To Flu shot or not to Flu shot ?

I've never gotten the flu shot. It is just a guess of which strains will develop.
 
That's been my thinking too, I have'nt had the Flu in a decade at least so i'm thinking my time is up :eek: I've also been thinking of getting one lately.
 
I got the flu last year, but so did three other people I know who had all gotten the shot. The shot concoction last year missed by a mile. I ran a fever for about four days and felt like crap for about 2.5-3 weeks, but I never missed a day of work.
 
13 people under the age of 59 have already died from the flu in North Carolina so far this year.

Seems like a no-brainer.
 
I don't see the downshot of getting it.

Even if it has only a 25% chance of being the "right" one - that's still increased odd that in you don't get it.

Best flu inoculation: stay away from people w/ the flu :flipoff2:
 
I got the flu shot once, and then promptly got the flu. Needless to say I haven't had the flu shot since. I have also not had the flu since. Can I say they are 100% related? No, but the track record is proving good so far.

RatLabGuy said:
Best flu inoculation: stay away from people w/ the flu :flipoff2:
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This.

Duane
 
Used to get the flu every year. Started getting flu shot about 20 years ago. Have only had it once since. Worth it. Being self-employed, if I'm in bed sick, I'm not getting paid.
 
The only times I have ever gotten the flu is when I go the shot.
 
http://www.wral.com/5-died-of-flu-in-nc-last-week/13258060/

"People over a certain age tend to have a little bit more protection against H1N1, because they were exposed to similar viruses in the past or were vaccinated against similar viruses in the past," said Dr. Zach Moore, with the N.C. Division of Public Health.
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Moore advises people to get a flu shot, even though it takes two weeks to build up immunity.
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So, bottom line, it's better for your immune system if you get immunized, regardless.

And getting your kids immunized helps prevent them from bringing the flu home to grandma.
 
I never get it. Never saw a reason honestly. I think I've been sick to the point of missing work/school maybe once in the last 15 years.
 
Just for fun, I'll jump in the debate. I was a director of Public Health Preparedness for a large health region in SC during the early years of pandemic influenza planning. I listened to infectious disease physicians, epidemiologists, and immunization nurses go on and on about this topic. I learned way more than I thought necessary. Bottom line, it's worth getting the shot.

As for getting the shot then getting sick - that used to be a regular occurrence. The vaccine used to be a "live" vaccine. Now it "live attenuated" (I think that's the term) which basically means they're not injecting you with the live virus but something that your body learns to fight that is similar to the real virus.

As for working, because the strains are often similar in makeup, your body learns to fight the various strains by receiving the vaccine year after year. Even if the flu vaccine turns out to not be the right vaccine for that year's popular strain of flu, your body may very well provide some immunity because it has learned to fight a similar strain based on your previous vaccines.

The cool thing is that they're working on "universal" vaccines so eventually the vaccine will cover a wider spectrum of strains.

As for never had it, never been sick - there are always people who are that way. The epidemiologists encourage those people to get the vaccine to prevent them from being carriers. I also heard one doctor talk about the potential for those people to miss it for years but be hit more severely when a strain does finally penetrate their body's immunity.

There are also the people who get an illness with similar symptoms as the flu but they don't actually have the flu. This is one common explanation with people who have been vaccinated but become ill. The epidemiologists explain that the, the epidemiologists, actually test people who claim to have the flu but got the vaccine. A large percentage don't actually have the flu. Most of us who get sick with those symptoms don't bother to go get tested, we just suffer through.

Like I said, I heard tons of information. My inner nerd was fascinated. My personal conclusion was, get the shot, these days there's just no compelling reason to not get it.

I hope this helped stir the pot.
 
CLRracer said:
I got the flu shot once, and then promptly got the flu. Needless to say I haven't had the flu shot since. I have also not had the flu since. Can I say they are 100% related? No, but the track record is proving good so far.



This.

Duane
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X2. The wife has to get the shot due to working at the hospital. She has gotten sick a couple of times after getting the shot.
 
The first and only flu shot I got put me in ICU for 3 weeks. I will not take any new medication immunizations or what have you. My grandmother took a card table full of med's and it made her worse after that I vowed not to take anything unnecessary after that. The doctors said I had a dangerous reaction to the flu shot and should not take any So I say no flu shot
 
The only thing I can't believe, is this still comes up, every year. If you haven't been educated to the facts, & myths, before now, you never will be. "4 Will" has explained it correctly! The ones that got a shot & then the flu, if it was the flu, it was a different strain, or you picked it up, before you could build immunity. The build up is slow, & might take 6 weeks to reach maximum. Reason they start in late summer, giving shots. There are a few people, like "Wwilman", that are allergic to it & shouldn't take it. It's all in the waivers & info, you have to go through, to get the shot.
 
rodney eppes said:
The only thing I can't believe, is this still comes up, every year. If you haven't been educated to the facts, & myths, before now, you never will be. "4 Will" has explained it correctly! The ones that got a shot & then the flu, if it was the flu, it was a different strain, or you picked it up, before you could build immunity. The build up is slow, & might take 6 weeks to reach maximum. Reason they start in late summer, giving shots. There are a few people, like "Wwilman", that are allergic to it & shouldn't take it. It's all in the waivers & info, you have to go through, to get the shot.
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Yep.

You cannot get the flu from the SHOT. The shot is a killed virus. It's dead. Can't infect you. You can get "flu-like symptoms" from the shot. Some people mistake that for "getting the flu".

The flu nasal spray vaccination is a weakened virus that is still alive. You can possibly get flu from that, but it's unlikely.

And you're right, anyone who truly got the flu after getting the shot got a different strain. My wager would be that the vast majority of people who "got the flu" after the shot just had a virus and probably didn't even go to the doctor and get a test done to see if it was actually the flu.

From what I've read, the flu going around lately is the H1N1, but don't know if the shot is formulated against that particular strain.
 
My wife never got the full on flu after getting the shot, but she did feel sick and weak for several days a few times after getting it.
 
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