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Flu shots? For them or against ?

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  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,995 Member
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    Roaming tiger, you are young( presuming your avatar is you) so if you do not have a chronic disease( asthma, diabetes etc) and you do not have family, close contacts who do and you do not work in a field in which others are at risk ( nursing, child care, Aged Care etc) - then you are not in risk group so you probably won't get the flu even without the vaccine and, if you do, you will recover well.

    I am not saying dont get the vaccine - but I am saying if you are all of the above, you are not one of the people for whom it is most important to have it.
  • Jain
    Jain Posts: 861 Member
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    I get one every year. I have underlying health issues that mean getting the 'flu' is dangerous for me. Thankfully it usually works. And I've never suffered any ill effects from it.
    This year I was offered a jab against pneumonia for the first time, had that & the flu jab at the same time. No side effects.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    I am for, I got a flu 10 years ago that knocked me down so I started taking the shot since.
  • AutumnDraidean
    AutumnDraidean Posts: 23 Member
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    Guillain-barré is pretty rare with standard flu shots although it was a somewhat bigger risk with H1N1 and with the vaccine for swine flu in the 1970s. It was a bigger story then because they were unfamiliar with it, and were not as successful treating people for it. It's also a more significant risk with Zika.

    Getting the flu on the other hand can lead to pneumonia and worse. as others have indicated, the flu is horrible and takes even healthy people weeks to recover from. I've been getting a flu shot every year for most of my adult life. I started getting them when I had no health insurance to reduce my risks whatever way I could. Then I became a nurse and I decided that if the hospital was giving them out free I would get one each year.

    Around the time of H1N1 NYS got serious about hospital nurses and flu shots. First they tried mandating it by law, which went over like a lead balloon. (rightly so) Now they say that you get your flu shot or you can wear a mask while you are at work during flu season. Yeah, no, I'll take the shot, thanks!

    Some people do feel a little crappy with flu shots, that just means the body is reacting properly to it by mounting an immune response. If you catch a cold right around then don't blame the flu shot, it was a coincidence. Lots of people feel like somebody slugged them in the arm, have them put it in your non dominant arm and take some tylenol.




  • obiwankendrobi
    obiwankendrobi Posts: 6 Member
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    For it! I have friends who are immunosuppresed (one friend has cystic fibrosis, other friends are diabetic, others have heart problems), as well as my father (Crohn's Disease) and I would hate to be the reason they get severely sick.
  • The__Wolf
    The__Wolf Posts: 92 Member
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    tomteboda wrote: »
    After reading this entire thread, and re-reading several portions of it, I'm pretty certain a large percentage of the population simply is awful at risk analysis.

    Humans come by this flaw honestly.

    well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/wrong-about-risk-blame-your-brain/?_r=0
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
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    I am 31 years old and I don't believe I've had the flu shot since I was 22 or so. *knock on wood* I have never gotten the flu.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    edited December 2016
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    I'm immunosuppresed,suffer from a chronic disease and am also asthmatic. So I get the shot each year. It's never actually made me ill (it's not a live vaccine) but I have consistently noticed it makes my chronic condition flare up. I figure this could be because it stimulates my immune system but this could be nonsense and in any case, a dose of flu would be worse.
  • billglitch
    billglitch Posts: 538 Member
    edited December 2016
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    tomteboda wrote: »
    After reading this entire thread, and re-reading several portions of it, I'm pretty certain a large percentage of the population simply is awful at risk analysis.

    I just checked and from what i could find between 5 and 20% of americans will get the flu. That means that 80 - 95 % will not get it. Is not getting the flu shot a big risk? depends on how you look at it. Another source says 30,000,000 americans will get the flu. Thats roughly 10%...so 1 out of 10 will get it or 9 out of 10 wont
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    billglitch wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    After reading this entire thread, and re-reading several portions of it, I'm pretty certain a large percentage of the population simply is awful at risk analysis.

    I just checked and from what i could find between 5 and 20% of americans will get the flu. That means that 80 - 95 % will not get it. Is not getting the flu shot a big risk? depends on how you look at it. Another source says 30,000,000 americans will get the flu. Thats roughly 10%...so 1 out of 10 will get it or 9 out of 10 wont

    While a relatively small percentage of people actually contract the flu, the risks that come with the flu are higher than the risk of getting the shot. The flu can be deadly, even in young, healthy individuals. The shot is not, unless one were allergic. In that case, the risk of the shot would be vastly greater than the risk of getting the flu.

    For the rest of the population, the risks that come with flu for those who contract it are much less than the risks of getting vaccinated.

    People who don't understand this are bad at risk analysis, which I believe is what @tomteboda was getting at.

    I think you mean that for the rest of the population (if you mean those who aren't allergic), the risks that come with the flu are higher than the risks of getting vaccinated.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    billglitch wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    After reading this entire thread, and re-reading several portions of it, I'm pretty certain a large percentage of the population simply is awful at risk analysis.

    I just checked and from what i could find between 5 and 20% of americans will get the flu. That means that 80 - 95 % will not get it. Is not getting the flu shot a big risk? depends on how you look at it. Another source says 30,000,000 americans will get the flu. Thats roughly 10%...so 1 out of 10 will get it or 9 out of 10 wont

    While a relatively small percentage of people actually contract the flu, the risks that come with the flu are higher than the risk of getting the shot. The flu can be deadly, even in young, healthy individuals. The shot is not, unless one were allergic. In that case, the risk of the shot would be vastly greater than the risk of getting the flu.

    For the rest of the population, the risks that come with flu for those who contract it are much less than the risks of getting vaccinated.

    People who don't understand this are bad at risk analysis, which I believe is what @tomteboda was getting at.

    I think you mean that for the rest of the population (if you mean those who aren't allergic), the risks that come with the flu are higher than the risks of getting vaccinated.

    Thanks! I fixed it.

    And yes, that's exactly what I meant :smile:
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Michaelxo444 wrote: »
    Not for me I don't want the toxic heavy metals injected into my body

    If you're referring to thimerosal (which is used as a preservative), you can always request a single-use vial (or pre-filled syringe). They typically don't need preservatives. Or are you referring to something else?
  • gladirader
    gladirader Posts: 2 Member
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    Never had the flu.. or the shot.
  • billglitch
    billglitch Posts: 538 Member
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    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    billglitch wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    After reading this entire thread, and re-reading several portions of it, I'm pretty certain a large percentage of the population simply is awful at risk analysis.

    I just checked and from what i could find between 5 and 20% of americans will get the flu. That means that 80 - 95 % will not get it. Is not getting the flu shot a big risk? depends on how you look at it. Another source says 30,000,000 americans will get the flu. Thats roughly 10%...so 1 out of 10 will get it or 9 out of 10 wont

    While a relatively small percentage of people actually contract the flu, the risks that come with the flu are higher than the risk of getting the shot. The flu can be deadly, even in young, healthy individuals. The shot is not, unless one were allergic. In that case, the risk of the shot would be vastly greater than the risk of getting the flu.

    For the rest of the population, the risks that come with flu for those who contract it are much less higher than the risks of getting vaccinated.

    People who don't understand this are bad at risk analysis, which I believe is what @tomteboda was getting at.

    *Edit: I can't words today.

    thats fine, my point was that the risk of getting the flu is fairly low. obviously everyone has to decide for themselves
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