. She assured me that was my flu shot for the year.

If the crap running down the back of my throat is any indication, my stomach won't be getting the flu this year.

I think you might have gotten the flu mist (?). The military might be turning to that now rather than the shot.

My job is actually doing research/surveillance onboard large deck Navy ships as well as surveillance at military treatment facilities (medical clinics etc) of influenza.

Wooppee for flu season, maybe now work will pick up!

[Hub]

My husband's hematologist had him take the flu and pneumonia shots a couple weeks ago- he made me get the flu shot as well . . .
They advised us to take tylenol every 6 hours for the 24 hours after we got the shots- wasn't a big problem.

I normally would think of myself as a healthy individual who did not need the shot, BUT my husband has a compromised immune system and I work with little kids in the preschool and big kids here at the University- so i really don't need to take any germs home to him.

[Tuckervill]

I'm like zen...never had the flu, never had the shot.

The last fever I had was from a tick-borne illness and was probably 7 years ago. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Hubby has had flu shots off and on over the years, but also never had the flu. None of my kids have ever had the flu.

My youngest son didn't get vaccines until he was old enough to consent. The only one he's consented to so far is chicken pox. It was a carefully considered decision not to vaccinate him. Since he doesn't go to school, it's not an issue. I certainly wouldn't make him get a flu shot.

Karen

[HappyAnika]

I have the same opinion of flu shots as LisaS.H. I've never had a flu shot, and I've never had the flu. However, being 6 months pregnant, my OB highly recommends that I get one (at no cost, either through her or through work). I heard of a study of hospital employees in Denver, those that had a flu shot had the same occurence of getting the flu as those that did not get the shot. (I just heard of this study, from my chiro, didn't see it myself). I'm still on the fence. I realize that I'm now in the imuno compromised category, but I just don't think the benefits of getting a shot to prevent a problem I've never had outweigh the risks.

(I'm a research scientist, no contact with sick, elderly, or children. My contract is up first week of December, and then I will be home until the baby is born. I'm a fanatical hand washer and germ-a-phobe. I do my best to not touch things like door handles, public computers, and gas pumps.)

[Blueberry]

I think I'd talk to another doc. Personally, I would be worried about reacting to the flu shot, since you've not had one and don't know how your body will take it.

Just my (admittedly not in favor of the shot) 2 cents. Good luck whatever you decide and congrats:)

[sundial]

You would have to chase me down with the flu shot before I get one. :eek:

Each year the researchers guesstimate which strain is likely to hit and they make the vaccine accordingly.

I have never had the flu and if I do get it, I'd rather treat the early symptoms. :)

[grey]

I drinks me Elderberry tea, every day, in the winter. Works like a charm. No sickies.

I admit, I'm one of THOSE. I study herbology. I'm a strict vegetarian. I don't like Big Pharma. And I definitely do not want to be shot with something that contains formaldehyde, mercury and aluminum, among other things.

[salsabike]

Between having read detailed descriptions of the 1918-19 flu pandemic that killed 50-100 million people worldwide, and having a number of close friends in epidemiology whose knowledge and opinions I respect--you bet I get a flu shot. No bad reactions here.

[coyote]

That's interesting, Coyote. My mother has Lupus and gets a flu shot each year and I've been wondering whether or not it was wise. Do you have that website handy??

http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_aboutliving.aspx?a=93&z=16&page=4

Down toward the bottom of the page. However, if you click on the link called Flu & Pneumonia Shots, it takes you to a page saying that Lupus folks should get the flu shot unless they react to them. The information a couple of years ago was not so pro. My SO does have a reation so she does not do the flu shot. She does get the pneumonia one and does not react.

[Tuckervill]

What about being pregnant makes one immuno-compromised? Pregnancy isn't a disease. If you eat right and exercise and rest well, there's no reason to expect to be more likely to get the flu or anything else, I think. The only thing is that some diseases could have dire consequences for the baby, I'm sure.

I think it's kind of harmful to think that pregnancy makes one more susceptible to disease if it's not true. (I don't know for sure if it is.) Not to hijack the thread, but this is an honest question.

Karen


I have the same opinion of flu shots as LisaS.H. I've never had a flu shot, and I've never had the flu. However, being 6 months pregnant, my OB highly recommends that I get one (at no cost, either through her or through work). I heard of a study of hospital employees in Denver, those that had a flu shot had the same occurence of getting the flu as those that did not get the shot. (I just heard of this study, from my chiro, didn't see it myself). I'm still on the fence. I realize that I'm now in the imuno compromised category, but I just don't think the benefits of getting a shot to prevent a problem I've never had outweigh the risks.

(I'm a research scientist, no contact with sick, elderly, or children. My contract is up first week of December, and then I will be home until the baby is born. I'm a fanatical hand washer and germ-a-phobe. I do my best to not touch things like door handles, public computers, and gas pumps.)

[mountainchick]

Interesting read if someone has time. For those who don't know a lot about influenza, it gives a little background ,etc.

Prevention and Control of Influenza (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5606a1.htm?s_cid=rr5606a1_e)

[Possegal]

actually, there are immune changes in your body when you become pregnant, it is necessary for the success of the pregnancy otherwise the body will look at the baby as 'foreign' and attack it. you have different immune pathways and the balance between them sort of shifts during pregnancy. it is why many women with MS will see a remission in the disease when they are pregnant, because of the shift in their immune system from detecting pathogens (and in an MS patient the pathogen that is being detected is the myelin on their nerves) to detecting allergens. followed by an increase in flare ups after delivery when the body shifts back toa predominantly T-1 mediated immune response.

now is that 'immune compromised', don't know if that is what it would be called., though pregnancy is decreasing your body's response to pathogens. but here is a journal article that speaks of a 'gentle immune compromise' in pregnancy. though full of science-speak, so it may not be of much help. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no5/02-0660.htm

i'm not a virologist or a neonatologist, so i can't say why pregnant women (and people who come in contact with them) are always on the list a tier above healthy adults, but it could be more due to the impact that the disease would have on the fetus than on an immunity compromising.

[Flybye]

[QUOTE=Tuckervill;256972]What about being pregnant makes one immuno-compromised? Pregnancy isn't a disease. If you eat right and exercise and rest well, there's no reason to expect to be more likely to get the flu or anything else, I think. The only thing is that some diseases could have dire consequences for the baby, I'm sure.

I can attest to the fact that every time I was pregnant, which has been 13 times, just kidding, seeing if you were reading along :D , which really has been 3 times, I got everything in the land that came along. I was constantly sick. I even wound up with shingles (on my eye and face - ouch) during my last delivery, which is a sign that the immune system is compromised.
My $ .02

[Flybye]

Interesting read if someone has time. For those who don't know a lot about influenza, it gives a little background ,etc.

Prevention and Control of Influenza (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5606a1.htm?s_cid=rr5606a1_e)

THANKS for the link to this, excellent studies and explanations for everything including vaccination during pregnancy and the use of Thimerosal, and LAIV, and TIV dosing. I started to get confused and to question things after reading through posts, but, as I learned in the good old ISU days, nothing states the facts better than a good study. Excellent resource!!

[mountainchick]

THANKS for the link to this, excellent studies and explanations for everything including vaccination during pregnancy and the use of Thimerosal, and LAIV, and TIV dosing. I started to get confused and to question things after reading through posts, but, as I learned in the good old ISU days, nothing states the facts better than a good study. Excellent resource!!

No worries...I am the queen of flu resources. :) Though I have not and probably won't get a flu shot (I usually forget or just don't get around to it...)

[HappyAnika]

I don't have a good scientific explanation, but I've read in many places, and been told by several doctors, that when you are pregnant your immune system is somewhat repressed, making you more likely to catch whatever bug comes your way. So far I've been fine, but then cold season hasn't started yet. I counted this morning, after holidays and leave, I only have 25 days worth of work left. I feel my chances of avoiding germs will be much improved when I'm done with work. :)

I'm going to read the link posted above on the flu. I'm still waiting to hear from my best friend who is a DO (doctor of osteopathy) what she thinks about me getting a shot.

[slmdunc]

http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_aboutliving.aspx?a=93&z=16&page=4

Down toward the bottom of the page. However, if you click on the link called Flu & Pneumonia Shots, it takes you to a page saying that Lupus folks should get the flu shot unless they react to them. The information a couple of years ago was not so pro. My SO does have a reation so she does not do the flu shot. She does get the pneumonia one and does not react.

Good to know! Thanks! :)

[froglegs]

Between having read detailed descriptions of the 1918-19 flu pandemic that killed 50-100 million people worldwide, and having a number of close friends in epidemiology whose knowledge and opinions I respect--you bet I get a flu shot. No bad reactions here.


I'm currently reading a book about this pandemic, I think it's called "The Great Influenza". It's very interesting but also extremely scary. I don't think most people today really have an idea about how huge of a deal this was... this flu killed millions of people all over the world in a matter of months, had ridiculous fatality rates, basically shut down society for awhile, and often killed people within hours of the first symptoms. Some people seemed fine one minute, and literally dropped dead the next. Young adults (20's) had the highest fatality rates because their robust immune systems produced such a strong response, it basically shredded their lungs and drowned them in fluids. Scary stuff....... still, somehow, I don't get a flu shot and never have. Maybe I will after I finish reading this book. :eek:

I had a really bad flu during the summer about five years ago. 104-105 temps, ridiculous aching, convulsions.... it was horrible.

[nomummytummy]

So to me, it's not just about the actual health risk, but a fundamental issue of maintaining business continuity.

That is why the chicken pox vaccine was developed initially. Because mothers would need to not be at work looking after kids w chicken pox & if you have 3 or 4 kids that's a lot of weeks when often then get it one after another not all at same time.

Now we are told all the terrible consequences of Chicken pox. It's just a huge beat up to sell more drugs! The risk to business versus the long term consequences of unrequired medications for those we care about. Sorry Mr Silver, but I can't help but wonder if our world has truly gone crazy!!!:confused:

[ClockworkOrange]

I had a flu jab last week and then the nurse promptly gave me a pneumonia jab, I was told this lasts for 10 years.

BTW...........jab is a shot in the UK. ;)

I have had a flu jab for the last 5 years or so, never had any side effects. This has been done because of chest infections in recent years. Also, my work involves working closely with youngsters who have been homeless.

I was given the pneumonia jab because of this COPD thing that I appear to have.

Over here in the UK the vaccinations are free, do you have to pay for yours?

Clock

[Blueberry]

It depends on you insurance company here in the US. Mine offers them free if you get them at your workplace or at your doctor's office (but not at a pharmacy clinic). We couldn't get one at a covered location the last time I took one (sold out, but not a general shortage), and I seem to recall the cost was about $30.

[Flybye]

We had to pay for the adult "jabs" (Mine might have qualified as a "stab":eek: ) but the Nasal FluMists for the kids were free. I am hoping for the same thing this year.

[KnottedYet]

Does anyone know if the Nasal FluMists have less chance of adverse reaction?

Knot-really-doesn't-want-to-get-flu-ever-again

[surgtech1956]

I've gotten the flu shot a few different times. I usually only get the flu every 10-15 years. I'm lucky, I don't get sick that often, I think because I work in a hospital and have built up my immune system over the years. I remember my first year of employment I had about 3-4 colds. Back to flu shots, last year I didn't get one, and I got the flu(over New Years) - but I was under alot of stress. I didn't get one this year, probably should - still under alot of stress. :eek:

[boy in a kilt]

Does anyone know if the Nasal FluMists have less chance of adverse reaction?

Knot-really-doesn't-want-to-get-flu-ever-again

I can only speak anecdotally. I haven't felt any reaction at all other than the taste of the medication running down the back of my throat.

[Duck on Wheels]

I don't have a good scientific explanation, but I've read in many places, and been told by several doctors, that when you are pregnant your immune system is somewhat repressed, making you more likely to catch whatever bug comes your way. So far I've been fine, but then cold season hasn't started yet. I counted this morning, after holidays and leave, I only have 25 days worth of work left. I feel my chances of avoiding germs will be much improved when I'm done with work. :)

I'm going to read the link posted above on the flu. I'm still waiting to hear from my best friend who is a DO (doctor of osteopathy) what she thinks about me getting a shot.

The good scientific explanation is that when you're pregnant you've got a foreign body on board, so if our immune systems hadn't learned to go into low gear when certain hormones signal we're pregnant, then the species would die out.

[salsabike]

Does anyone know if the Nasal FluMists have less chance of adverse reaction?

Knot-really-doesn't-want-to-get-flu-ever-again

Knot, my best friend back east is in public health and I asked her your question. This is what she emailed in response:

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

This is a good public website with info. on both kinds of flu vaccine. I think that the risks are about the same and are low for either type of vaccine. Given the fact that FluMist is a live attenuated vaccine might increase the risk slightly; I don't really know. FluMist is only licensed for people aged 2-49 who are considered healthy (without underlying medical conditions).

[KnottedYet]

Hmmmm, doesn't sound radically different from the injection. Wish I knew what it was in the vaccine that does the autoimmune cascade in my family.