How Do You Feel About The Flu Shot?

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  • TinaMLT
    TinaMLT Posts: 32
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    But way more people have died wishing that they had gotten the flu shot. Last year in Canada (I don't know the US stats), almost 7000 people died of influenza. There were NO and I mean NO deaths due to the flu shot last year.
  • stef_3
    stef_3 Posts: 173
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    Never had it and unless I'm forced to get one I never will. My kids don't get them either. Their pediatrictian said last years shot for children was only 50% effective. So half the kids that got the shot still got the flu. I'll wash my hands, cover when I sneeze, etc. If it was 100% effective maybe, but 50% really??
  • TinaMLT
    TinaMLT Posts: 32
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    Unfortunately this is not true, people who die from influenza usually die from pnenumonia. A bacterial infection brought on by a now seriously overtaxed immune system and damaged lungs due them being attacked and damaged by the flu virus. Keeping hydrated will make you not feel as horrible, but it will NOT keep you from contracting a secondary bacterial infection because your lungs have been temporarily damaged by the flu virus.
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
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    The year I decided to be all stoic and not get a flu shot (2007!), I got the flu. Knocked me on my *kitten* for 5 days - I could barely get out of bed, nauseous, congested, lightheaded, had about zero energy, dehydrated, just generally sh*tty. I was in fantastic health otherwise - ran, ate healthy, etc. and assumed I was ok otherwise. Ha! Wrong.

    Could it be coincidence? I have no idea. It ran rampant amongst my workplace that year, I do know that.

    I get one every year and will continue to do so. I believe it should be mandatory for healthcare workers as should other preventative vaccinations - hepatitis, meningitis, tetanus...
  • Iceskatefanrn
    Iceskatefanrn Posts: 489 Member
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    I'm not an expert, but I have read lots of research. As an RN with nearly 30 years experience (most of that in Pediatrics), I get asked this question a lot. Here's how I answer it - DISCLAIMER... this is my PERSONAL opinion, which I will attempt to support with factual data.

    Vaccines save lives. Statistics prove this.

    Vaccines are safe. There are very, very few true vaccine-related injuries/illnesses.

    No vaccine is 100% safe. Read that again if you have to... I"m totally PRO vaccine, but I'm not gonna lie... NO vaccine is 100% safe. BUT..., very few medical interventions are 100% safe. SO... you've gotta think about the risk vs the results.

    Statistically speaking, the risk of getting ANY vaccine is much, MUCH lower than the risk of outcomes of getting the disease, or spreading the disease to someone with a compromised immune system.

    Financially speaking, vaccines save money. According to an extensive cost-benefit analysis by the CDC, every dollar spent on immunization saves $6.30 in direct medical costs, with an aggregate savings of $10.5 billion. When including indirect costs to society -- a measurement of losses due to missed work, death and disability as well as direct medical costs -- the CDC notes that every dollar spent on immunization saves $18.40, producing societal aggregate savings of $42 billion

    One more point - check out this chart that shows the diseases that are GONE GONE GONE, BECAUSE of vaccines:

    cdcslide.jpg

    Hope this information helps.

    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

    Ice
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    We are offered them free at work each year. It is not mandatory, but and I gladly get it. Even though I am lucky enough to have a healthy immune system and would likely survive the flu, were I to contract it I could (and probably would) unintentionally spread the germ to some who are not so lucky.
  • irishkiss
    irishkiss Posts: 115 Member
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    At my work it is mandatory, only in the last 2 years. I ve worked there 20years. Im not happy about it. I never took the shot ...never had the flu. Besides it only "protects" you from last years strain, not the mutated one for this year. I was told if I didnt take it I could find new employment. THAT has to be against the law. I am furious right now. I did end up taking it.
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    to all the people who say i never get the flu so why bother with the shot. it only takes getting it once to have it possibly turn into a fatal case.

    sorry i try not to play the odds with anything that can be fatal

    Some people have died (or wish they had) as a result of immunizations. I choose not to take chances either. :)
    not even close to the numbers
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    No company should force you to get a flu shot. I am allergic to eggs and latex. I can not take a regular flu shot and have to have one that has no preservatives. I sign a paper opting out of getting one. 2 years ago with the big scare of H1N1 I relented....I ended up fighting pneumonia for a good 2 months.....I've promised myself that I won't ever get another one.

    one would have nothing to do with the other they are totally unrelated illnesses
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    Never had it and unless I'm forced to get one I never will. My kids don't get them either. Their pediatrictian said last years shot for children was only 50% effective. So half the kids that got the shot still got the flu. I'll wash my hands, cover when I sneeze, etc. If it was 100% effective maybe, but 50% really??

    last time i checked 50% was still way more than zero
  • gettingfit65
    gettingfit65 Posts: 349 Member
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    I don't get them. My kids and I usually get the flu, and to everyone who says that's impossible I have this story.

    Last time my oldest got the flu shot was when he was 3, no one at his daycare had the flu or flu like symptoms, and no one my wife or I worked/interacted with had the flu or flu like symptoms. 2 or 3 weeks after getting the shot, he has the flu all Thanksgiving weekend. Since we stopped getting the flu shots, no one in my family has been that sick ever again, and we are going on 5 years.

    Knock on wood....

    We get the common cold a few times a year (and a special thank you to all the parents who treat their children as fashion accessories and send Little Suzy/Johnny to school with runny nose/fever), but we have yet to get the flu as a result of not getting the flu shot.

    What is it you do that they can make you get it or lose your job? There are some jobs where it is a requirement.

    My situation is similar. Only took the flu shot once many years ago at the request of my employer. I have never been so sick as I was then. I was at a camp with my son and it was all I could do to drive him back and forth. Overheard one person say, "wow, that lady is really sick" lol. Anyway, haven't had the flu shot again and have not had the flu since so I don't know. I am not for or against, each to their own.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,124 Member
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    I haven't had a flu shot in twenty years and I haven't had the flu in that time either.

    Three years in a row before that, I got flu shots, and then immediately got the flu all three times. Like within two days.

    Fool me three times........
  • padraigin67
    padraigin67 Posts: 78 Member
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    I do not get the flu or the pneumonia shot. The one time I got each one of them I develop pneumonia really bad. Before everyone jumps on with that does not happen to everyone. True not everyone has that complication. It should be a personal choice that is based on your beliefs and desires. No company or job should be able to tell you what to do. It is your health and you should be the one that decides what is best for you. You and your healthcare provider should discuss the pros and cons of it. Then you alone should decide what is best.
  • stef_3
    stef_3 Posts: 173
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    Never had it and unless I'm forced to get one I never will. My kids don't get them either. Their pediatrictian said last years shot for children was only 50% effective. So half the kids that got the shot still got the flu. I'll wash my hands, cover when I sneeze, etc. If it was 100% effective maybe, but 50% really??

    last time i checked 50% was still way more than zero

    True. However, I consider my odds better since I've never gotten the flu shots in my 29 years and have only ever had the flu 1 time in all those years. That's better than 50%. My kids have never gotten it and neither have ever had the flu. My husband has to get it every year due to military requirements and he gets the flu every other year like clockwork. Don't know why my kids or I don't get it from him and I don't care.
  • Hoppymom
    Hoppymom Posts: 1,158 Member
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    I get it every year as I work with preschool children. My husband refuses and last year had the H1N1 flu strain. He was very sick for a week. The doctor was surprised that he didn't end up in the hospital. He has a history of athsma and diabetes. He has also had quadruple bypass surgery. His doctor tells him he should get the shot and the pnuemonia one as well. He was lucky to survive.
    Newer vaccines do not have mercury. A tiny percentage of people have negative reactions to vaccines but many more die from the flu. While I uphold your right to chose I am concerned with the effect your illness may have on others.
    I am aware of the negative side effects of vaccines due to my daughter having a terrible one after the first in the Hep B series at age 12. She had all of the early symptoms of MS and is considered to have the disorder though she has not had the diffinitive test, a spinal tap, as they are often incorrect. The small blind spot has remained in her vision and is now permanant. She gets the flu shot but will never finish the series per orders of her neurologist. Stay healthy everyone!
  • padraigin67
    padraigin67 Posts: 78 Member
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    Baterical Pnuemonia is caused by mucus gathering in the lungs. Said mucus can be a side effect of a viral infection such as the flu. So yes the flu can cause you to get pnuemonia. As well as a range of other things that may not cause some to develop pnuemonia but can cause others to. Allergic reactions to things can cause pnuemonia as well. Her being allergic to things in the shot can cause said allergic reaction and cause her to develop pnuemonia.
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    I do not get the flu or the pneumonia shot. The one time I got each one of them I develop pneumonia really bad. Before everyone jumps on with that does not happen to everyone. True not everyone has that complication. It should be a personal choice that is based on your beliefs and desires. No company or job should be able to tell you what to do. It is your health and you should be the one that decides what is best for you. You and your healthcare provider should discuss the pros and cons of it. Then you alone should decide what is best.

    the only problem with the its your health theory is , if you are in certain types of jobs like healthcare or working with children or the elderly .
    thne NO it is not just YOUR health involved, its the health of those you come in contact with , who may not be able to fight of the flu.

    if you are going to have a career working with such people then you have to accept everything that goes with it.
  • peacheywoo
    peacheywoo Posts: 52 Member
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    I have 2 members of staff that religiously have the flu jab every year - and always end off sick for 7 - 10 days after it. I worked in an Infectious diseases unit for 10 years and was vaccinated against just about everything. I haven't caught flu (yet) and haven't had a flu jab - maybe all the other stuff floating around has kept it at bay!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I was told if I didnt take it I could find new employment. THAT has to be against the law. I am furious right now. I did end up taking it.

    It's not against the law in the US. Many healthcare providers and caregivers are required to get it, as are many school employees. This is smart because they people typically come in contact with vulnerable populations (sick, elderly, and children) who would be more likely to die if an unvaccinated employee spread the flu to them. But some businesses also require it as a cost cutting measure. Employees who contract the flu cost money through absences and increased insurance rates.
  • TinaMLT
    TinaMLT Posts: 32
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    OK, There was one response that has me totally mystified. They DO NOT USE animal body parts to make the vaccine (that one I haven't heard yet, so congrats for that). They do use chicken eggs. The very same ones you eat. No dead animal parts, no mice, rats, goats, pigs, horses or elephants, just chicken eggs. This is why people with an egg allergy cannot have the vaccine.

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