Flu Shot vs The Flu

[destrekor]

Yup it's a cocktail that they cook up based upon projections. They also have about a month before you are at full immunization properties and have a limited duration of effectiveness. One of the problems the medical community faces is how soon to release the flu vaccine. Some years it starts popping up much faster and they rush out to get it on the streets. Then they see a late spring (April-May) resurgence of the flu pop up and the ED's get hit hard because the vaccine has worn off.

The vaccine wears off?

So some of these strains we don't get a nearly life-long resistance?
Is it only the super special strains, like a variant of H1N1, where someone may have resistance from the last time it reared its ugly head?

 

[moonbogg]

I had the shot but had sore throat last weekend and nasal congestion but no body chills, etc. Is catching the cold same as flu ?

I caught something like this and it was murder. I would've almost have rather caught the damn flu. It was like a cold straight from the pits of hell.

 

[vi edit]

The vaccine wears off?

So some of these strains we don't get a nearly life-long resistance?
Is it only the super special strains, like a variant of H1N1, where someone may have resistance from the last time it reared its ugly head?

Vaccines are different than natural exposure. There's a reason you have to get booster shots on some of them. With the flu shot it's got like a 4-6 months then it's down to about 50% of it's effectiveness. You'll retain some resistance for a couple years, but it will be weakened.

 

[UnklSnappy]

The only other case of the flu I've had of comparable severity was the Beijing flu.
Also had the Hong Kong flu as a kid but don't remember much of that one except for the ice bath because of the high fever.

 

[Pohemi]

No shot, no flu. See shall see if this lasts me through the season, especially since I work in health centers.

You's crazy.

 

[soulcougher73]

So from the poll results we can conclude the flu shot does not work

 

[Capt Caveman]

So from the poll results we can conclude the flu shot does not work

Out of the four people that got the flu, only one got the shot. I'd say, it's the other way around.

 

[BUTCH1]

pretty impressive sample size you've got there.

Ding , ding, ding, winner. "My Friends" is useless as a sample to judge vaccine effectiveness. My employer offers free flu shots and I get one every year, like a previous poster said even is it gives me some protection I'll take it, haven't had the flu in the last 10 years..

 

[BurnItDwn]

yes flu shot
no flu.

I haven't had a flu in years as I get flu shots free at work.
I have had in the past where I was miserable and sick for a week with a high fever and alternating between chills or cold sweats. That was no fun.

 

[CraigRT]

I never get the stupid flu shot, and I never get the flu.

That shit is a total waste of time.

 

[SP33Demon]

Just wash your hands like a maniac and avoid coughing people (wearing a facemask of some sort on public transit helps). Haven't been sick in years.

 

[BUTCH1]

I never get the stupid flu shot, and I never get the flu.

That shit is a total waste of time.

Do you have any medical credentials to back up your statement or just because you have been luck enough to avoid getting the flu make it "a total waste of time". Your statement (like OP's) is worthless without linkage to evidence to prove it does no good..

 

[soulcougher73]

Out of the four people that got the flu, only one got the shot. I'd say, it's the other way around.

Or you can look at it as more people didnt get the flu shot or the flu than did get the flu shot and didnt get the flu

Thus..flu shot not required

 

[jagec]

Or you can look at it as more people didnt get the flu shot or the flu than did get the flu shot and didnt get the flu

Thus..flu shot not required

A higher percentage of people who didn't get the shot got sick than people who did get the shot.

Of course, this is all self-reported, and the sample size is almost nothing. But it looks like if you don't get the shot, you're twice as likely to get the flu.

 

[vi edit]

A higher percentage of people who didn't get the shot got sick than people who did get the shot. Of course, this is all self-reported, and the sample size is almost nothing. But it looks like if you don't get the shot, you're twice as likely to get the flu.

And unless you tested positive on a flu swab I'm calling bullshit on the reported flu instances. Usually the flu shots are dished out at the same time a pile of other seasonal viruses are bouncing around and it's likely just one of those.

 

[CraigRT]

Do you have any medical credentials to back up your statement or just because you have been luck enough to avoid getting the flu make it "a total waste of time". Your statement (like OP's) is worthless without linkage to evidence to prove it does no good..

I don't care what you or anyone says, it's a waste of time.

 

[ichy]

I don't care what you or anyone says, it's a waste of time.

Lol, that's brilliant reasoning right there.

 

[TuxDave]

I think I'm finally sold on the flu shot. I never get it and my wife does. She got a little sick afterwards but after that she says she felt like she almost got sick a couple times but brushed it off under a day. Me? I swear I thought I was dying just before Christmas. I have no clue how I got it but I was shivering, nauseous and stuck in bed for a couple days. Took me about a week before I felt 100%. I definitely don't want to go through that again so next year I'm getting my shots.

 

[MtnMan]

I got the flu about 12 - 15 years ago, and while shivering and racked with nausea, under a pile of blankets, and keeping the path to bathroom clear, I swore I would never go through a week like that again, if possible.

Except for the year there was a shortage, I have got one every year, and fortunately have not had the flu either.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Since I started getting the Flu shot I have never gotten the Flu. And The Flu sucks, do not confuse the Flu with the common cold. The Flu is 100x worse and feel like death.

Cold = you can still do your day to day things but you feel like shit.
Flu = You are not doing shit(going to work etc..) and you might end up in the hospital.

 

[Slew Foot]

no flu shots ever, no flu ever.

 

[airdata]

Folks need to realize that a bad cold is not the flu.

An upset stomach, "stomach flu" is not flu.

A slight cold after getting the shot is not the flu.

Laying on the sofa aching, shivering, and moaning for 5 days is the flu.

Get your shot and if you even suspect you're coming down with the flu go get an RX for tamiflu. It does work.

But if you get the shot you shouldn't be going to the dr, right?

 

[jagec]

And unless you tested positive on a flu swab I'm calling bullshit on the reported flu instances. Usually the flu shots are dished out at the same time a pile of other seasonal viruses are bouncing around and it's likely just one of those.

Oh, absolutely. But even this wildly inaccurate survey on a forum full of anti-flu shot people supports the idea that the shot works.

 

[KlokWyze]

I exercise moderately. Eat mildy* healthy. I take echinecea whenever I feel a cold coming on. I haven't gotten sick in 2+ years.

 

[crownjules]

I've had the flu once in the last 10 years. No flu shots.