Forced flu shot at work

sjschewlakow

I wouldn't get it.

I have had the flu shot once. I ended up with the flu really bad a month or so later. I haven't had the flu shot since that time and haven't gotten the flu. I would find a way out if possible.

ARDuBaie

I see people throwing on the guilt trip of 'if you don't get your child vaccinated/yourself vaccinated, you are putting those who cannot get vaccinated at risk for that disease.'

The fact of the matter is that even if you are vaccinated, you can carry the disease. Just not quite as long as a person who is unvaccinated. A vaccination only makes it so that your immune system will react faster to kill the organism than that of an unvaccinated person. So, even if a nurse is vaccinated, she/he could carry the disease and infect others with that disease.

Then I hear those who are saying that vaccinations prevent children from becoming sick and dying. What about the children who are vaccinated and die from reactions to the vaccination? What do you tell those parents? Do you tell them, "Hey, I am sorry, but it is your duty to vaccinate your children so that other's children don't die"?

Many times, the long-term affect of vaccinations is not considered. Chickenpox is a fine example of the long-term consequences of a vaccination program. Have you ever wondered why people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s are now getting shingles? Well, it is because of the chickenpox vaccination program. In the old days, before the vaccination, when a person who had the chickenpox as a child was exposed to a child with chickenpox when they were an adult, it was like receiving a booster shot. This prevented adults from getting the shingles until they were in their 70s or 80s. Keep in mind that Zostrivax, the vaccination to prevent shingles, is not offered until a person is up there in age. The youngest person I know to have the shingles is 24.

I would like to point out that many of the diseases that were prevalent in the early 1900s were prevalent because of poor sanitation, poor personal hygiene, and lack of knowledge about the disease. Diseases like polio were already decreasing in incidence prior to the advent of the polio vaccination.

I also would like to say that most people who are against vaccinations are very knowledgeable regarding vaccinations. Yes, they hold a different opinion from you, but you should be asking why they hold that opinion. What information do they have that you don't have? Not all pro-choice vaccination people believe that vaccinations lead to autism, ADHD, ADD, bipolar disorder, etc. As a nurse, I know that the Vaccination Information Sheet (VIS) does not list all the possible side-effects that can be caused by a vaccination.

Let me share a little information that I have found out:

It was back in the early 1900s that scientists and vaccine developers were trying to grow human cells in order to make their vaccines. They were having trouble with growing human cells: The cells would divide so far and then die. Or they didn't divide fast enough. Along came a woman named Henrietta Lacks. She had a cancerous tumor on her cervix that was removed at John Hopkins Hospital and sent to a researcher who found that the cells from this cancerous tumor were not only able to multiply quite fast, but they also survived quite well outside of the human body.

These cells survived so well, that other researchers started asking for some of them. Thus, cells from this one cancerous tumor were shipped across the U.S. to be used in vaccine research and other research. The thing is this: When used for growing vaccines, it is possible that the cancerous cells were transmitted to the person being vaccinated during the inoculation process. Indeed, it is very possible that some people acquired cancer due to a vaccination that they received that was grown using these cancerous cells. (Refer to The Immoral Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot)

Another tidbit that many people are not aware of is that AIDs did not start from a human male having sex with a monkey or a person being bit by a monkey. AIDs is most likely a result of the use of Simian cells in the development of the hepatitis vaccination. The cells were taken from a monkey that carried the Simian form of what we call AIDs. The hepatitis vaccination was initially developed in those cells and later tested on a group of homosexual men in Africa. Why homosexual men? Because it was thought that their lifestyle put them at greater risk for hepatitis. Thus, this many in this group of homosexual men developed AIDs. Later, the same vaccination made the same way was tested on a group of homosexual men in New York City. The majority of these young men also got AIDs. This is how the AIDs virus became associated with gay men and, therefore, called the 'gay disease'.

I have to point out to those who like to tout that the rate of Pertussis, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, etc. have gone down that while those have gone down, the rate of autism, bipolar disorder, MS, ADHD, ADD, and many other afflictions has gone up. Now, the avid supporter of vaccinations would say that this rise in these diseases is a coincidence or because of better diagnoses methods. When I was growing up and in school, not one students demonstrated the characteristics that today would garner them a diagnosis of autism, ADD, ADHD, or bipolar syndrome.

I would like to steer you in the direction of the Gardasil vaccination. Over 100 young ladies have died of this vaccination and 10 times that many have been afflicted with neurological disease within a year, and in many cases within days, of receiving the Gardasil vaccination. For those who like to look at the correlation between the introduction of a vaccination and the decrease in disease rate, I would like you to look at the correlation between the Gardasil vaccination and the deaths and neurological afflictions that has affected these young ladies who were active and healthy until they received the vaccination and had no familial history of neurological problems. Please go to http://truthaboutgardasil.org and read the stories of these young ladies.

If you wish to hold up the correlation between reduction in disease and the introduction of vaccinations, please allow me to hold up a correlation between the Gardasil vaccination and the deaths and neurological damage that it has inflicted on many young women. If your correlation is valid, why is mine invalid?

Gardasil was fast-tracked by its manufacturer and the FDA because there was nothing like it on the market. Yes, cervical cancer is a terrible disease, but Gardasil doesn't protect against all genital warts that could cause cervical cancer. In many cases, the warts resolve on their own. I think it would be great to have a vaccine to protect our female children from cervical cancer, but at what cost? At the cost of all these young girls lives that are displayed at the truth about gardasil site? At the cost of another girl being neurologically damaged by the vaccine.

One thing that many who are pro-choice for vaccinations know is that vaccinating a child before the age of 2 is taxing to that child's liver. All medications, and vaccinations are a medication, must be cleared from the body through the liver. The liver is the detox center of the body. The gastrointestinal system of a child is not completely developed and it is for this reason that I go along with the policy common in many European countries of not vaccinating a child until after they are 2 years of age.

The other thing to keep in mind is that with any live vaccination, the virus can cross the blood-brain barrier, causing encephalitis , which is a severe inflammation of the brain. This is what my second child died from. I was told that if he didn't die, he would be severely handicapped. This brings me to wonder if children who have autism, ADHD, ADD, bipolar disorder, etc. have been 'damaged' by vaccinations. It is just a thought that runs through my head, but it is based on scientific understanding of the theory of vaccination and the affects of disease on the human body.

I just wish that those who are all for vaccinations could step out of their comfort zone and learn about why others are against them. Maybe the person is not against them. Maybe, like many pro-choice for vaccination parents, they want their children vaccinated, but they would like to choose when they want their child to get them and which ones they want their child to get. To me, with the knowledge that I have regarding vaccinations, I think that is a sane choice.

I liken this discussion to one about religion and atheism. Like many religious people, many people who are for vaccinations have not read the many volumes of information about how harmful vaccinations are. They just parrot what their doctors, nurses, parents, or others around them say. Please, pick up a book. Read the other side of the story before you pass judgement on those who are pro-choice for vaccinations. It may actually change you mind.

pdworkman

Thanks Jade. Here is my usual rant on vaccines (saved so I don't have to reinvent it each time it comes up!) which touches on a few points that yours doesn't.


One thing that bothers me is the focus on thermerisol. Thermerisol is not the only (or as far as I am concerned, the most important) danger. It is not found in all vaccines, and I don't think it is the "cause" of autism in a lot of cases.

Besides any other carriers (egg albumin) or preservatives that may cause allergic reactions, there is the live virus itself. I think that articles, people, or movements that focus entirely (or almost entirely) on mercury or thermerisol are helping to cover up the real danger. Sort of like focusing on "stranger danger" when the real dangers of molestation and kidnapping are from family and friends.

If you are exposing a child to a live vaccine, you have to know that the side effects of the vaccine are a milder form of the symptoms of the disease. The industry refers to the side effects of the MMR, for example, as "flu-like symptoms" or "mild fever, rash, or swollen glands". Let's see, what are the major symptoms of measles, mumps, or rubella? Hmm, maybe fever, rash (spots), and swollen glands? What we are doing, intentionally, is giving our child a very mild case of the disease, to build up their immunity, so that they do not get a severe case of the disease. So do a quick "google" of the other symptoms and complications of measles, mumps, and rubella, and see what else we could be giving our children.

One thing I found with searches of the pubmed database is that batches of MMR vaccines in particular are frequently recalled due to "side effects" or "adverse reactions" in the population. The population is never informed of this. No-one calls all of the patients who were exposed to the "bad" batch of vaccines to inform them that there was a problem. And many studies are conducted years after the fact, simply reviewing hospital admit records for all children with, for example, meningeoencephalitis, and checking to see how many of them had the MMR vaccination in the previous 21 days.

I am not against vaccines. My son has had all of his vaccinations required here (not as extensive as in the US) except for chicken pox (which he got the old way) and his 6 yo MMR booster. The reason he did not get his MMR booster is that he reacted to his initial (1 yo) MMR. Ten days after his initial MMR, he was crying, holding his head, and saying "owie, owie!" I called the public health office. They questioned me on it ("what makes you think his head hurts?"), but when I confirmed that he did not have rash or fever, they brushed it off and said if I was worried, give him tylenol and take him to the doctor. I took him to the doctor, who also brushed it off. It was not until I started doing research five years later, when he was due for his booster, that I discovered that meningeoencephalitis (swelling of the brain membranes) is one of the possible side effects of the MMR booster. And in 20% of cases, it is "aseptic" or "afebrile" - no fever. He should have been hospitalized and treated, and it should have been reported as an adverse event with the proper authorities. But neither the public health nurse nor the ped reported it. When I spoke to the public health nurse when he was 6, explaining why he was not going to get the MMR booster, she was so understanding (I expected a fight, and had an inch worth of backup on the meningeoencephalitis connection with me), and agreed that he should not have it. What was more, she checked with the authorities to see whether it had been reported as an adverse event, and when she discovered it had not, asked my permission to report it. (Which I gave!)

Most of the studies on meningeoencephalitis are done on the 6 year old MMR booster, because symptoms are too difficult to identify in 12 mo olds. And the majority of 6 year olds are already supposed to be immune. Most 12 mo olds will just cry if they are in pain, they can't communicate what is wrong, and the doctors will just write it off as the "crankiness" side effect of the vaccine, so many cases of meningeoencephalitis go completely undiagnosed, and only the severe cases resulting in seizure and death are caught.

The known effects of meningitis/encephalitis (besides death, as you tragically experienced) can result in "a range of disabilities and problems. These include memory loss, residual headaches, and emotional effects such as disturbed sleeping, moodiness
or depression." Of course, none of those could be connected to ADHD, autism, child bipolar, etc., right?

My son's headache, by the way, lasted for weeks to months, not just a few hours or days. And he experienced a number of seizure-like episodes for years afterwards. I have no way of knowing how many of his disabilities are a result of this adverse effect. His ADHD, allergies, and sleep issues were present before the vaccine, but the learning disabilities, language disorder, anxiety, mood disorder, etc.? I have no way of knowing. There were definitely changes after the vaccination, but it could just be and early case of "terrible twos", right? He was, before the vax, very developmentally advanced.

I think that parents should be informed, and I think they should be given the medical facts, not just hype, not just worries about thermerisol, but actual information about what we are doing when we give a child a vaccine. I believe that parents of children admitted to the emergency room should be asked immediately whether their child has had a vaccination in the last month. Don't just wait and do a comparative study a few years down the line. And when a parent reports an adverse reaction, doctors should take it seriously and properly report it! We have databases intended to track this information, and unless we track it, we don't know the true impact of what we are doing.

HogSandwich

this thread makes me want to tear my hair out with disbelief. Though I AM australian, and we don't seem to be exposed to quite the same extent of fearmongering that the US is.

if you didn't immunize your children, you don't get into daycares and other mothers will want to keep their children away from yours. That's how it is here. And a person who announced that they weren't immunizing their children would be considered anything from a conspiracy theorist to dangerously negligent.

Ugh, SMH.

cba4994

Being a nurse for close to twenty years,I have very strong feelings about this one. If you are working in healthcare, your primary responsibility is to protect the welfare of the people who are entrusting you with their lives. Where I work you either get the shot or have to wear a mask whenever you are at work. If you opt out of the shot and are caught not wearing the mask, you will be terminated. I worked with a nurse who was very vocal about how she didn't believe in them etc...and I would have been the first one to get in her face had she not had that mask on.

Read the research, the flu shot is WAY safer for you to take than the risk you are exposing your ill patients to of contacting the flu ( which kills hundreds of people every year).

HogSandwich

Being a nurse for close to twenty years,I have very strong feelings about this one. If you are working in healthcare, your primary responsibility is to protect the welfare of the people who are entrusting you with their lives. Where I work you either get the shot or have to wear a mask whenever you are at work. If you opt out of the shot and are caught not wearing the mask, you will be terminated. I worked with a nurse who was very vocal about how she didn't believe in them etc...and I would have been the first one to get in her face had she not had that mask on.

Read the research, the flu shot is WAY safer for you to take than the risk you are exposing your ill patients to of contacting the flu ( which kills hundreds of people every year).

bless you.

Kelly50054

Being a nurse for close to twenty years,I have very strong feelings about this one. If you are working in healthcare, your primary responsibility is to protect the welfare of the people who are entrusting you with their lives. Where I work you either get the shot or have to wear a mask whenever you are at work. If you opt out of the shot and are caught not wearing the mask, you will be terminated. I worked with a nurse who was very vocal about how she didn't believe in them etc...and I would have been the first one to get in her face had she not had that mask on.

Read the research, the flu shot is WAY safer for you to take than the risk you are exposing your ill patients to of contacting the flu ( which kills hundreds of people every year).

What about the people who bring it there? My dr tried that approach with me, since I do in home child care. The children are the ones who are little germs sponges. I do not believe it should be legal for the medical community to threaten their employees or they get fired.

RockinBooty89

I got a flu shot for the first time last year because I work at a daycare and I thought it would be the responsible thing to do... wrong! I have never been sick so much in one winter in my life. Never again, and if they try to force you, no matter where you work, you should never be forced to do something like that. Its wrong.

Swissmiss

this thread makes me want to tear my hair out with disbelief. Though I AM australian, and we don't seem to be exposed to quite the same extent of fearmongering that the US is.

if you didn't immunize your children, you don't get into daycares and other mothers will want to keep their children away from yours. That's how it is here. And a person who announced that they weren't immunizing their children would be considered anything from a conspiracy theorist to dangerously negligent.

Ugh, SMH.

Just a reminder...if your child is not ummunized then your child is at risk...NOT the other children. Now if all the children were not immunized then they would all be at risk. If we decide to not do this to our children then we are the only ones who can be held responsible.

beckajw

this thread makes me want to tear my hair out with disbelief. Though I AM australian, and we don't seem to be exposed to quite the same extent of fearmongering that the US is.

if you didn't immunize your children, you don't get into daycares and other mothers will want to keep their children away from yours. That's how it is here. And a person who announced that they weren't immunizing their children would be considered anything from a conspiracy theorist to dangerously negligent.

Ugh, SMH.

Just a reminder...if your child is not ummunized then your child is at risk...NOT the other children. Now if all the children were not immunized then they would all be at risk. If we decide to not do this to our children then we are the only ones who can be held responsible.

That's a very self-centered way of looking at it. What you conveniently forget is that there are some children with allergies who are unable to take vaccinations. Therefore, you put those children at risk too.

Khymera

Just something for you guys to think about...

I am sweating bullets today because a coworker is out sick with what he thinks is the flu (I'm hoping that it's not because I haven't had my shot yet). I'm an asthmatic and although I'm otherwise healthy, the flu could actually kill me; last time I caught it, it took me over a year to recover.

So in a hospital setting, where people are by definition not at their healthiest, you'd be endangering people in the name of not letting your bosses tell you what to do.

lilmisfit

As I see/hear about so many people I know currently fighting the flu I am counting down the days (14) until I can get that bugger! I'll be the first in line, thankyouverymuch!

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Nope. I very much do not believe in them and would absolutely refuse, I would not use religious reasons, when they fired me, I'd sue their *kitten* off their freaking faces. (obviously, I feel very strongly about ths).

This x 10000

PaleoPath4Lyfe

If you work around the elderly, infants or immune compromised people get the shot, if you don't want to, quit or get fired. People go to the hospital to get better, not get sicker because someone working there refuses to not spread a potentially lethal virus. Worked in healthcare long? Doesn't seem like it if your unwilling to do everything you can to keep yourself and your patients well.

People working in healthcare have some of the strongest immune systems because they are always being exposed to germs, so the body is able to build up immunity to most viruses and bacteria naturally.

Forcing people to get a shot is so ridiculous and then on top of it they are threatening people's jobs because of it also.

There are only 2 strains of the flu virus included in the shot this year, Strain B and H1N1. There are 5 strains, so basically there won't be a lot of instances of Strain B and H1N1 this winter, but there might be a LOT of cases of Strain A, C and H3N2 flu.

These immunizations are pointless and stupid.

Khymera

Do you not fasten your seatbelt because there are other ways to die in a car wreck other than being ejected from the vehicle?

raygunn_viola

All of a sudden, it would be against my religion to get a flu shot.

^^^^ THIS

bcattoes

My hospital is demanding that everyone take the flu shot this year. You will be fired unless you have a Dr. Note or religous conviction. How would you feel about this at your work place?

I love free stuff! We get free flu shots but it is not mandatory, but we don't work with the public. I think it is a very good thing that hospital employees are required to get the flu shot. I think it would be great if everyone who worked with the public got it, but those working with sick and compromised persons definitely should have it.

pamd352

It should be a personal choice, and also should be against the law to force anyone to do it. Also, there is evidence to support that flu shots contribute to early onset alzheimers. I have never had one, and never will.

Pinkigloopyxie

Hell no. I haven't had a flu shot since I was in school. I've always been wary of vaccines. How do I really know what's in them? They could have been injecting me with a mix of vaccine and some manufactured thing. Even as a small kid I hated getting shots because I was afraid there was something extra in there. How am I supposed to be able to trust a complete stranger enough to inject me with a mysterious fluid?

No way. Government conspiracies aside, I work retail and hardly get sick anyways.

Edit- Not sure how I feel about my post being the first in a new thread....... well.. anyone else have a strange fear of the government experimenting with the population as a whole by putting strange substances in the flu vaccines?

Or just watched too many zombie movies?

secretlobster

The only time I got a flu shot, I got the flu two weeks later. It was the first time in my adult life I ever had it. This april, I had a dr. DEMAND that I get the flu shot. She is no longer my provider.

If this was my workplace, I'd challenge them to fire me.

bcattoes

Hell no. I haven't had a flu shot since I was in school. I've always been wary of vaccines. How do I really know what's in them? They could have been injecting me with a mix of vaccine and some manufactured thing. Even as a small kid I hated getting shots because I was afraid there was something extra in there. How am I supposed to be able to trust a complete stranger enough to inject me with a mysterious fluid?

No way. Government conspiracies aside, I work retail and hardly get sick anyways.

Edit- Not sure how I feel about my post being the first in a new thread....... well.. anyone else have a strange fear of the government experimenting with the population as a whole by putting strange substances in the flu vaccines?

Or just watched too many zombie movies?

Honestly, this seems silly to me. Why would flu shots be more likely to be contaminated than any other substance you put in your body? Even fresh organic produce has become contaminated and killed people.

Pinkigloopyxie

I have no idea, it's just always been an irrational fear of mine. Genetically altered substances that lower our bodies' ability to produce certain chemicals or perform normal bodily functions? Make a population less happy by messing with their ability to produce chemicals that make you feel happier and then selling that population remedies for depression? Perhaps they could introduce an alteration to a small number of the population and monitor the results throughout the subject's lifetimes. Subtly altering humans just to see if they can.

Yeah that's why I label it under 'Irrational fear,' same as the fear of mirrors.

Jersey_Devil

its no big deal.

mommared53

Hell no. I haven't had a flu shot since I was in school. I've always been wary of vaccines. How do I really know what's in them? They could have been injecting me with a mix of vaccine and some manufactured thing. Even as a small kid I hated getting shots because I was afraid there was something extra in there. How am I supposed to be able to trust a complete stranger enough to inject me with a mysterious fluid?

No way. Government conspiracies aside, I work retail and hardly get sick anyways.

Edit- Not sure how I feel about my post being the first in a new thread....... well.. anyone else have a strange fear of the government experimenting with the population as a whole by putting strange substances in the flu vaccines?

Or just watched too many zombie movies?

I don't watch zombie movies but I'm with you on this one. I trust the government about as far as I can throw a bull by the tail.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Hell no. I haven't had a flu shot since I was in school. I've always been wary of vaccines. How do I really know what's in them? They could have been injecting me with a mix of vaccine and some manufactured thing. Even as a small kid I hated getting shots because I was afraid there was something extra in there. How am I supposed to be able to trust a complete stranger enough to inject me with a mysterious fluid?

No way. Government conspiracies aside, I work retail and hardly get sick anyways.

Edit- Not sure how I feel about my post being the first in a new thread....... well.. anyone else have a strange fear of the government experimenting with the population as a whole by putting strange substances in the flu vaccines?

Or just watched too many zombie movies?

Yes, I do worry about these things and refuse any and all shots. I have refused all vaccinations since I got out of the Army, including tetanis.

They are pointless and don't allow the body to build up natural immunity to bacteria and other viruses.

I get sick way less than when I was taking all of these shots to immunize against this or that.

neverstray

Hell no. I haven't had a flu shot since I was in school. I've always been wary of vaccines. How do I really know what's in them? They could have been injecting me with a mix of vaccine and some manufactured thing. Even as a small kid I hated getting shots because I was afraid there was something extra in there. How am I supposed to be able to trust a complete stranger enough to inject me with a mysterious fluid?

No way. Government conspiracies aside, I work retail and hardly get sick anyways.

Edit- Not sure how I feel about my post being the first in a new thread....... well.. anyone else have a strange fear of the government experimenting with the population as a whole by putting strange substances in the flu vaccines?

Or just watched too many zombie movies?

It's not irrational at all. Actually, it is quite scary and a real fear.

I was really angry that my children had to take vaccines. Further, if you don't stay on top of them, they give them ones they dont' even need. Parents really ahve to watch and ask lots of questions. The governmnet only requires about 4 vaccines, but doc's will give them up to 12 or something. Something crazy. And, you really have to fight them to get them to only give the required ones. Makes me extremely suspicious. Jacking people with things to see what happens. If you dont' think that happens, you are insane.

bcattoes

Hell no. I haven't had a flu shot since I was in school. I've always been wary of vaccines. How do I really know what's in them? They could have been injecting me with a mix of vaccine and some manufactured thing. Even as a small kid I hated getting shots because I was afraid there was something extra in there. How am I supposed to be able to trust a complete stranger enough to inject me with a mysterious fluid?

No way. Government conspiracies aside, I work retail and hardly get sick anyways.

Edit- Not sure how I feel about my post being the first in a new thread....... well.. anyone else have a strange fear of the government experimenting with the population as a whole by putting strange substances in the flu vaccines?

Or just watched too many zombie movies?

Yes, I do worry about these things and refuse any and all shots. I have refused all vaccinations since I got out of the Army, including tetanis.

They are pointless and don't allow the body to build up natural immunity to bacteria and other viruses.

I get sick way less than when I was taking all of these shots to immunize against this or that.

This is simply not true. There really is no global conspiracy between healthcare providers and governments worldwide. It would be a cold day in Hades when we could get that many people in power to agree on anything.

junodog1

Me? I am a fairly healthy person. I have no medical conditions to blame for my health problems except overeatitis. I would jump at the chance for the free flu shot.

I think any person who has had the knock-you-down make-you-want-to-die I have-to-crawl-to-the-toilet-cause-I am-too-weak-to-walk my-fever-is-104 and it-caused-a-miscarriage influenza would be happy to take the flu vaccine. Too many people get a really, really, really bad cold or other respiratory infection and think they have had the flu.

I'm here to tell you the real thing is HORRIBLE. Unless you have some allergic or religious issue with the flu shot take the darn freebie.

Ruthe8

They are pointless and don't allow the body to build up natural immunity to bacteria and other viruses.

This is ignorant and ridiculous. Vaccines are life-saving medicine that have virtually wiped out serious diseases - polio, for instance. You don't freaking build up natural immunity to polio. Nor to tetanus, since that was your example.

Ruthe8

Even as a small kid I hated getting shots because I was afraid there was something extra in there.

Small children don't generally come up with ideas like that on their own. Just what was going on during your childhood...?