Flu Vaccine
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No, I had a bad reaction to it one year, and my doctor/logic advised me to not get it again. It sucks, because I'm immunosuppressed. I guess the flu is a bit better than asphyxiating.
*Just to add* The reaction I suffered was not common at all.
People who can get the vaccine, and don't, are making it easier for people like me, who have a very, very weak immune system to catch it. If I get the flu, I am hospitalized, and some of my treatments have to stop. It sucks.0 -
Yes, this.It's the right thing to do, not only for me and my family, but for society as a whole.
I get mine every year. I have asthma, so getting the flu would be even more serious.
This year I also got the pneumonia vaccine, pretty much the same reasons. That's supposed to be a 1-time thing.
BTW, the flu kills thousands every year.
It's not a couple days of throwing up, it's a serious illness.
http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/leadingcauses.html
In 2011, flu & pneumonia were the 8th leading cause of death in the USA, with nearly 54,000.
(Heart disease & cancer are the 2 leading causes, and they kill more than 10x that many.)
2010 - 9th - 50,000
2009 - 8th - 54,000
2008 - 8th - 56,000
2007 - 8th - 53,000
How long-term do you need, and how effective does it have to be?davis_em wrote:waiting on long-term studies on the pros/cons of the flu vaccine
In 1918, the flu killed 20-40 million people worldwide. https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/
"More people died of influenza in a single year than in four years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351."
http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918/the_pandemic/legacypendemic/
"An estimated 675,000 Americans were among the dead.
All of these deaths caused a severe disruption in the economy. Claims against life insurance policies skyrocketed, with one insurance company reporting a 745 percent rise in the number of claims made. Small businesses, many of which had been unable to operate during the pandemic, went bankrupt."
"Influenza vaccine was first introduced as a licensed product in the United States in 1944. Because of the rapid rate of mutation of the influenza virus, the effectiveness of a given vaccine usually lasts for only a year or two...
The pandemic which occurred in 1918-1919 was not the only influenza pandemic of the twentieth century. Influenza returned in a pandemic form in 1957-1958 and, again, in 1968-1969.
These two later pandemics were much less severe than the 1918-1919 pandemic. Estimated deaths within the United States for these two later pandemics were 70,000 excess deaths (1957-1958) and 33,000 excess deaths (1968-1967)."
So... pandemic before the flu vaccine existed, 675K dead.
Pandemics after the flu vaccine was created, 70K (90% less) & 33K (95% less) dead.
Mortality rate has gone down too.
2011 - 312 million population, 54K deaths, 0.02% died
1968 - 200.7 million, 33K, 0.02%
1957 - 172 million, 70K, 0.04%
1918 - 103 million, 675K dead 0.66%
http://www.multpl.com/united-states-population/table
Get the type you snort. It's no worse than nasal spray.I hate needles.
If they've guessed right, it could save your life.I see no reason to get jabbed when there's no guarantee it'll actually keep me from getting the flu (if scientists guessed wrong).
Even if they've guessed wrong, it could lessen the severity of the disease.
And you being immune could prevent someone who can't get the vaccine from getting sick.
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Not yet but it is on my "to do" list, especially since I will be starting substitute teaching in a couple of weeks.0
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tincanonastring wrote: »FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »teagirlmedium wrote: »No, I do not like needles. I have had the flu before and if I get it again oh well. It was horrible, but at least my diet will be over. I really did hate it though, but needles are worse and at least I can see an upside to the flu. I will just have a new weight to maintain. I have only had the flue 1 time, I have had a flu shot 1 time. I would rather never take the shot again, risk getting the flu and sleeping on the bathroom floor again every flu season, than to deal with another needle I am not actually required to deal with.
You can get the vaccine via an inahalable mist taken through the nose. No reason to go unprotected due to a phobia!
The flu vaccine is only 56% effective so it really doesn't "protect" all that much.
So, disregarding the simplistic nature of measuring the effectiveness of a vaccine by whether or not it prevents the flu (thereby dismissing a reduction in morbidity and mortality in those who are vaccinated but still infected), are you telling me that you'd rather forego something that protects more than 1 out of 2 times in favor of no protection at all?
Here's some reading on how to truly measure the effectiveness of a vaccine:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm
Some key points:
◦A recent study* showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74% during flu seasons from 2010-2012.
◦One study showed that flu vaccination was associated with a 71% reduction in flu-related hospitalizations among adults of all ages and a 77% reduction among adults 50 years of age and older during the 2011-2012 flu season.
◦Flu vaccination is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions. Vaccination was associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who had had a cardiac event in the past year. Flu vaccination also has been shown to be associated with reduced hospitalizations among people with diabetes (79%) and chronic lung disease (52%).
◦Vaccination helps protect women during pregnancy and their babies for up to 6 months after they are born. One study showed that giving flu vaccine to pregnant women was 92% effective in preventing hospitalization of infants for flu.
◦Other studies have shown that vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-related hospitalizations in older adults. A study that looked at flu vaccine effectiveness over the course of three flu seasons estimated that flu vaccination lowered the risk of hospitalizations by 61% in people 50 years of age and older.
I know how the flu vaccine's effectiveness is measured. I'm looking at the big picture.
What bigger picture?
Uh… the effectiveness of the flu vaccine as a whole.
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I KNEW IT!
I plan on getting a flu shot today - even though flu shots are a tool of the Illuminati to control the masses in their evil scheme to rule the world. Whatever...they work great to keep me well...SwashBlogger wrote: »Did/will you get a flu shot this year? Why or why not
Yep. Everyone knows that they are implanting an RFID chip *and* taking a DNA sample for the illuminati database under the guise of "protecting" you. Not enough people were getting flu shots, they's why they started ebola and created the ebola vaccine. Well that and so they can declare martial law and let Obama come take your guns.
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tincanonastring wrote: »teagirlmedium wrote: »No, I do not like needles. I have had the flu before and if I get it again oh well. It was horrible, but at least my diet will be over. I really did hate it though, but needles are worse and at least I can see an upside to the flu. I will just have a new weight to maintain. I have only had the flue 1 time, I have had a flu shot 1 time. I would rather never take the shot again, risk getting the flu and sleeping on the bathroom floor again every flu season, than to deal with another needle I am not actually required to deal with.
You can get the vaccine via an inahalable mist taken through the nose. No reason to go unprotected due to a phobia!
If they offer a mist at the clinic maybe, but I am not paying for a flu shot or a flu mist, which costs more. I would rather risk getting sick.0 -
Or it could be that you're no longer a child, so you're better about covering your cough, washing your hands, all those hygene measures we're supposed to take, so you're not picking up one disease after another.vamaena wrote:No, I used to get it as a child and always ended up getting the flu, bronchitis, strep throat, and a pneumonia throught the fall/winter (one generally lead into another which resulted in me being sick for about 2-3 months straight).
Ever since I stopped getting my flu shot a few years ago I've only gotten a cold for a week or two at most.
I can't say for 100% fact that the flu shot was responsible for the onslaught of sickness every winter but once I stopped and the sickness stopped it's good enough for me.
And yes, the flu (the real flu, not intestinal distress) often leads to pneumonia.
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Nope, Never have and never will. The last time I was miserably sick was immediately following my last vaccination. It was the only time I was sick after cleaning up my diet. Adding exercise. Etc. I guess that makes me an evil anti vax nutjob for not following the herd mentality. I can deal with that. And if I get the flu? Oh no. The flu. If you never get exposed to anything you'll never build a strong immune system. "that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and all that.0
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FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »teagirlmedium wrote: »No, I do not like needles. I have had the flu before and if I get it again oh well. It was horrible, but at least my diet will be over. I really did hate it though, but needles are worse and at least I can see an upside to the flu. I will just have a new weight to maintain. I have only had the flue 1 time, I have had a flu shot 1 time. I would rather never take the shot again, risk getting the flu and sleeping on the bathroom floor again every flu season, than to deal with another needle I am not actually required to deal with.
You can get the vaccine via an inahalable mist taken through the nose. No reason to go unprotected due to a phobia!
The flu vaccine is only 56% effective so it really doesn't "protect" all that much.
So, disregarding the simplistic nature of measuring the effectiveness of a vaccine by whether or not it prevents the flu (thereby dismissing a reduction in morbidity and mortality in those who are vaccinated but still infected), are you telling me that you'd rather forego something that protects more than 1 out of 2 times in favor of no protection at all?
Here's some reading on how to truly measure the effectiveness of a vaccine:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm
Some key points:
◦A recent study* showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74% during flu seasons from 2010-2012.
◦One study showed that flu vaccination was associated with a 71% reduction in flu-related hospitalizations among adults of all ages and a 77% reduction among adults 50 years of age and older during the 2011-2012 flu season.
◦Flu vaccination is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions. Vaccination was associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who had had a cardiac event in the past year. Flu vaccination also has been shown to be associated with reduced hospitalizations among people with diabetes (79%) and chronic lung disease (52%).
◦Vaccination helps protect women during pregnancy and their babies for up to 6 months after they are born. One study showed that giving flu vaccine to pregnant women was 92% effective in preventing hospitalization of infants for flu.
◦Other studies have shown that vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-related hospitalizations in older adults. A study that looked at flu vaccine effectiveness over the course of three flu seasons estimated that flu vaccination lowered the risk of hospitalizations by 61% in people 50 years of age and older.
I know how the flu vaccine's effectiveness is measured. I'm looking at the big picture.
What bigger picture?
Uh… the effectiveness of the flu vaccine as a whole.
Uh...the bigger picture of measuring the effectiveness of the vaccine isn't to just present it as a binary problem, i.e. does it stop you from getting the flu or not. The bigger picture would also include reduced need for hospitalization for those that do get it, reduced death rates, and lower rates of flu-related/caused issues (cardiac events, pneumonia, diabetic complications, pregnancy complications, etc). You're not looking at the big picture; you're looking at a couple pixels.0 -
nope. I have never gotten the flu and I will in the foreseeable future never get the shot.0
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teagirlmedium wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »teagirlmedium wrote: »No, I do not like needles. I have had the flu before and if I get it again oh well. It was horrible, but at least my diet will be over. I really did hate it though, but needles are worse and at least I can see an upside to the flu. I will just have a new weight to maintain. I have only had the flue 1 time, I have had a flu shot 1 time. I would rather never take the shot again, risk getting the flu and sleeping on the bathroom floor again every flu season, than to deal with another needle I am not actually required to deal with.
You can get the vaccine via an inahalable mist taken through the nose. No reason to go unprotected due to a phobia!
If they offer a mist at the clinic maybe, but I am not paying for a flu shot or a flu mist, which costs more. I would rather risk getting sick.
You'd have to ask your clinic. Also, check your insurance. Innoculations in the US are classified as preventive medicine and are required to be covered at 100% due to the ACA. I'm not sure how that works when you refuse the shot in favor of the mist, though. Coverage is probably plan specific.0 -
this was the first topic i made on MFP. someone warned me it would get ugly. so I pm'd a mod to ask for it to be deleted. take a lesson.0
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__drmerc__ wrote: »No way. The flu never hurt anybody but the vaccine gives you autism
LOL (I sure hope that was sarcasm)0 -
MyChocolateDiet wrote: »this was the first topic i made on MFP. someone warned me it would get ugly. so I pm'd a mod to ask for it to be deleted. take a lesson.
Is it ugly at this point? This is pretty tame compared to other threads I've seen. There is also a lot of good information that has been presented so far that may help people make a good decision.0 -
digginDeep wrote: »But when was the last time we lost a significant percentage of the population to the flu?
Last time we lost a significant percentage of the population to the flu was the Spanish flu epidemic, but that was really bad, ended in 1920, my Grandmother died on the tail end of it, she was in her 20s and my Dad was a baby.
I usually get my flu shot when I have my yearly physical in November. Last year it was late so I didn't get it as it was already December.0 -
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but living in a first-world country doesn't protect you from contracting illnesses and diseases. Only ignorant people think that
You'll still be miserable & infectious for days.I know that. But it does mean that if I do contract the flu it's highly likely that I'll be just fine.
Why would you want to suffer for _days_ with the disease when there's a vaccine available?
(And people who choose not to vaccinate their kids should be convicted of child abuse! Putting a kid through chickenpox, then later in life shingles? Sadistic.)
Why risk infecting other people when there's a vaccine available?
And how do you explain away the 54K who died from flu & pneumonia (which often follows the flu) in 2011?
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__drmerc__ wrote: »No way. The flu never hurt anybody but the vaccine gives you autism
No, it doesn't. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018252/0 -
tincanonastring wrote: »teagirlmedium wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »teagirlmedium wrote: »No, I do not like needles. I have had the flu before and if I get it again oh well. It was horrible, but at least my diet will be over. I really did hate it though, but needles are worse and at least I can see an upside to the flu. I will just have a new weight to maintain. I have only had the flue 1 time, I have had a flu shot 1 time. I would rather never take the shot again, risk getting the flu and sleeping on the bathroom floor again every flu season, than to deal with another needle I am not actually required to deal with.
You can get the vaccine via an inahalable mist taken through the nose. No reason to go unprotected due to a phobia!
If they offer a mist at the clinic maybe, but I am not paying for a flu shot or a flu mist, which costs more. I would rather risk getting sick.
You'd have to ask your clinic. Also, check your insurance. Innoculations in the US are classified as preventive medicine and are required to be covered at 100% due to the ACA. I'm not sure how that works when you refuse the shot in favor of the mist, though. Coverage is probably plan specific.
I do not have insurance. The shot or the mist would be completely out of pocket for me. When I went to get the shot in a previous year, the clinic did not have the mist. I have only had the shot once, out of all the years I have not had the shot I have only gotten sick once. So I do not see a point in paying for the flu vaccine, because I am probably not going to get the flu.0 -
Yup, got it on Saturday, despite hating needles (I know there's the nasal spray option but it's easier to just walk into Walgreens and ask for the shot). I've only had the flu once, when I was 10 - I was not vaccinated that year, or actually any year until 3 years ago when my mother had her immune system knocked out as part of a medical treatment, so we all had to get vaccinated to protect her. Since then I've gotten it every year, and haven't gotten sick (though I also did not get sick most years when I went unvaccinated). Since I know I only have minor reactions to the vaccine, the protection offered to me and to people around me outweighs my discomfort.0
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So you've been lucky, and you should be thanking everyone around you who was responsible enough to get vaccinated!GordieLaChance wrote:I chose to not receive a flu shot because I am rarely sick. I can't remember the last time I was stricken with the flu.
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yes i already had mine. i get it every october, along with a mammogram.
i actually got the flu last year despite having my flu shot, but i was only sick for about 2 days and i wasn't nearly as sick as i was when i had the flu in 1996. i was nearly hospitalized. don't want to go through that again!0 -
__drmerc__ wrote: »No way. The flu never hurt anybody but the vaccine gives you autism
I hope this is a joke.0 -
MyChocolateDiet wrote: »this was the first topic i made on MFP. someone warned me it would get ugly. so I pm'd a mod to ask for it to be deleted. take a lesson.
You think this thread is bad? HAH.
What a party pooper.0 -
perseverance14 wrote: »digginDeep wrote: »But when was the last time we lost a significant percentage of the population to the flu?
Last time we lost a significant percentage of the population to the flu was the Spanish flu epidemic, but that was really bad, ended in 1920, my Grandmother died on the tail end of it, she was in her 20s and my Dad was a baby.
I usually get my flu shot when I have my yearly physical in November. Last year it was late so I didn't get it as it was already December.
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Getting mine this week. Lost 30% lung capacity in 2009 courtesy of complications from H1N1. Won't let that happen again.0
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I think going to HR _before_ there's a problem this year is in order.Blacklance36 wrote:There are people in my office that won't get one because they don't believe it in. One of them gets sick every year and then comes in to work and hacks and coughs for days making others around her ill. The rest of us detest her for it.
If several of you meet with your manager &/or an HR person, and ask that the company establish a policy that anyone who's coughing, or with a fever (of a certain amount... check with a doctor), stay home until they're not sick, and get a doctor's written permission to return to work, that person _might_ change her behaviour.
But it's not getting ugly.this was the first topic i made on MFP. someone warned me it would get ugly. so I pm'd a mod to ask for it to be deleted.
This is nothing.
There are people saying they've been sensible & responsible, and there are people who don't believe in science.
Some in the first group are attempting to show the second group why their actions are wrong, dangerous, and anti-social.0 -
Posted above:digginDeep wrote: »But when was the last time we lost a significant percentage of the population to the flu?
http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918/the_pandemic/legacypendemic/
"[pandemic of 1918] An estimated 675,000 Americans were among the dead.
All of these deaths caused a severe disruption in the economy. Claims against life insurance policies skyrocketed, with one insurance company reporting a 745 percent rise in the number of claims made. Small businesses, many of which had been unable to operate during the pandemic, went bankrupt."
"Influenza vaccine was first introduced as a licensed product in the United States in 1944. Because of the rapid rate of mutation of the influenza virus, the effectiveness of a given vaccine usually lasts for only a year or two...
The pandemic which occurred in 1918-1919 was not the only influenza pandemic of the twentieth century. Influenza returned in a pandemic form in 1957-1958 and, again, in 1968-1969.
These two later pandemics were much less severe than the 1918-1919 pandemic. Estimated deaths within the United States for these two later pandemics were 70,000 excess deaths (1957-1958) and 33,000 excess deaths (1968-1967)."
So... pandemic before the flu vaccine existed, 675K dead.
Pandemics after the flu vaccine was created, 70K (90% less) & 33K (95% less) dead.
Mortality rate has gone down too.
2011 - 312 million population, 54K deaths, 0.02% died
1968 - 200.7 million, 33K, 0.02%
1957 - 172 million, 70K, 0.04%
1918 - 103 million, 675K dead 0.66%
http://www.multpl.com/united-states-population/table
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How long-term do you need, and how effective does it have to be?davis_em wrote:waiting on long-term studies on the pros/cons of the flu vaccine
In 1918, the flu killed 20-40 million people worldwide. https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/
"More people died of influenza in a single year than in four years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351."
http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918/the_pandemic/legacypendemic/
"An estimated 675,000 Americans were among the dead.
All of these deaths caused a severe disruption in the economy. Claims against life insurance policies skyrocketed, with one insurance company reporting a 745 percent rise in the number of claims made. Small businesses, many of which had been unable to operate during the pandemic, went bankrupt."
"Influenza vaccine was first introduced as a licensed product in the United States in 1944. Because of the rapid rate of mutation of the influenza virus, the effectiveness of a given vaccine usually lasts for only a year or two...
The pandemic which occurred in 1918-1919 was not the only influenza pandemic of the twentieth century. Influenza returned in a pandemic form in 1957-1958 and, again, in 1968-1969.
These two later pandemics were much less severe than the 1918-1919 pandemic. Estimated deaths within the United States for these two later pandemics were 70,000 excess deaths (1957-1958) and 33,000 excess deaths (1968-1967)."
So... pandemic before the flu vaccine existed, 675K dead.
Pandemics after the flu vaccine was created, 70K (90% less) & 33K (95% less) dead.
Mortality rate has gone down too.
2011 - 312 million population, 54K deaths, 0.02% died
1968 - 200.7 million, 33K, 0.02%
1957 - 172 million, 70K, 0.04%
1918 - 103 million, 675K dead 0.66%
http://www.multpl.com/united-states-population/table
Get the type you snort. It's no worse than nasal spray.I hate needles.
If they've guessed right, it could save your life.I see no reason to get jabbed when there's no guarantee it'll actually keep me from getting the flu (if scientists guessed wrong).
Even if they've guessed wrong, it could lessen the severity of the disease.
And you being immune could prevent someone who can't get the vaccine from getting sick.
I'm aware that the flu can be deadly. And I'm aware of the flu vaccines helping decrease mortality. I haven't seen any scientific study that shows either the effects of or lack of effect (good OR bad) for folks who have taken the flu vaccine each year over the course of 20 or 30 years. If you can point me to one, I'd gladly take a look and maybe change my stance. I HAVE read a study done on the flu vaccine in 1979 that showed a slight increase in Guillian Barre Syndrome for folks vaccinated.... which I'm sure they've either disclaimed or ironed out (right?!).
I'm in no way, shape or form a vaccine 'alarmist', but I'm also not willing to jump on the bandwagon over an educated guess (which is what the current flu vaccine and the strain selection process amounts to) when I don't know what it might (or might not) do to me in my old age.
I'm one of those people that wants to be taken off of life support if I can't care for myself. If it's my time to go, then so be it. Flu shot be damned.
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I think going to HR _before_ there's a problem this year is in order.Blacklance36 wrote:There are people in my office that won't get one because they don't believe it in. One of them gets sick every year and then comes in to work and hacks and coughs for days making others around her ill. The rest of us detest her for it.
If several of you meet with your manager &/or an HR person, and ask that the company establish a policy that anyone who's coughing, or with a fever (of a certain amount... check with a doctor), stay home until they're not sick, and get a doctor's written permission to return to work, that person _might_ change her behaviour.
But it's not getting ugly.this was the first topic i made on MFP. someone warned me it would get ugly. so I pm'd a mod to ask for it to be deleted.
This is nothing.
There are people saying they've been sensible & responsible, and there are people who don't believe in science.
Some in the first group are attempting to show the second group why their actions are wrong, dangerous, and anti-social.
I don't recall there being a direct correlation between responsibility and getting the flu shot.
The only time I will have formaldehyde anywhere in close proximity to my body (let alone IN my body) is when I am using it to preserve cadavers.
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