Flu Vaccine

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  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    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.
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
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    I am getting one this week. We are offered them free at work, if I had to pay for it, probably wouldn't get it or go out of my way to get one.
  • alijoanxo
    alijoanxo Posts: 480 Member
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    Yes. I've gotten one every year since I was little because I have asthma. I also work in the healthcare field, so it's forced upon me anyway. Everyone should get it!!
  • Chloe_Chaos_
    Chloe_Chaos_ Posts: 150 Member
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    I get one every year and I've never had the flu *knock on wood*. I do it to protect myself and those around me. I've never been negatively impacted by any vaccine to date and I believe that vaccines are necessary. It's a shame that some people do not believe in them simply for the health of those around them. The reason we haven't seen certain disease in ages is because we vaccinate against them, not because they've disappeared.
  • Blacklance36
    Blacklance36 Posts: 755 Member
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    Jenne50 wrote: »
    Got it already. Not because I am worried about getting sick, but because I don't want to make those around me sick - like my elderly father or my very young grandchildren.

    There are people in my office that wont 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.

    I get the shot and I have not had the flu for four years now so it definitely works for me.


  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    nope. since I stopped getting the flu shot I havent been sick.you can prevent the flu in many ways without the vaccine.my kids only had the flu vaccine one time each and they had the flu that year and havent had it since.same way with hubby. some people do have natural immunity to a lot of viruses.
  • KatDJZ
    KatDJZ Posts: 224 Member
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    I usually get it. I'm a nanny and my boss is a doctor and usually asks me to get one, or asks if I'm interested and she pays for it. Keeps her kids from catching anything from me, and keeps me from getting sick from any of them, so it's a good plan all around.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    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?
  • amberlykay1014
    amberlykay1014 Posts: 608 Member
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    No, I haven't in the last 5 years or so and I never got the flu. My husband got his last year and it was the only year he actually got the flu! No thanks.
  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
    JustAnotherGirlSuzanne Posts: 932 Member
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    Nope. I've never had the shot and I never will if I can help it. Haven't been sick in years either. Eat well, move often, and sleep lots is the only formula I need.
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
    edited October 2014
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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.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    It's the right thing to do, not only for me and my family, but for society as a whole.
    Yes, this.
    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
    davis_em wrote:
    waiting on long-term studies on the pros/cons of the flu vaccine
    How long-term do you need, and how effective does it have to be?

    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
    I hate needles.
    Get the type you snort. It's no worse than nasal spray.
    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).
    If they've guessed right, it could save your life.
    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.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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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.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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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.
  • 50sFit
    50sFit Posts: 712 Member
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    sullus wrote: »
    50sFit wrote: »
    SwashBlogger wrote: »
    Did/will you get a flu shot this year? Why or why not
    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...
    8he3v3vtylsi.jpg

    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.
    I KNEW IT!

  • teagirlmedium
    teagirlmedium Posts: 679 Member
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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.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    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.
    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.
    And yes, the flu (the real flu, not intestinal distress) often leads to pneumonia.
  • squirrelythegreat
    squirrelythegreat Posts: 158 Member
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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.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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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.

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