Social Policing of "did you get your flu shot?" Yay or nay?

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  • RobynC79
    RobynC79 Posts: 331 Member
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    Wow, this thread contains a disheartening level of total ignorance of the function and role of vaccines...

    But the OP asked about how to respond to the question of 'did you get your flu shot'.

    Unless the person asking is your doctor, your employer (if they require that you are vaccinated), or someone who has a material interest in your vaccination status, I would respond as I always do to intrusive questioning:

    'What a rude question' followed by a nice level stare that implies 'please, do continue!', and then change the subject. It works like a charm for me.

    Your medical decisions are in no way required to be public information.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    ^ this.

    If you don't understand vaccines, please talk to your doctor so that you can make a fully informed decision.
  • pudadough
    pudadough Posts: 1,271 Member
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    I wouldn't ask this myself and I'd tell people to mind their own if they ask me. Every time I've ever gotten a flu shot, I've gotten the flu that same season. Several times I've had it TWICE in that same season.

    I get all my other vaccines as needed (had a TDAP booster last year that made my arm swell up like a watermelon. You're welcome, public.) But flu shots are a pointless crock as far as I can tell.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    so what's a good answer when people are getting nosy? I asked on another post and someone said stfu, but I can't go around saying that to p.t.a. moms?

    Either just say yes to appease them or say "I am sorry, but I don't feel comfortable sharing my health care choices." Personally I find it incredibly rude of them to even ask.

    But if you don't get them, I urge you to reconsider. Your choice to NOT get one could cost another, a baby or an elderly person most likely, their lives.

    I had a close friend who, whenever he would get the flu shot, ended up within a few days getting the flu..every time. And not just a mild case. Severe. He stopped getting them in junior high and afterwards, he either didn't get the flu or got a very mild case.

    Forgive me for being pedantic. He didn't get the flu, he only had flu-like symptoms. The flu virus in vaccines is dead.

    So I guess when the doctors would diagnose him with the flu..they were wrong. When I say severe, I mean severe. It wasn't you just end up at home and wait it out. It would get to the point his parents had to take him to the hospital.

    And I'm not for or against..I'm just saying that some people may have good reasons.

    If he got the flu, it wasn't from the vaccine. These stories abound. But you do not get the flu from the vaccine.
  • pudadough
    pudadough Posts: 1,271 Member
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    so what's a good answer when people are getting nosy? I asked on another post and someone said stfu, but I can't go around saying that to p.t.a. moms?

    Either just say yes to appease them or say "I am sorry, but I don't feel comfortable sharing my health care choices." Personally I find it incredibly rude of them to even ask.

    But if you don't get them, I urge you to reconsider. Your choice to NOT get one could cost another, a baby or an elderly person most likely, their lives.

    I had a close friend who, whenever he would get the flu shot, ended up within a few days getting the flu..every time. And not just a mild case. Severe. He stopped getting them in junior high and afterwards, he either didn't get the flu or got a very mild case.

    Forgive me for being pedantic. He didn't get the flu, he only had flu-like symptoms. The flu virus in vaccines is dead.

    So I guess when the doctors would diagnose him with the flu..they were wrong. When I say severe, I mean severe. It wasn't you just end up at home and wait it out. It would get to the point his parents had to take him to the hospital.

    And I'm not for or against..I'm just saying that some people may have good reasons.

    If he got the flu, it wasn't from the vaccine. These stories abound. But you do not get the flu from the vaccine.

    I didn't read this as saying his friend got the flu FROM the vaccine, only that the vaccine did not prevent the friend from getting the flu as intended. That has always been my experience as well. I get the vaccine and invariably get the flu that season anyway. I never assumed I got it from the vaccine, only that the vaccine did not seem to protect me that much. Which is a pretty common observation.
  • SwimFan1981
    SwimFan1981 Posts: 1,430 Member
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    I've never had a flu shot and guess what! I've also never had the flu (literally never).
  • crunchybubblez
    crunchybubblez Posts: 387 Member
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    so what's a good answer when people are getting nosy? I asked on another post and someone said stfu, but I can't go around saying that to p.t.a. moms?

    Either just say yes to appease them or say "I am sorry, but I don't feel comfortable sharing my health care choices." Personally I find it incredibly rude of them to even ask.

    But if you don't get them, I urge you to reconsider. Your choice to NOT get one could cost another, a baby or an elderly person most likely, their lives.

    I had a close friend who, whenever he would get the flu shot, ended up within a few days getting the flu..every time. And not just a mild case. Severe. He stopped getting them in junior high and afterwards, he either didn't get the flu or got a very mild case.

    Forgive me for being pedantic. He didn't get the flu, he only had flu-like symptoms. The flu virus in vaccines is dead.

    So I guess when the doctors would diagnose him with the flu..they were wrong. When I say severe, I mean severe. It wasn't you just end up at home and wait it out. It would get to the point his parents had to take him to the hospital.

    And I'm not for or against..I'm just saying that some people may have good reasons.

    Yes, the doctors were wrong if they said he had the flu. They likely did not know he had a flu shot or simply treated the symptoms to give him relief. Your friend, if he got severe symptoms, is one of those people with sensitivities that I mentioned in my first post. He should rely on herd immunity.

    How the hell would you know? Are you psychic?


    Herd immunity was a theory they disproved.
    It makes me smh when I hear people say things they have no idea about.
    Immunizations are a multi-billion dollar industry.
    Do you really think that everyone is going to just stop using them if they've been proven harmful?
    How many of you don't realize that there are a lot of drs that don't immunize their children, or themselves.
  • crunchybubblez
    crunchybubblez Posts: 387 Member
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    ^ this.

    If you don't understand vaccines, please talk to your doctor so that you can make a fully informed decision.

    Thank you!!
    And lookin at the ingredient list on the CDC website would also be informative to most.
  • RobynC79
    RobynC79 Posts: 331 Member
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    Herd immunity was a theory they disproved.
    It makes me smh when I hear people say things they have no idea about.
    Immunizations are a multi-billion dollar industry.
    Do you really think that everyone is going to just stop using them if they've been proven harmful?
    How many of you don't realize that there are a lot of drs that don't immunize their children, or themselves.

    Who is 'they', and please post links to this study. Without these, this post contains a great deal of irony, and little information.
  • crunchybubblez
    crunchybubblez Posts: 387 Member
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    It's not that the vaccine gives you the flu...
    According to my children's pediatrician, it weakens people's natural immune systems.
    This is why my oldest always gets sick and my younger one doesn't.
  • crunchybubblez
    crunchybubblez Posts: 387 Member
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    Herd immunity was a theory they disproved.
    It makes me smh when I hear people say things they have no idea about.
    Immunizations are a multi-billion dollar industry.
    Do you really think that everyone is going to just stop using them if they've been proven harmful?
    How many of you don't realize that there are a lot of drs that don't immunize their children, or themselves.

    Who is 'they', and please post links to this study. Without these, this post contains a great deal of irony, and little information.

    http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/02/18/the-deadly-impossibility-of-herd-immunity-through-vaccination-by-dr-russell-blaylock/

    http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2012-03-12/the-science-behind-herd-immunity-and-an-extension-to-gmos/

    http://journal.livingfood.us/2012/02/24/vaccines-the-fallacy-and-truth-about-herd-immunity/


    There's lots more, and I know directly on the CDC website they state it's
    a THEORY.
    I'll try to find it later.
  • horsewhisper91
    horsewhisper91 Posts: 456 Member
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    I didn't get mine. And I don't plan on every getting one. If I'm gonna get sick, I'll take care of things myself. But in general, I do try to keep to more natural way of living, keeping it simple. I don't like going to the doctor unless I absolute need to health wise. And the only shot I'll stick to getting are only my Tetanus shots. Reason for that shot...I work on a farm and I come across a few rusted objects here and there.
  • RobynC79
    RobynC79 Posts: 331 Member
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    Herd immunity was a theory they disproved.
    It makes me smh when I hear people say things they have no idea about.
    Immunizations are a multi-billion dollar industry.
    Do you really think that everyone is going to just stop using them if they've been proven harmful?
    How many of you don't realize that there are a lot of drs that don't immunize their children, or themselves.

    Who is 'they', and please post links to this study. Without these, this post contains a great deal of irony, and little information.

    http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/02/18/the-deadly-impossibility-of-herd-immunity-through-vaccination-by-dr-russell-blaylock/

    http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2012-03-12/the-science-behind-herd-immunity-and-an-extension-to-gmos/

    http://journal.livingfood.us/2012/02/24/vaccines-the-fallacy-and-truth-about-herd-immunity/


    There's lots more, and I know directly on the CDC website they state it's
    a THEORY.
    I'll try to find it later.

    No, actual studies, not opinion pieces from anti-vac blogs.

    Also, you evidently are unfamiliar with the scientific definition of 'theory'. Gravity - also a theory. Evolution by natural selection - also a theory.

    A theory in science is a broad statement that explains the way things are currently, makes defined predictions about future outcomes that can be tested, and efforts made on that front (testing these predictions) to date have supported the theory.

    'Theory' is used colloquially quite differently, as an untested conjecture. Very, very different to a scientific theory.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Herd immunity was a theory they disproved.
    It makes me smh when I hear people say things they have no idea about.
    Immunizations are a multi-billion dollar industry.
    Do you really think that everyone is going to just stop using them if they've been proven harmful?
    How many of you don't realize that there are a lot of drs that don't immunize their children, or themselves.

    You shake your head when you hear people say things they have no idea about, yet you are in here doing the same?
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Options



    Herd immunity was a theory they disproved.
    It makes me smh when I hear people say things they have no idea about.
    Immunizations are a multi-billion dollar industry.
    Do you really think that everyone is going to just stop using them if they've been proven harmful?
    How many of you don't realize that there are a lot of drs that don't immunize their children, or themselves.

    Who is 'they', and please post links to this study. Without these, this post contains a great deal of irony, and little information.

    http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/02/18/the-deadly-impossibility-of-herd-immunity-through-vaccination-by-dr-russell-blaylock/

    http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2012-03-12/the-science-behind-herd-immunity-and-an-extension-to-gmos/

    http://journal.livingfood.us/2012/02/24/vaccines-the-fallacy-and-truth-about-herd-immunity/


    There's lots more, and I know directly on the CDC website they state it's
    a THEORY.
    I'll try to find it later.

    No, actual studies, not opinion pieces from anti-vac blogs.

    Also, you evidently are unfamiliar with the scientific definition of 'theory'. Gravity - also a theory. Evolution by natural selection - also a theory.

    A theory in science is a broad statement that explains the way things are currently, makes defined predictions about future outcomes that can be tested, and efforts made on that front (testing these predictions) to date have supported the theory.

    'Theory' is used colloquially quite differently, as an untested conjecture. Very, very different to a scientific theory.

    Oh hi, do I smell rationality?
  • TheConsciousFoody
    TheConsciousFoody Posts: 607 Member
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    Nobody has ever asked me but I can't get them because of an allergy.
  • fallonrhea
    fallonrhea Posts: 388 Member
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    While it is a personal choice, I feel that it is socially irresponsible to not get one. Roughly 90% of the population in a given area need to be immune in order for "herd immunity" to take place. The remaining 10% should be made up of those who have allergic reactions or sensitivities to such immunizations. A normal healthy adult who does not get one puts others at risk.

    I'm one of those people who have severe allergic reactions to certain vaccinations - so I say GO GET YOUR FLU SHOTS PEOPLE SINCE I CAN'T GET ONE!! Haha :)

    I don't know though, I'm a molecular biology PhD student and a lot of people in my department hem and haw over whether they're all that effective or not.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    No, actual studies, not opinion pieces from anti-vac blogs.

    Also, you evidently are unfamiliar with the scientific definition of 'theory'. Gravity - also a theory. Evolution by natural selection - also a theory.

    A theory in science is a broad statement that explains the way things are currently, makes defined predictions about future outcomes that can be tested, and efforts made on that front (testing these predictions) to date have supported the theory.

    'Theory' is used colloquially quite differently, as an untested conjecture. Very, very different to a scientific theory.

    Ya' know, even though I am on the other side of the fence in this debate, I can't help but applaud every time I see an "it's just a theory" attempt slapped to the ground.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Options
    No, actual studies, not opinion pieces from anti-vac blogs.

    Also, you evidently are unfamiliar with the scientific definition of 'theory'. Gravity - also a theory. Evolution by natural selection - also a theory.

    A theory in science is a broad statement that explains the way things are currently, makes defined predictions about future outcomes that can be tested, and efforts made on that front (testing these predictions) to date have supported the theory.

    'Theory' is used colloquially quite differently, as an untested conjecture. Very, very different to a scientific theory.

    Ya' know, even though I am on the other side of the fence in this debate, I can't help but applaud every time I see an "it's just a theory" attempt slapped to the ground.

    Agreed. I'm not so entrenched in my own opinions that I wouldn't switch to the other side if given proper evidence. Anecdotal evidence, "just a theory" arguments, and opinion pieces aren't very compelling.
  • SwimFan1981
    SwimFan1981 Posts: 1,430 Member
    Options

    No, actual studies, not opinion pieces from anti-vac blogs.

    Also, you evidently are unfamiliar with the scientific definition of 'theory'. Gravity - also a theory. Evolution by natural selection - also a theory.

    A theory in science is a broad statement that explains the way things are currently, makes defined predictions about future outcomes that can be tested, and efforts made on that front (testing these predictions) to date have supported the theory.

    'Theory' is used colloquially quite differently, as an untested conjecture. Very, very different to a scientific theory.

    I long for a "like" function on MFP

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