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Flu shots? For them or against ?
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I think the question is phrased wrong. It should be: "Flu shots? For science or against science ?"8
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In the spring of 1976 I came down with the A-Victoria flu virus. That is as sick as I have been in my life. Just horrible. In November that year I enlisted in the Army. Uncle Sam required a flu shot every year for the next 24 and I have gotten one every year since I retired. In 40 years of vaccine I have never caught the flu. I'll take that. I'm getting my shot next week.5
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angelexperiment wrote: »Nope not since about 2005 when I saw they did not work, and made you sicker than if you got it and how sick it made children. Interesting but since then I've been sick 3 times. And these days they are putting more and mor things in there and it's killing people or injuring them. I'll deal with a cold or flu. People fighting cancer especially should not take the flu shot. Or while under chemo. I've seen that first hand and it tells you if you are immuno suppressed you should not take the flu shot. But it's pushed a lot every where you go or while you are pregnant.
What? It's actually the opposite. They highly recommend it if you are immunosuppressed4 -
singingflutelady wrote: »angelexperiment wrote: »Nope not since about 2005 when I saw they did not work, and made you sicker than if you got it and how sick it made children. Interesting but since then I've been sick 3 times. And these days they are putting more and mor things in there and it's killing people or injuring them. I'll deal with a cold or flu. People fighting cancer especially should not take the flu shot. Or while under chemo. I've seen that first hand and it tells you if you are immuno suppressed you should not take the flu shot. But it's pushed a lot every where you go or while you are pregnant.
What? It's actually the opposite. They highly recommend it if you are immunosuppressed
Definitely. The last thing I'd want would be the flu.
I had just a plain cold last year that morphed into a horrible sinus infection which I used to be able fight off with regular sinus rinsing, but no longer can. I had to take antibiotics and they messed up my gut flora for the better part of this whole year. I've been dealing with digestive issues that would be TMI to discuss, frankly. Simply because I caught a cold.
I can't imagine getting the flu.2 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »angelexperiment wrote: »Nope not since about 2005 when I saw they did not work, and made you sicker than if you got it and how sick it made children. Interesting but since then I've been sick 3 times. And these days they are putting more and mor things in there and it's killing people or injuring them. I'll deal with a cold or flu. People fighting cancer especially should not take the flu shot. Or while under chemo. I've seen that first hand and it tells you if you are immuno suppressed you should not take the flu shot. But it's pushed a lot every where you go or while you are pregnant.
What? It's actually the opposite. They highly recommend it if you are immunosuppressed
Definitely. The last thing I'd want would be the flu.
I had just a plain cold last year that morphed into a horrible sinus infection which I used to be able fight off with regular sinus rinsing, but no longer can. I had to take antibiotics and they messed up my gut flora for the better part of this whole year. I've been dealing with digestive issues that would be TMI to discuss, frankly. Simply because I caught a cold.
I can't imagine getting the flu.
Me too. I've been on antibiotics 4x since April (it looks like I will have to go back on soon). I have a gi disease so my gut is messed up to begin with. I definitely do not want to get the flu!1 -
I got one this past October and it was probably coincidence but I ended up sick for a week two days after the shot. Recently this past week I ended up getting sick again for two days, body aches, chills and fevers. I would probably opt not to get one but having two little ones at home I find it important to try to stay healthy for them. My husband on the other hand is never gets one and refuses to, he also has never tends to get sick. My two little ones and me were down for a week last year with the norovirus and he didn't get a touch of it, and the norovirus is super contagious!1
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Awe crap...I meant to post before the crazies hit...yep, flu shot every year without fail since 1986. That was the winter I was hospitalized 3x for Flu. No shot that year. so yep, now I get em. Plus a pneumonia shot every 5. Yep that's for recovering from spontaneous pneumothorax.3
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jagodfrey08 wrote: »Oh God. Could we PLEASE petition for a norovirus vaccine?!?!?! I and my entire family would be first in line every year! Never fails - January through March, my daughters and I get it, and usually one of us winds up in the ER because I am worried about one of my kiddos dehydrating. Definitely not the best way to lose 7-12 lbs.
I get a flu shot every year. Fortunately, for all my genetic flaws, I have a genetic immunity to common strains of norovirus (I've had DNA analysis).4 -
I got one this past October and it was probably coincidence but I ended up sick for a week two days after the shot. Recently this past week I ended up getting sick again for two days, body aches, chills and fevers. I would probably opt not to get one but having two little ones at home I find it important to try to stay healthy for them. My husband on the other hand is never gets one and refuses to, he also has never tends to get sick. My two little ones and me were down for a week last year with the norovirus and he didn't get a touch of it, and the norovirus is super contagious!
Some individuals do not get noro; it is genetic. Or maybe he is just lucky
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I have asthma so I get it.
To be fair, I grew up in France, where they don't vaccinate for chickenpox and even less the flu, and I've never had the flu. But my kids haven't got it either so I don't know if the vaccines work or not but it really doesn't cost anything to get it IMO... so why not? I've never had any reaction to it, just a sore arm for a couple days.
Full disclosure though, after this year I will probably skip it for the kids because I'm not sure it's not worth the insane drama I went through (we were expecting the flu mist but they are not making it anymore... so they had to get a shot. Very unhappy children. It took 5 people to hold my daughter).
I live in France and two years ago I got a flu shot here, no charge, just pay for the serum. It worked, no colds or flu for a year. Same in Portugal where I was this last summer and fall, we got ours at the pharmacy, simple to do. However, my husband recently came down with something, cough, cold and wheezing after a week of travleing and not sleeping or eating that well. So I dunno, it has worked for me any time I get one, sometimes I get immunity for two years as I have skipped a year a few times.
I don't plan on skipping it again though, now at age 67 and having had bronchial conditions at the end of flu, I will do what it takes to avoid symptoms if possible.
Best wishes to everyone for a flu, cold, virus free season!
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ladyreva78 wrote: »I normally don't get the shots for the simple reason that they're not covered by my health insurance (not in one of the risk categories)
My company is covering for everyone not covered by health insurance this year. One of my work colleagues had to get a lung transplant last year due to cystic fibrosis and only just got back to work. We want to lower the risks for him as much as we can and that's one of the small ways we're contributing. Oddly enough, even the vaccine opponents are on board with that.
I just always paid for it out of pocket, really cheap actually, even in the U.S. or any country I lived in without health insurance. Most pharmacists will sell the vacine and either administer it there, or have doctors nearby you can get jabbed for about 15.00' if you did decide you'd like to vacinate.
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ladyreva78 wrote: »I normally don't get the shots for the simple reason that they're not covered by my health insurance (not in one of the risk categories)
My company is covering for everyone not covered by health insurance this year. One of my work colleagues had to get a lung transplant last year due to cystic fibrosis and only just got back to work. We want to lower the risks for him as much as we can and that's one of the small ways we're contributing. Oddly enough, even the vaccine opponents are on board with that.
I just always paid for it out of pocket, really cheap actually, even in the U.S. or any country I lived in without health insurance. Most pharmacists will sell the vacine and either administer it there, or have doctors nearby you can get jabbed for about 15.00' if you did decide you'd like to vacinate.
It's closer to 100$ here, you can only get it at the doctor's and in some cases they refuse you (following shortages a few years ago due to bad planning) if you don't belong to an at risk category or work in a job in contact with at risk people (the sick work colleague actually qualified us all to get the shots but not for the insurance to pay for it). I sometimes have to shake my head at the bureaucracy of it all.1 -
So I have never gotten the flu shot as an adult - I haven't specifically avoided it, but I've never worked anywhere they provided it, I am generally healthy so I never go to a pharmacy, hardly ever go to the doctor, and I have never knowingly had the flu so I figured it was no big deal. I just moved to be closer to my little nephews, and my parents are over 70, and I decided to look into starting to get the annual shot. I happened across this thread and now I'm kind of embarrassed that I've never gotten one
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Anyway, I was reading there are 3 versions available this year, a tri, a quad, and an intradermal. Is there any way to tell which one I should get without first making a doctor's appt? Everything I found online says it doesn't matter which one you get, but why would there be multiple kinds if it doesn't matter?
I'm getting one regardless this week, probably at CVS, just curious about feedback on the different kinds...1 -
So I have never gotten the flu shot as an adult - I haven't specifically avoided it, but I've never worked anywhere they provided it, I am generally healthy so I never go to a pharmacy, hardly ever go to the doctor, and I have never knowingly had the flu so I figured it was no big deal. I just moved to be closer to my little nephews, and my parents are over 70, and I decided to look into starting to get the annual shot. I happened across this thread and now I'm kind of embarrassed that I've never gotten one.
Anyway, I was reading there are 3 versions available this year, a tri, a quad, and an intradermal. Is there any way to tell which one I should get without first making a doctor's appt? Everything I found online says it doesn't matter which one you get, but why would there be multiple kinds if it doesn't matter?
I'm getting one regardless this week, probably at CVS, just curious about feedback on the different kinds...
Each of those things you mentioned is not a mutually exclusive type of vaccine. Here's a quick explanation of the terms:
Trivalent = protects against 3 strains of flu
Quadrivalent = protects against 4 strains of flu
Intramuscular = shot is delivered into the muscle
Intradermal = shot is delivered into the dermis (skin), needle is smaller than the intramuscular vaccine, dosage is smaller because not as much is needed to get a comparable immune response
Nasal spray = Inhaled version of the vaccine. Contains live attenuated virus unlike any of the injected versions
If I were you and I had the choice, I'd opt for quadrivalent intradermal vaccine. All the benefits, smaller needle
The nasal spray is not recommended for this flu season, so it may not even be available. If it is, I would not get it since there's no reason you can't do the injectable.
Edit: spelling2 -
So I have never gotten the flu shot as an adult - I haven't specifically avoided it, but I've never worked anywhere they provided it, I am generally healthy so I never go to a pharmacy, hardly ever go to the doctor, and I have never knowingly had the flu so I figured it was no big deal. I just moved to be closer to my little nephews, and my parents are over 70, and I decided to look into starting to get the annual shot. I happened across this thread and now I'm kind of embarrassed that I've never gotten one.
Anyway, I was reading there are 3 versions available this year, a tri, a quad, and an intradermal. Is there any way to tell which one I should get without first making a doctor's appt? Everything I found online says it doesn't matter which one you get, but why would there be multiple kinds if it doesn't matter?
I'm getting one regardless this week, probably at CVS, just curious about feedback on the different kinds...
I don't know about intradermal, but my understanding is that the tri vaccinates against 3 strains while the quad vaccinates against a 4th strain as well. If I were you, I would just ask the pharmacist.1 -
Thanks! I wonder why they would still make the tri vaccine if it was possible to make a quad, and why they would still offer the intramuscular when the one with a smaller needle and dose was possible. I do tend to overthink things though
Not afraid of needles, I donate platelets regularly, so no excuses!1 -
Thanks! I wonder why they would still make the tri vaccine if it was possible to make a quad, and why they would still offer the intramuscular when the one with a smaller needle and dose was possible. I do tend to overthink things though
Not afraid of needles, I donate platelets regularly, so no excuses!
I'm not sure... maybe cost?0 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »Thanks! I wonder why they would still make the tri vaccine if it was possible to make a quad, and why they would still offer the intramuscular when the one with a smaller needle and dose was possible. I do tend to overthink things though
Not afraid of needles, I donate platelets regularly, so no excuses!
I'm not sure... maybe cost?
Good point0 -
Tri vaccine is cheaper.
It still covers for the main flu strains.
However in Australia the government funded ones were 4 strain and almost everybody buying privately opted for 4 strain, despite slightly higher cost.
I suspect 3 strain will not be produced next year due to limited consumer demand for it.
Re Intradermal or intramuscular - Intradermal does have shorter needle but probably not less painful as there are more nerve endings there than in deep muscle.
At any rate flu vaccine is very minimal pain - little sting for few seconds and all over.2 -
ladyreva78 wrote: »I normally don't get the shots for the simple reason that they're not covered by my health insurance (not in one of the risk categories)
My company is covering for everyone not covered by health insurance this year. One of my work colleagues had to get a lung transplant last year due to cystic fibrosis and only just got back to work. We want to lower the risks for him as much as we can and that's one of the small ways we're contributing. Oddly enough, even the vaccine opponents are on board with that.
I just always paid for it out of pocket, really cheap actually, even in the U.S. or any country I lived in without health insurance. Most pharmacists will sell the vacine and either administer it there, or have doctors nearby you can get jabbed for about 15.00' if you did decide you'd like to vacinate.
I paid $39.99 at a grocery store pharmacy yesterday. This is the same amount I recall paying in Walgreens either last year or the year before. I used to get a free shot after my yearly physical, but it kind of threw off my routine when my doctor said she no longer needed to see me yearly
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