Flu Shots? thoughts

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  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
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    I beleive that the flu shot is overused, much like antibiotics. Viruses are extremely adaptable and mutate and I think that the overuse of the vaccine is causing extremely virulent strains of the flu. Just like the superbugs we are seeing in relation to the overuse/misuse of antibiotics.

    i think the flu shot should be used as it was in years past for those that would likely suffer the most damaging or life threatening complications from the flu. I work in healthcare and it is becoming mandatory in that setting to prevent possible transmission to immunocompromised patients.

    Doesn't work like that with vaccines.

    The response isn't the same but viruses will mutate in response to barriers to their transmission. They need a host to proliferate. I am not anti-vaccine at all. The flu vaccine has about a 60% success rate per the CDC and that is for the strains that are included in the vaccine. I don't think it is a bad idea but not extremely effective for the general population.

    The way it works with vaccines is that the more people who get vaccinated, the better it works, for everyone. It's called "herd immunity." If the virus doesn't have enough sensitive targets to spread, then no one catches the virus.

    I understand how vaccines work. However, the flu vaccine doesn't work like most other vaccines because of antigenic drift. It may provide some herd immunity but nothing in comparison to other vaccinations.
  • FerretBuellerr
    FerretBuellerr Posts: 468 Member
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    Nope. Never have and don't particularily plan on it. Ever.

    I don't even think I've ever had the flu, other than perhaps when I was really young.

    I don't see the point in getting a shot against one strain of flu when there is already so many other strains out there/viruses mutate unexpectedly.

    I guess my only reasons for considering getting it would be so I don't become a carrier of the flu if I'm around children/elderly/individuals with weak immune systems, but (call me heartless) it's not my job to make sure they don't get sick, so I really don't care much about them. If I worked around those sorts of people, that would be a different matter - but I still wouldn't want to get one.
  • imblondewhatsyourexcuse
    imblondewhatsyourexcuse Posts: 35
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    It's only really targeted at the elderly in the UK. I haven't had any vaccinations since I was 2 years old.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
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    Never gotten and probably won't until I get pregnant. I also contracted H1N1 back in 2009.... it was the worst week of my life. But, still. No flu shot for me.
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
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    Just got my flu shot yesterday. My husband and all of our children get the flu shot every single year. It beats the alternative.
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
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    Yes. My wife is a grammer school teacher and exposed to all kinds of stuff so we have gotten them for years. We rarely get the flu and, when we do, it is a mild case. We have never had an adverse reaction and we will get them again this year.

    that's a good point you bring up. though you can get the shot and still contract the flu, if you do contract a flu virus, its extremely likely that your symptoms won't be as severe.

    my first flu shot wasn't until my early-mid 20's, and i usually got the flu every year, and it KICKED MY *kitten*. i've always been one of those people where if i get sick, i get SIIIIIIIIIIIICK. since getting the shot every year for the last 6 years, i've gotten it once, and it was pretty mild.
  • tripledipped13
    tripledipped13 Posts: 78 Member
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    I do get them and my baby girl will get it this year as well. I work for a hospital that mandates the flu shot. Plus, I took my daughter to her 4 year old checkup the end of August and her doctor (which has NEVER recommended it for her) recommended it, she said that she had already diagnosed 3 cases of the flu for this year!

    For those with egg allergies the studies are now showing that the regular shot doesn't cause a reaction due to the egg and there is also a vaccine that is not grown on egg at all.

    :flowerforyou:
  • griffith5150
    griffith5150 Posts: 123
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    I am required to get them per my Dr. ... I have asthma... so far since I been getting them I haven't gotten the flu or a traditional cold. I still get head colds but that's about it.
  • tkcasta
    tkcasta Posts: 405 Member
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    I love my flu shot. I love not getting sick. It's great.
  • shellfly
    shellfly Posts: 186
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    We get them, but last year when we got them in Wal-Mart, I had a reaction (vasovagal) that caused me to pass out in the store. Bumped my head quite a good one which meant a trip to the E.R. to make sure I didn't have a concussion. It was quite the experience! Now logically I know that because it was a vasovagal reaction, my passing out didn't have anything to do with the actual contents of the shot; rather just the pain of the shot (and it was weirdly painful compared to previous shots - maybe she hit a nerve or muscle or something). Nonetheless, I'm a bit nervous about getting it again this year. Will definitely have to do it in a Dr.'s office and be in a prone position for it.
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
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    I've gotten the flu shot ONCE. I also got the flu ONCE. Any guesses as to when each of those events occurred? You got it! The same year. Apparently, whatever strains were GUESSED to be the prevalent strains that year were NOT, because I was sick as a dog (as in "in bed with a fever, couldn't even get to the couch" sick for almost a week, and then on the couch for another week after that...all told, I was sick from Dec 20 to New Year's....missing Christmas is SO fun...but I lost about 15 pounds :ohwell: ).

    That was about 10 years ago now. I haven't gotten the flu shot since, nor have I gotten the flu. In fact, I'm rarely sick at all....I can count on one hand the number of sick days I've taken in the past 12 years....outside of the "flu incident" (which thankfully, at least, happened during our "factory shutdown" from Christmas Eve through New Years Day, which was holiday time off, so I only had to use like 3 actual sick days).

    Unless my sister has a baby or someone in my family becomes immune-compromised, I have no plans to get the flu shot again.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    I've never gotten a flu shot, but have gotten the flu in the past. Twice. Unfortunately, both times I got the flu it was not the strain that was being vaccinated for, anyway.

    I will probably get one this year, since they are available without a prescription or a dr.s visit. I'm going to wait until early October, just in case I suffer any side effects. I've got no down time right now.
  • zoober
    zoober Posts: 226 Member
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    I am scheduled to get one tomorrow afternoon in the clinic at my work. You really ought to get one. The flu is some nasty business, it will flatten you out.
  • bdeezy3396
    bdeezy3396 Posts: 89 Member
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    My company pays for the shot so I get it. Haven't gotten the flu since I have been getting the shot. Knock on wood!!!!
  • XXElmaXX
    XXElmaXX Posts: 34
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    No, never had flu shots in my 38 years and neither have my children and we rarely get sick.

    I think it is upto each and everyone to figure out for themselves.
    Are you sensitive? Do you get often sick? etc.
  • Witchdoctor58
    Witchdoctor58 Posts: 226 Member
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    Flu kills. Flu shots greatly reduce the chance of you coming down with flu.

    Just for the record, the "researcher" who claimed vaccines were linked to autism later admitted his results were fraudulent, but his actions resulted in a generation of children getting sick and dying form preventable illness due to misinformed paranoia on the part of concerned parents.
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
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    I definitely get the shot.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    Flu's mostly harmless. Flu shots are a crapshoot anyway. I don't see the point.
  • So_Much_Fab
    So_Much_Fab Posts: 1,146 Member
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    Nope, I've never had one. It ain't broke so I don't try to fix it.
  • princessofredrock
    princessofredrock Posts: 382 Member
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    I do not believe in vaccines of any kind now! I have seen the damage they can do! I wish I had known better and not gotten my 2 older boys vaccinated! My youngest has never had a vaccine and rarely gets sick! If he does it's for a day and then he is off and running again! It is much better to let your body fight things naturally! The more you do, the stronger your body will be!

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