Big chance the flu will be especially bad this year

[MtnMan]

>>41% think flu shots don’t work very well

Granted, in the past there was quite a bit of truth to this. They had to totally guess what strains would be prevalent, and the shot only had 2 of them included. Now they cover double the number of strains in the shot - 4 instead of 2 - which means the likelihood of being effective is doubled compared to what the shot used to be. I.E. - twice as likely to protect you.

The COVID vaccine does not provide 100% immunity either, but it comes pretty close to that as far as keeping you out of the ICU or the morgue. The flu can also put you in the ICU or morgue.

That's why I've had a total of 5 COVID vaccine doses to date, (and this year's flu shot) and when #6 is authorized, I'll be in that line also.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I'll be getting mine next week.

Got my Covid booster a few weeks ago separately, partially to avoid side-effects but mainly because I felt like it was a bit too early to worry much about the flu.

Covid daily positivity-rate in Connecticut is still hovering around 9-10% while the risk of flu is currently minimal per the CDC. (except OF COURSE a few counties down south)

View attachment 68809

Can you give us a link where you found this map, so that we can keep an eye on the most recent one? Thanks!

 

[brianmanahan]

i was too slow in getting my shots

and now i think i've either got COVID or the flu

or both

 

[Captante]

I'll be getting mine next week.

Got my Covid booster a few weeks ago separately, partially to avoid side-effects but mainly because I felt like it was a bit too early to worry much about the flu.

Covid daily positivity-rate in Connecticut is still hovering around 9-10% while the risk of flu is currently minimal per the CDC. (except OF COURSE a few counties down south)

View attachment 68809

I can't seem to track down that exact map but it was somewhere on this poorly organized CDC web-page:


CDC Flu-view interactive

 

[MtnMan]

After last year's experience getting a Covid booster and flu shot at the same time, I'm spacing them out this year.

I had no issues with getting both at the same time, in the same arm, other than a tender area at the injection site which was gone in less than 24 hours.

 

[K1052]

After last year's experience getting a Covid booster and flu shot at the same time, I'm spacing them out this year.

I just got both today. Fortunately I have planned to do very little tomorrow in anticipation of some side effects.

 

[nakedfrog]

Got my booster before lunch, they were doing a clinic at a fire station. I'll just do the flu shot at one of the grocery store pharmacies one of the times I need to go shopping soon.

 

[brianmanahan]

i feel like i got the COVIDs but keep testing negatory, so who knows. i'll probably wait a couple months before getting a shot just in case.

 

[nOOky]

I've been home for 9 days, miserable. Two days after my flu shot as I said above I got sick. I've had a fever as high as 104f, it was 103.3f this morning. I went in Wednesday, no flu, no covid, hmmm. This morning they call and say it's Lyme, so I'm already taking doxy. I am exhausted, but I could start feeling better tomorrow or Monday already. Think I'd rather had covid.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Cool. You can get Lyme from a flu shot. Who knew?

 

[brianmanahan]

Cool. You can get Lyme from a flu shot. Who knew?

i've never heard of that being a possibility before

maybe a tick gave him his flu shot

 

[nOOky]

Cool. You can get Lyme from a flu shot. Who knew?

Show me where I said that and I'll buy you a soda, otherwise quit twisting my words into mis-truths please.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

That's a jok .. I say that's a joke son, don't ya' git it?



.

 

[nOOky]

That's a jok .. I say that's a joke son, don't ya' git it?



.

Sorry I missed it, I apologize for being a serious a-hole. Just kind of sitting here feeling miserable will do that I guess. I've never been acussed of being smart, I've always been hired for my strong back. I'll buy you a soda anyway

 

[Pohemi]

I've been home for 9 days, miserable. Two days after my flu shot as I said above I got sick. I've had a fever as high as 104f, it was 103.3f this morning. I went in Wednesday, no flu, no covid, hmmm. This morning they call and say it's Lyme, so I'm already taking doxy. I am exhausted, but I could start feeling better tomorrow or Monday already. Think I'd rather had covid.

When you went in and they determined it was Lyme, were they able to give you any idea as to where/how you contracted it? Obviously wasn't a deer tick as it's too late in the year and too cold.

Scary though; I hope you feel better soon.

I just got my flu shot for the season last week during my regular PCP appointment. Barely a sore shoulder for a few hours, and just a little bit tired the following day.
Probably schedule my 5th COVID shot for this next week at Walgreens. If it's as bad or any worse than the 4th shot (2nd booster), I'll feel like I went down a hill in a barrel, lasting for a day or two. Just soreness but it felt like it was everywhere...even my jaw, for example.

 

[Brainonska511]

After last year's experience getting a Covid booster and flu shot at the same time, I'm spacing them out this year.

I did mine at the same time in the same arm in early September. Ended up having to take half a sick day the following afternoon because I felt awful; however, I felt great the day after.

In general, the flu shot tends to make few feel a bit fatigued - not too gross, but just a general bleh. The first covid booster I was fine; the combination this time might have been a bit much, but for me, better to get them out of the way together.

 

[Captante]

Deer-ticks can still be active with outdoor temps in the upper 30's (f) and they survive beneath snowfall.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

Deer-ticks can still be active with outdoor temps in the upper 30's (f) and they survive beneath snowfall.

I hope that you are on the road to recovery - Lyme can be very serious. One summer about 5 years ago, I took my kids for a hike at the nearby state park. After 5 minutes, I looked down and saw 3 ticks on one leg, and one crawling up the other. There was 1 on one of my kids as well. Needless to say, we cut that hike short.

This summer, I somehow got a tick on me just walking outside into the FRONT yard for a couple of minutes. We keep the grass mowed, plus there are no woods or brush anywhere nearby.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

By the way, this is what's in this year's flu shot:

• an A/Victoria/2570/2019 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
• an A/Darwin/9/2021 (H3N2)-like virus;
• a B/Austria/1359417/2021-like virus (B/Victoria lineage); and.
• a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata lineage).

It looks like their guess was good this year - H3N2 is what the CDC shows is really taking off right now, so it's good to know that one IS in the shot!

 

[nOOky]

When you went in and they determined it was Lyme, were they able to give you any idea as to where/how you contracted it? Obviously wasn't a deer tick as it's too late in the year and too cold.

Scary though; I hope you feel better soon.

I just got my flu shot for the season last week during my regular PCP appointment. Barely a sore shoulder for a few hours, and just a little bit tired the following day.
Probably schedule my 5th COVID shot for this next week at Walgreens. If it's as bad or any worse than the 4th shot (2nd booster), I'll feel like I went down a hill in a barrel, lasting for a day or two. Just soreness but it felt like it was everywhere...even my jaw, for example.

Not sure when I had a tick on me. We do have 4 dogs, so anytime a tick could have dropped off of one of them and crawled onto me and dug in. I'll get my bivalent booster as soon as I feel well enough.

One of the funny things about the early days of covid was the people saying "it's just the flu". As I was laying there this week thinking I had covid, I was thinking to myself that if you've ever even had a good case of the flu, you sure wouldn't think it was a minor thing. My idea of fun isn't lying there alternating between sweating and freezing with a nasty headache and full body fatigue and muscle soreness.

 

[Captante]

I hope that you are on the road to recovery - Lyme can be very serious. One summer about 5 years ago, I took my kids for a hike at the nearby state park. After 5 minutes, I looked down and saw 3 ticks on one leg, and one crawling up the other. There was 1 on one of my kids as well. Needless to say, we cut that hike short.

This summer, I somehow got a tick on me just walking outside into the FRONT yard for a couple of minutes. We keep the grass mowed, plus there are no woods or brush anywhere nearby.

I think you replied to the wrong person!

But I'll hang onto the "best wishes" for the next time I come down with something!

 

[pcgeek11]

I'd be more concerned about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. It can be deadly if not treated properly. My cousin died from this in less than two weeks after symptoms were detected.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) | Tick-borne Diseases | Ticks | CDC

Information on ticks and tickborne disease. Provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

www.cdc.gov

RMSF is most often transmitted by the American dog tick in the Eastern, Central and Western United States; by the Rocky Mountain wood tick in the Rocky Mountain states; and by the brown dog tick in the Southwestern United States, along the U.S.-Mexico border. RMSF can be rapidly fatal if not treated within the first 5 days of symptoms. Before tetracycline antibiotics were available, case fatality rates ranged from 20–80%.

 

[Captante]

Sorry to hear about your cousin!

Lyme is far more common in the Northeast at least and tiny little deer-ticks are harder to spot than dog-ticks which only increases the risk.

My dad was an avid gardener (lived in Putnam County NY) and he contracted it multiple times over several years despite being fully aware of the risk.

 

[brianmanahan]

Lyme is far more common in the Northeast at least and tiny little deer-ticks are harder to spot than dog-ticks which only increases the risk.

i've stopped doing any kind of hiking or woods activities because the ticks are so bad

 

[Brainonska511]

i've stopped doing any kind of hiking or woods activities because the ticks are so bad

It's not that hard to keep ticks at bay, with one of the big ones: using deet, followed by pyrethrin-treated clothing (you can even buy a spray bottle to treat your outdoor clothes). Also, sticking to clear trails can also help.

I've hiked plenty in NE and never been bit by a tick. Found a few on our dog at times, but she's a dog - low to the ground and loves to rub up on the brush (and that's why we give her monthly nexgard).

Lyme is far more common in the Northeast at least and tiny little deer-ticks are harder to spot than dog-ticks which only increases the risk.

My spouse got bitten (but no tic ever found) in the summer and had a characteristic rash. Treating with a course of doxycycline cleared it right up.