Have you had your flu 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

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.