Did you or your family get flu shots this year? If you are against the idea, why?
Yes, we all did. This is generally the case for my immediate family, as the downsides of the vaccine are few and, assuming the roll of the seasonal dice are right, we minimize or avoid potentially serious health issues and minimize loss of time.This year we have additional reason for doing so: Last year my father-in-law underwent mitral valve annuloplasty; he also suffers COPD that stages out around three (safety tip, kids: don’t take up smoking). During his recovery, a non-immunized neighbor who was only becoming symptomatic decided to visit; a few days after said neighbor became symptomatic, so did my father-in-law. The difference was stark; the health 30-something male took to his bed for a few days; my mid-70’s (we don’t call it “the decade of death” for nothing) father-in-law ended up spending ten days in the ICU with sporadic afib, pneumonia, sepsis, and borderline renal failure.My father-in-law hadn’t gotten around to getting immunized, and while I understand that lack of interest in even thinking about going somewhere while in the initial stages of cardiac rehab, he still had a choice and failed to exercise it. However, there are people who do not have a choice: the very young, cancer patients and those who are otherwise immunocompromised and are not candidates for the vaccine. Healthy individuals who elect not to receive the vaccine are, like my father-in-law’s neighbor, a potential unknowing risk to others, and as such I and my family view immunization as not just something that is the correct decision for ourselves personally, but the socially responsible decision as well.
Can you get 2 flu shots in 1 year?
I received a flu shot this year from my primary care physician. Two or three weeks later I go to weekend drill for the national guard and am told by my Seargent that unless I could provide documentation that I'd already received a flu shot, I would be getting one Sunday. I was told on Saturday so there was no way to get that info. The next day I got another flu shot and experienced no ill effects. I asked the medical officer if it was a big deal that I was getting two flu shots and he said it's not at all harmful.My son got a flu shot yesterday and they want him back in a month for his yearly check up, during which they said they'd give him another flu shot as a booster. He's 3 so that might have something to do with it.Based on these two experiences, yes you can get two flu shots.
I am 53 years old and never had a flu shot. I have never had the flu. Why should I get a flu shot?
Because “The Flu” can kill you fast and furious. The flu shot given in October or November each year reduces the risk of getting the flu by 50% to 70%. It actually reduces your risk of death from the flu even more as those who get the flu after a flu shot still have a reduced risk of death.In addition, scientists are concerned about the recurrence of the flu strain (H1N1) that caused the 1917–1918 flu pandemic. You may not have heard of this relatively modern day plague because of military censorship during those years. More people around the world died of the flu that winter than died in both World Wars combined. Traditionally the flu vaccine was made from the most common three strains found in Hong Kong each January. Recently the flu vaccine was changed to still include those strains but always adding H1N1 as insurance against the recurrence of another 1917–1918 style pandemic.You say that you have not had the flu in 53 years. That may or may not be true, but keep in mind that on average one gets the flu only about once in 15 years. On the other hand people get about 6 colds per year. Since there is some overlap in the symptoms between a cold and the flu people tend to confuse the gravity of the two very different diseases. Colds rarely kill. In a year that one gets the flu disease ones average mortality risk is about one in seven thousand. It’s like buying a lottery ticket where the winner is executed. And death can come within hours of first symptoms. The flu shot reduces your risk of being entered in that lottery.Some people have heard “fake news” concerning the risks of the flu vaccine. You can’t get the flu from the flu shot. How do I know this? Because it’s dead. (And not just resting ;>) The nasal spray is NOT dead and is a live attenuated vaccine. The side effect profiles of the two are very similar.It is true that a small proportion (5%) of people will feel bad for a day or two after the vaccine but it’s not the flu. It’s reaction to the vaccine.So, even though the flu season just started on December 1, it doesn’t peak until January or February ands not over until the middle of May. I would strongly suggest getting your flu shotASAP and then in October or November in future years.People who should not receive the flu shot include those with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome ( a rare neurological condition) and infants under the age of six months.
Do the flu shots really work?
Flu shots work a certain percentage of the time. How effective they are depends on how well the physicians are in predicting which strains of flu will be prominent each season. It takes several months to produce the vaccines in time for the flu season, so the authorities have to make a best guess. If they guess right, the effectiveness is high. This year, the average seems to be about 65% give or take a few percent. Many people use anecdotal "evidence" to decide whether to get a shot. basically, that means they hear stories, and base their decisions on that story. This is not scientific. For instance, many people say they got a flu shot, then came down the next day with the flu. Due to the way the vaccines work, even if they were given a shot that somehow carried a large amount of active virus,(which the shots do not; vaccines simply carry enough of the dead virus to trigger your immune system to develop resistance to it) it would take several days before the virus could multiply enough to become symptomatic. It's much more likely that a person had already been exposed to the flu, and simply got the flu shot too late. Then they get the shot, and blame it for them catching the disease. But the way those people think, they could blame the flu on wearing red socks the day before being sick, or not getting enough sleep, or eating pork, or a hundred other little things they did or did not do. Scientists do in fact study and track such things. Flu shots are still the best bet to avoid catching the flu. but it is up to you to decide if you want the shot or not. At your age, I see no reason the shots would not work.
Does the flu shot have any side effects?
Actually the Flu shot does NOT contain the activated virus. The virus is inactive (meaning dead). There are people who become sick after the shot, but that is generally because they have contracted the virus before symptoms appear. If your husband is generally healthy, he should not be fearful of side effects. He may experience some soreness in the area of the injection but that should be all. Unless he has a chronic illness, I would encourage him to get the influenza vaccine.
Should I get a flu shot?
Whether or not you get vaccinated each year us entirely up to you. Personally,it makes no difference to me what you do, your decision is for yourself first, and for others second. 1. What are the advantages of getting a flu shot? -- No flu. (Did you really have to ask this?) 1. "Can I get sick from getting a flu shot?" -- Not with flu. What you may not realize is that the whole point of being vaccinated at all is to stimulate the immune system into producing antibodies. And it's your own immune system that also produces the unpleasant symptoms that some people experience for 1-3 days after vaccination. And if it happens, be glad you have an immune system that responds. 2. "What is the flu shot typically made of?" -- Inactivated viral particles, viral antigen, residual egg protein. The other ingredients depend on if you're asking about a multi-use vial or single dose syringe. http://gizmodo.com/setting-the-record-st... 3. "How long does it take usually before I start to build a resistance?" -- It's the same for vaccinations and an actual illness. It takes roughly 2 weeks for the immune system to produce sufficient antibodies to confer immunity. As far as a flu vaccination, if you expose yourself to an active case within those 2 weeks, you will probably get it. 4. "Can a flu shot help ward off the common cold?" -- Are you somehow mistaking the word flu for cold?? 5. "Would it be a good idea for someone in my condition to get anflu shot?" -- What condition, casted body parts?? You may not get out much and so may not have a lot of exposure to infected people. But having casts and sutures isn't a condition that specifically requires vaccination. Flu vaccination is highly recommended for anyone with one or more of the pre-existing conditions that predispose one to flu-related complications. You can Google a list of these conditions (such as asthma, smoking) to see if you have any. Take your cue from that. 6. "Is it recommended that I get a flu shot?" -- This goes along with the question just above.
Do you get the flu shot?
I would rephrase your question as “Do you believe that getting a flu shot is a good idea?”Because since flu shots indubitably exist, of course I believe in them. I’ve seen one. If you don’t believe in flu shots, just go to your local pharmacy and ask to see one. They’ll show it to you. It exists.Now… is getting a flu shot a good idea? YES. It reduces the probability that I will get the flu. If I do get the flu, it reduces the duration of my suffering. Since fewer people are getting the flu, I have less chance of being exposed, and if I don’t get the flu, I’m not exposing anyone else to it.It’s really quite simple.There are some people for whom getting a flu shot is a bad idea. People who are immunocompromised. Those who are allergic to some ingredient in the product. And there is emerging evidence that women who are pregnant may have reactions to future flu shots. Fortunately, if those who can, do, these vulnerable people are protected reduced probability of exposure, since fewer people are getting (and spreading) the virus.I don’t really understand the controversy. Vaccines are a medicine. A preventative medicine. They protect against even GETTING sick, not just helping cure or reduce suffering from an illness you already have. As with every medicine, they are contradicted in some, helpful to most, for some reason don’t work very well in a few.
Have you ever gotten the flu shot and still got the flu?
The FDA itself states in its flu vaccine pamphlets (regular and H1N1) that the vaccine does not create a full immunity. You can still get and spread the flu even with the vaccine. In most people it lessens the severity. But thats the most it can do. It does not create an immunity where you cannot contract the virus. Personally I am not a big fan of the new pandemic ready flu shot- I was reconsidering again recently on the news that there was a dead culture vaccine without preservatives. However on closer study I found that the drug contains squalene- a chemical adjuvant that the FDA has stated as recently as 2000 was not safe for use in humans. Its responsible for gulf war syndrome, and a slew of chronic autoimmune disorders when added to vaccines, in a smaller portion of those exposed to it. Its the same thing responsible for the issues with paralysis in the last swine flu vaccine from the 70's which was later taken off the market due to that issue. They want to put that in my while I am pregnant, and give it to my 2 year old son. Considering the death rate of those infected by the H1N1 virus is about .3% POINT THREE PERCENT, I think I will stick with that risk over the overwhelming poor response to squalene every time it has been used in a vaccine.
Would you get a Flu Shot at a Pharmacy?
Indeed, I did! Last year, I was in Walgreens picking up my prescriptions, and noticed the sign that advertised flu shots. So I asked for one. The girl who worked behind the counter took my medicare Part D, I think it is called. Anyway, it was the paper one with the red and blue at the edges. She filled in some paper work, told me that the pharmacist would be with me in just a moment. Pharmacist took me to his office, asked me about allergies and things. And gave me the shot. It was quick, easy, I barely felt the needle. He was a pro, believe me. He then insisted that I stay in the store for 15 minutes or so, to be close in case I had a reaction. That's good policy, too. Also, they told me that Medicare was picking up the bill. No charge to me. I have to go back to Walgreen's this coming week, and you can bet I will ask for a flu shot. I have no qualms, no worries about it. I think you can trust them.