Flu shots? For them or against ?

I work in an office. There are 3 employees. I am the only one who is here most days.

I am not against the flu shot. I just never have gotten one, nor have I ever had the flu. I am pro vaccines. My kids got all of their vaccines when they were children. The flu shot may or may not protect against the strain of flu that is going around each year so it is only partial protection anyway. I wash my hands a lot, and if I do get sick, (which is pretty rare for me), I stay home.

Every company I have worked for since I was 16 has offered them for free. Whether it works or not, I've never gotten the flu, so I will continue to get them as they are offered. Plus, I don't turn down free.

Whoops, I didn't realize this was from 2016. Didn't mean to bring up an old thread!

kgirlhart wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

kgirlhart wrote: »

I've never had the flu so I don't get them. I am not against them though. My daughter has asthma and she is a school teacher. She has always gotten them. If I worked in healthcare or at a school I probably would, but I just usually don't spend the money on it. All in all I am pretty pro vaccines.

All insurance should cover it...I've never had health insurance that didn't cover immunizations 100%. I've never paid for a flu shot and I get them every year.

Your daughter has asthma and you don't get flu shots? I can't even...

My daughter is an adult and she lives 200 miles away from me. If I were to get the flu I think she would be safe. When she lived at home she always got the flu shot but I did not. I have never had the flu.

It would cost me about $20-$25. Like I said, if I worked at a school or in healthcare I would probably get one, but I don't so I never have bothered.

One thing I don't think you realize is that each year the shot changes. So each shot you get (or the people who are around your daughter, with asthma) gives you an immunity to a new strain of virus. So over the years, you are building an immunity to many strains.

I am really struggling to understand. Would you tell the people who work with your daughter to not get flu shots? Because that's the risk you are putting everyone else in. You don't go to the grocery? The gas station? You never touch anything that other people touch? You literally only see three people in your office, and that's it? What if one of those three people has a loved one who would be seriously affected? Really? You're that selfish?

suzannesimmons3 wrote: »

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

We got our flu shots Friday.

My daughter and husband despise needles. They both have been known to faint after getting them, that's how much they hate them.

But they still got their shots. (My daughter is an adult and has a choice in the matter. She was so upset about getting a needle, she cried through getting it.)

Why did they put themselves through this?

Because I'm on immune suppressants.

My sister took her family to get their flu shots. You know why? Because I'm on immune suppressants.

I wish I could count on everyone I encounter in public the way I can count on my family.

In the uk they do a live virus nasal spray for kids....is that something the needle phobic could look int

Not if you are immunosuppressed or around immunosuppressed people (because of shedding)

Fyreside wrote: »

A single study isn't worth A damm. A few years back a Harvard student did a study which strongly links the divorce rate in Maine to margarine consumption. And he did it to prove that you need to look at more than just one study to draw any kind of meaningful conclusion.

If you want to look at something real. Look at the spread of Polio in Pakistan right now.

Spot on!

I had my flu jab last week. I'm asthmatic and also on immunosuppressants for a long term condition, so here in the UK I get it free. The rest of my family also get it free because of the risks to me and they've had it done too
For the record (I'm repeating myself I know) the nurse told me that the jab will be less effective for me. So I could still get flu but it reduces the risk. Other people getting the jab reduces it still further.
She also told me it takes around 21 days to take effect (so those saying they got flu afterwards may have been incubating it or been exposed to it before the jab had taken effect ) It only protectsagainst certain strains. And - this is new to me - the immunity isn't permanent - it lasts around 6 months.
I'm tired of hearing: only immunocompromised people should get it. It's the opposite. If more healthy people had it, the risks to me and other vulnerable people would be reduced.

kimny72 wrote: »

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

I had my flu jab last week. I'm asthmatic and also on immunosuppressants for a long term condition, so here in the UK I get it free. The rest of my family also get it free because of the risks to me and they've had it done too
For the record (I'm repeating myself I know) the nurse told me that the jab will be less effective for me. So I could still get flu but it reduces the risk. Other people getting the jab reduces it still further.
She also told me it takes around 21 days to take effect (so those saying they got flu afterwards may have been incubating it or been exposed to it before the jab had taken effect ) It only protectsagainst certain strains. And - this is new to me - the immunity isn't permanent - it lasts around 6 months.
I'm tired of hearing: only immunocompromised people should get it. It's the opposite. If more healthy people had it, the risks to me and other vulnerable people would be reduced.

Re the bolded, I read an article recently (can't remember where) by a medical pro who suggested to their patients more vulnerable to the flu to wait until at least October to get the shot. Said that the protection does trail off and you are more likely to get the flu toward the end of flu season rather than early (August and September). So better to cover your butt so to speak for the end of the season rather than the beginning.

I also read that studies show people who get shots in the morning experience less tenderness in their arm than those who get the shot later in the day. They don't know why, but I'm all about stacking the deck in my favor when all else is equal . I have two little nephews and my parents are in their 70s, so I will be heading to CVS this week or next to get my shot. I have been blessed by what I can only assume is a strong immune system and good luck, as I hardly ever get sick, but the people around me are not always that lucky.

I'm going to test this out when I get my shot in a couple of weeks. thanks!

ETA - I usually get mine around the beginning of Nov since flu season doesn't start until it gets colder around here, and I want to be protected on the tail end if it lasts into the spring.

Always.

kimny72 wrote: »

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

I had my flu jab last week. I'm asthmatic and also on immunosuppressants for a long term condition, so here in the UK I get it free. The rest of my family also get it free because of the risks to me and they've had it done too
For the record (I'm repeating myself I know) the nurse told me that the jab will be less effective for me. So I could still get flu but it reduces the risk. Other people getting the jab reduces it still further.
She also told me it takes around 21 days to take effect (so those saying they got flu afterwards may have been incubating it or been exposed to it before the jab had taken effect ) It only protectsagainst certain strains. And - this is new to me - the immunity isn't permanent - it lasts around 6 months.
I'm tired of hearing: only immunocompromised people should get it. It's the opposite. If more healthy people had it, the risks to me and other vulnerable people would be reduced.

Re the bolded, I read an article recently (can't remember where) by a medical pro who suggested to their patients more vulnerable to the flu to wait until at least October to get the shot. Said that the protection does trail off and you are more likely to get the flu toward the end of flu season rather than early (August and September). So better to cover your butt so to speak for the end of the season rather than the beginning.

I also read that studies show people who get shots in the morning experience less tenderness in their arm than those who get the shot later in the day. They don't know why, but I'm all about stacking the deck in my favor when all else is equal . I have two little nephews and my parents are in their 70s, so I will be heading to CVS this week or next to get my shot. I have been blessed by what I can only assume is a strong immune system and good luck, as I hardly ever get sick, but the people around me are not always that lucky.

Interesting, but not true for me. Of course, I'm on on immunosuppressants (17 year old kidney transplant), so it might be different. I also got stabbed 3 times on the same morning. The first was a Procrit shot because artificially suppressing your immune system means your ability to make blood is impaired, and the second was a blood draw to prove that, despite 3 years of Procrit injections every 2 weeks, I still need the them (wish I wasn't allergic to the iron infusions). Procrit needles are tiny, but the medication burns, so I didn't even feel the flu shot going in. My arm still hurt for 3 days afterward!

My blood clinic only offers it after October 1, and I politely declined at CVS because I trust my needle nurses more. I'm nagging at my boyfriend to get his this year since he works for Samsung and touches hands and phones all day. Ew. I have my masks to wear at school, since I was out for 2 weeks for a fever and oozing eyeballs last year after being exposed to a bunch of immortal 20-somethings with the sniffles. EW! I'm not even going to bother with my roommate, though, since it's like talking to a wall. Spending money on copious amounts of Lysol is less frustrating than convincing someone to get stabbed.

I wish you would, though. Get stabbed. For little ol' me.