Flu shots? For them or against ?

GaleHawkins wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

unparalleledAF wrote: »

I get the flu once a decade. My record was 15 years. I don't get the shot.

I would consider it if someone in my close circle was immunocompromised.

As someone who has an immunocompromised person in my close circle, I wish people cared about their potential impact on immunocompromised people they don't know as well (but still will encounter socially and professionally) as they would care about the impact on their loved ones if they were immunocompromised.

Getting the vaccine is not just about protecting those who are close to you.

Perhaps even better we could all take and share Vitamin D to show concern for everyone.

iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/vitamind-d-supplements-prevent-cold-flu-infections/

'....This new review, led by the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), looked at 11,321 people across 25 separate trials in order to see if there was any definitive correlations present in this regard. These studies looked at an impressive range of infections, from common cold strains to full-blown influenza.

They came to the conclusion that, for every 33 people regularly taking Vitamin D supplements as part of a balanced diet, one of them would not experience a cold or flu infection during the year. This would make it more effective than the flu vaccination.

Overall, extended to the entire UK, this works out to be 3 million people without the sniffles. This would not just be great for their own health, but would be a huge boost to the British economy in terms of work hours not lost to sickness....'

However, before leaping to the nearest pharmacy to ask for vitamin supplements, it’s worth looking at the accompanying editorial in the journal. It points out that within just three months, two studies – this one, and another earlier one – have come to very different conclusions, with one concluding that vitamin D has no effect on disease prevention, with the exception of muscoskeletal diseases.

“Given the short time between articles, why are the conclusions so different?” the editorial reads, adding that the authors of it think that “there are reasons for viewing the headline result cautiously.”

“In absolute terms, the primary result is a reduction from 42% to 40% in the proportion of participants experiencing at least one acute respiratory tract infection,” it notes. This means that taking Vitamin D supplements reduces your risk of getting a cold by 2 percent, which is very minor indeed.

The editorial also points out that the term “acute respiratory tract infection” is loosely defined throughout the 25 trials, meaning that it’s not really clear what Vitamin D supplements are actually having an effect on.

Should these results change clinical practice? Probably not,” it concludes. Right now, the supplement hypothesis is just that – a hypothesis – and one that needs plenty more randomized and controlled trials to be confirmed.

So, for now, Vitamin D supplements remain in the “inconclusive” column. Don’t believe the hype just yet.

I am not against people getting the flu shots for themselves but why not also take Vitamin D3 without health risks as well?

Flu season we all know mirrors when we naturally make less Vitamin D in our bodies due to less sunshine at least in North America and Europe.