Never had a flu shot.
I have only had the flu maybe a couple times in 30 years.

Where I am now they are pushing the flu shot like crazy.

Does any one here get a flu shot???

I got it once. Got so sick I was scared I wouldn't die.

I don't care WTF they claim - that made me sick. I very rarely get the flu - why bother?

No way.
A waste of money and a needless risk for otherwise healthy individuals.

I've taken them for years with no ill effects at all. I figure it can't hurt.

never had one. the last time i got the flu was in 89

I am use to seeing it pushed for elderly and folks with health issues. This year it seems to be overly pushed...

Not since the navy made me. That night we last seven guys. Duty officer stepped out onto the quarterdeck at midnight and collapsed over the rail. He fell three storied onto the pier. Guy on watched fell five stories down a vertical ladder. One passed out while driving home. It was hell. Last one I ever got.

I am an RN and get the flu shot annually. This year we either get the flu shot or have to fill out a form stating why we are declining the shot. Last flu season our hospital was overflowing with flu patients, and it can be deadly on the elderly or other select populations. I have encouraged my parents to get the flu shot, and feel that it should be a personal choice, not a mandate.

CaliRN

It was explained to me that years ago, they were made with the Live virus.
And not so now.
I've gotten them annually since 1996
Only once did I ever feel anything after wards/
and it was slight and short termed,

The one I got was in 2002.

Not unless it comes in a shot glass.

No thanks,never had one yet!! Hardly ever get sick and besides over medicating is one of my pet peeves.I have a hunting pard of many years who at the first sign of anything runs to his GP for pills or a shot.

I can see it for people with other medical conditions where an onset of flu could be life threatening but for average folks, suck it up.. if you do get the bug probably will help your immune system down the road..Pharmaceutical Co's love and flourish on this mentality...

yeah i get them most years but i have underlying respiratory problems that put me in one of the categories most likely to die should i get a real bad flu bug.....never gotten sick off one of the flu shots.....

keep in mind getting a flu shot does not mean you wont get the flu, a flu shot is for the couple of strains the CDC figures has the potential to be the worst.....even with a flu shot you can still get a different strain of the flu....the shot is for the real bad ones.....

this isnt over medicating, all it does is strengthen your immune system, its not like taking unneeded antibiotics, and pharmaceutical companies dont make much off vaccines, the pharma's would much rather sell yah the over the counter meds once yah get the flu, much better profit margins in the meds versus the vaccines.....

The last time I got a flu shot was when I was marching in Uncle Sam's Legions nearly 20 years ago. I always ended up getting sick.

I think I may have gotten sick maybe three tims since then.

I'm not saying flu shots are over medication what I mean is the CDC cries wolf and then the lines form and exactly how many times over the last few years have they nailed down the correct strain..what happened to the pandemic of Swine Flu as many predicted..Believe me here I'm not condemning the medical community but this flu issue is a crap shoot IMO and with about a 50/50 success rate.Who paid for all that left over vaccine last year..I'd guess the tax payers...

I take them every year since we were/are caregivers for older folks in our family.

I've never had the flu since we started taking them. We are "only" 45.

I do take the pneumonia one too... but have had pneumonia since.... and have a really good take on why one should take another pertusis shot ..... that was one like Teal... for about 3-4 months I was afraid I wouldn't die.... that was 6 months of misery. I'd trade it for the flu any day.

my dad almost died from whooping cough. he got it the same time he had his tonsils removed when he was a kid

With the risk of dystonia and Guillain-Barre syndrome increased to a significant degree with/through the shot, though still uncommon, I'll risk the flu vs. those options, thank you.

Flu shot baby! I had the flu in 1987. I ran a fever of 103.2, I didn't eat for four days, and I prayed to GOD to let me die! I have gotten the flu shot every year since then except for the year of the worldwide shortage of the vaccine. I have not had the flu, a cold, or even the annual sinusitis that I used to get. I am a believer. I got mine today, as a matter of fact. No problems.

I usually get one.
They work.

I used to get one; until I saw someone felled to G-B from the shot, and yes, his doctors will flat tell you that the shot is what did it.

Never. I trust the folks making and pushing the flu shots as much as I trust my government. My Creator made my immune system perfect and as long as I do my part, i.e., eat well, take my supplements, exercise, practice good personal hygiene, get proper rest...thus far it's worked well for me for 49 years.

I could easily understand that... I got it 6 months before a 10-11K foot hunt in CO and figured I'd die up there anyway.... but I had it gone before then by a month luckily.

risk in everything.....surprised i aint picked up anthrax yet, has come out of the ground and killed cattle where i grew up running around in the hills and creek bottom....infact i had walked that ground a couple weeks before.....

Yep, hope you don't go to the doctors either. Just let the maker handle it all.

This is a very interesting discussion..I have no medical training so if I'm wrong please correct me.I thought the flu vaccine was specifically targeted against one strain to be effective and never thought it was a catch all remedy for other strains and the common cold..I know as many friends who take it as don't and from what I hear their results are the same.

Maybe strong immune systems are genetic by nature.My dad's side of the family seemed always well, hardly got the flu or even colds but mom's side was completely opposite...

varies i think, one of my sisters and i are polar opposites.....she had strep near year round and i have never had it or atleast never bad enough to go to the doc for it....we both get sinus infections but where mine tend to run their course in 10 days without any outside help but heavy doses of hot chinese food here linger for a month even with the strongest antibiotics....

funny thing is neither her nor i get infected cuts or the like.....she grew up out running around on our grandparents farm with me and after getting our legs tore up on the thorns of rose and bulberry bushes we would hit the stock pond looking for turtles knee deep in black sludge....drives my wife nuts that i dont bother with antibiotic creams or bandage much up.....unless i got a sliver buried i never get an infected cut.....atleast that part of her and my immune system is tempered in chit

i think that's why a lot of kids get sick so easy now a days. their parents don't let them get dirty and play in grud. heck i grew up playing in the dirty ditch water and what not. kids never get exposed to it so their immune systems can't fight it. plus good genetics my great grandmother lived to 114 and most of my relatives have lived well into their 90s

Pretty much sums that up for me too..with all my constuction over the years and working around yucky stuff like septic tanks/drainfields and generally funky schitt that accompanies renovation projects,never had an infection or got sick.Of course I'm not a nose picker either!!!

my major problem is my lungs went apechit on me at about 8 years old.....was like flipping a switch went from fine to severe asthma damn quick.....no clue why, didnt grow up in anything remotely close to a sterile environment.....still have it though not as bad as when i was younger.....

i drive my wife nuts, ignore my asthma till im at well under 50% lung capacity, she freaks when she hears me wheezing and at that point it aint even on my radar.....so long as i can get the bleeding stopped i dont do bandages and only bandage stuff when i dont want to bleed on job work

nearly 9 years together and she still hasnt figured out i just dont get infections even after she has watched me help brand all day be cut and scrapped up, covered in dried cow chit and dont bother cleaning up till the end of the day.....she figures my hands gonna rot off

Yes, every year... no side effects for me... no flu either.

Like many of the previous posters I didn't think I needed a flu shot, then I contracted the flu five years ago. I had no underlying health issues that put me at risk, but the flu put me on my back for almost two weeks. I was so sick that I thought death may have been an option to improve my condition. I've been getting flu shot ever since with no ill effects. In my opinion the benefits far outweigh the risks, which after careful study seem to be be very low.

My thoughts as well. I didn't get sick all that much when I was a kid. Don't that much now either. My grandma's are 92 and 97.
My wife is a teacher. After being exposed to everything under the sun her first year, she very rarely even gets a cold now. Neither of us get the flu shot. I'm not sure I've ever had it.

Re, Fubarski: "Not unless it comes in a shot glass."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You're right. A shot in a glass, beats a shot in the ass.

In the ass? What kind of doctor you going to?

I must have drunk the koolaid. I get the flu shot.

I believe in vaccinations. Antibodies are modular. They key to the exterior proteins on the virus. My mental picture is of modeling clay molding to the pebbling on a basketball. The pebbling changes a little from year-to-year. Many of the antibodies will still key-in-lock fit to the exterior while a few will not. Yes the virus will mutate, but a gang tackle by 5 is nearly as effective as a gang tackle by 6.

Our bodies are wonderful things.

-Joe

Why did they put the h1n1 vaccine into the flu shots for this year? They could not peddle the h1n1 shots so they did an end run and put into the regular flu shot. Another government nanny state intrusion on our freedom.

Flightmaster

I travel overseas a lot and got one here at work. Figure it won't hurt and they already innoculate for tons of stuff so why not.

no its pretty well based on science.....it has killed 14,000 ppl and is a threat....based on pretty sound science not scare factors.....just cause it didnt spread as bad one year as they thought dont mean its still not a threat....and the general procedure is one or two strains from the year before and one or two new strains in each years vaccine.....the fact that H1N1 is in the vaccine should not be a surprise, the surprise would be if it wasnt in there.....

Dunno how it can be a nanny state...you aren't forced to take a flu shot.

Let me help some of you out. Influenza is an infectious disease that affects mammals and birds. Epidemics of influenza sweep the globe every year. Worldwide deaths from influenza range from hundreds of thousands into the millions depending on the strain and reach of the epidemic.

Influenza is transmitted by aerosol created by cough and sneezing, as well as direct contact with anything contaminated. Need we review the symptoms? If you've ever had a virulent strain of the flu, then you know misery. Headaches, fever, body aches, chills, vomiting, fatigue, and generalized "feel bad, real bad".

Pandemics, though rare can cause millions of deaths. the 1917-18 pandemic killed 20- 100 million people worldwide. More than from WWI combat. This was the Spanish Influenza or the original H1N1. So now you might understand why the Public Health people got a little excited when it reemerged last year.

The Asian Flu in 1957-58 ripped though schools here and killed millions worldwide. Survivors talk of very high fevers associated with that.

The 1968 Hong Kong Flu pandemic was a MF'er in my book, because I got it! You talk about sick, I spent a week in small town hospital with that. Fever, sweats, body aches, dehydration etc. It was bad. I was a kid and it was bad. My dad got it, and he really suffered more than I. It took 6 months to regain my strength. If you contract a strain like that, you will take influenza seriously the rest of your life.

Influenza kills usually through a secondary pneumonia infection. Don't think you can just take a handful of antibiotics and bounce right back. It not always that easy.

Now, what's so important about vaccinations? Vaccines aren't just to protect you, but to break the chain of transmission. Our Public Health successes against Small Pox, mumps, rubella, measles, etc has been directly due to the fact that widespread vaccination has halted the transmission of the viruses. You morons that skip vaccinations for your kids are betting on the fact that since most other people are vaccinated, your kids will be protected because nobody will carry the virus. No, I didn't take that crap shoot with my kids. Please don't come back with the "MMR vaccines cause Autism", because there is no credible link, so save that argument for someone else who might listen.

So why should all of you that have no contraindications get the flu vaccination? First of all, it will give you protection against the strains targeted. Yes, you can still get a different strain, Schitt happens. Scientists are not gypsy fortune tellers. They can't target every strain that will show up in NYC and Gila Bend Texas. of course, once it hits NYC, the movement of the people will take all over fast enough.

The second, and very important reason to be vaccinated is to break the chain of transmission, and save your family, friends, neighbors, and mankind worldwide. If you get the the flu, before you decide to stay home and rest, you will pass it around. your kids will take it to school. Once there, EVERYBODY is going to get it, because the kids will take it home with them. The one thing that helped break up the Hong Kong Flu was that the pandemic hit the US hard right before Christmas, and when school got out for break, it slowed the spread.

Thank you, hatari.

You folks can prattle about nanny states, global conspiracies and evil drug companies all you want, but when you get a fatal strain of flu, your tin foil hat isn't going to help you.

Vaccinations are like seat belts and fire extinguishers: they're a pain. But when you need one, it is WAY too late to get one.

I can't remember the last time I had the flu, and I've never gotten a flu shot. Don't plan on starting anytime soon either, unless my new employer has a policy...don't know on that one yet.

shot off an email to my microbiologist buddy.....he doesnt study the flu but has most the peer reviewed info close at hand.....asked him the chances of dieing from the flu versus getting dystonia and Guillain-Barre syndrome from the vaccine and see what the answer is....

The nurse's office is calling huge lists of my students out of class each period for it. Never seen anything quite like it before. Not sure if their parents were somehow pressured into this or what.

As for me, being a doctor's son, I got it just about every year, but stopped a couple of years ago and have not noticed an increase in my probability of getting the flu.

That's a common theme.

PS I know exactly what you mean when you say you were afraid you wouldn't die. I've only been that sick once in my life, and that from food poisoning. I used to love candied yams. Now the very sight of them gives me a vomit reflex that I have to consciously suppress till it's out of sight. That's not an exaggeration.

Flu shot?

No.


Not just regular "no".

Hellfuckno.

Haven't had a flu shot since high school.

The complicator is that I am caring for my dad who is going through chemo. He is immune suppressed.

So... I am contemplating the shot for his sake. Never had one before and up till now never contemplated it.

Still not totally convinced...

i would get it even though the chances of you coming down with the flu they are for is low.....unfortunately for your dad a more minor flu variant that the shot doesnt cover in you, you could still get and it could very well kill him with a weakened immune response due to the chemo.....on the other side of the coin if you came down with one of the strains the shot does cover it more than likely will kill your father....besides myself i got lil nieces im around shots for their sake as much as mine....

as said earlier the shot doesnt cover the minor flus that clear up after some short bed rest and fluids, the shot is for strains that kill healthy ppl with good immune systems....

Thing is alot of folks get sick right after getting a flu shot.

Yes, I get one most years, but I did miss the pig flu go around last year. I'm generally very healthy, so I don't know if they help or not. Shoulder is sore for about 24 hrs.

but the thing is other than the stories that are several decades old its a coincidence.....if yah actually picked up a strain the shot was for it wouldnt be a few days sick like a normal flu.....any shot in the last 10 years or better, if yah wound up with the flu after the shot its a coincidence, you woulda wound up with it without the shot cause its a strain not covered by the shot, most strains arent covered by the shot.....

Hell yes, every year but then I got sick as hell back in the 50's, thought I was gonna die and at one point afraid I wasn't gonna! Never more to quote the Raven.

Haven't had a flu shot since I left the Navy in 1984.
Wouldn't have taken it then if there was an option.

Wow just came in for lunch and you guys are still hard at it..you're gonna pound this thread till you wear yourselves down and then really catch the flu!!! Keep it going some interesting points of view and info...FLEM

Hey Jeff, I am a doctor, and though I rarely utilize the services of my colleagues, I recognize the value and place of allopathic medicine in the big picture. I also do my best to let "the maker handle it all," but am of the mindset that God helps those that help themselves. Hope that clears it up if you're even interested...

have noticed one thing......those that have had or have had close family that have had the major strains of the flu the vaccines tend to protect against are very much for the vaccines......those that havent are saying dont get it......likely another area where experience should count for something.....

once again the shot aint for the pain in the arse home on the couch for a couple day bugs....its for the strains that can and do kill ppl with good immune systems and often sends those that get it into the hospital for a stay.....

does the CDC occasionally [bleep] up and miss the major strain that hits the US? sure but they are basing their predictions on whats going on on the other side of the world many months before the US flu season......kinda like trying to pick who is gonna be in the Super Bowl before the season even starts.....

another thing to keep in mind about the H1N1 scare is part of the reason it didnt turn out so bad was it was just similar enough to a different strain that they vaccinated for several years back that alot of individuals that got that flu shot wound up pretty well immune to the H1N1 bug even without the newest vaccine....vaccines you get years ago can save your arse years in the future.....

Had to have one every year in the Army. Always got as sick as getting the flu. Would go on Sick Call and get a buck slip for three days off.

Besides I think all the hype is just to drain your wallet. What happened to that big killer flu last year. I know they had to throw out several millions of dollars worth of vacine that wasn't used once they got it made too late.

That is why my Doc said not to take the H1N1, due to my history. I am also immune naturally to smallpox from contract with cow pox as a young lad milking cows twice a day. Have been vaccinated 3 times and they just don't take, That really upset the Army and they were the ones did me twice.

i was done twice for smallpox as well and it never took. was the only one in school without a scare on my shoulder

There were a bunch of us, all the farm kids anyway.

lots looking at the H1N1 that dont know much bout the flu virus or vaccinations in general look at the whole thing and see overhyped guberment bullchit....if yah do know something yah know the potential WAS there for it to be a bad one.....wasnt till a ways in they found out it was close enough to a previous vaccine that there was gonna be alot of resistance, that was not known out of the gate.....

also the H1N1 bug popped up at the wrong time of year which also freaked the specialists out a bit.....the same virus hitting at a different time wouldnt have been as big of a scare, the fact it was showing up out of season meant it could have wound up being one of the real bad strains.....

funny thing is had it blown up like predicted most here b!tching bout the over zealous government would be screaming why in the hell didnt they do more to protect them and why didnt more ppl go get vaccinated and save them and their childrens lives......

bring this back up cause my buddy just got back to town and answered my email.....

on Guillain-Barre syndrome, though it has been caused by vaccines your chances of getting it arent increased by getting vaccines....your chances of getting it are the same if you get a vaccine or you if dont.....whole lot of things cause it other than just vaccines....

as far as dystonia, he hasnt come across any credible link between it and vaccination......

this is from a guy with a PhD in microbiology.....

Never had one. Never will. All it does is weaken the body's own immune system. Some of the healthiest people I know are dairy farmers who literally work in crap on a day to day basis...

Better to drive in such as way as to never NEED a seat belt.. And if the house starts on fire an extinguisher's about as helpful as pizzing on a volcano..

Flu shots, motorcycle helmets, and 3-pos safties usually generate about a hundred+ posts each.. Any odds on the final tally here?

A little Hoppes #9 with some blackberry brandy seems to do the trick every flu season. Cleans up any carbon fouling too. Oh and no co-pay.

LMAO..


Yeah, my 'flu shot' comes in a Leinies glass..

Sorry, I call bullschitt.

Flu vaccine is not live virus. It can't make you sick, any more than drinking Coke can make you drunk. The problem you experienced is fairly common... you get the vaccine in the fall, when other viruses such as adenovirus and parainfluenza virus are rampant. You got sick coincidentally with one of these other viruses. Happens all the time.

I got my fluvax last week (I am required to do so by law) for the 25th straight year. This week I happen to have a cold, but it's only the second time I've been sick following flu immunization. It's just the luck of the draw when autumn viruses are circulating.

It's dead virus, can't make you sick, only stimulate your immune system to fight off particular version of flu! I don't get one at 64! On the rare occasion I get a flu, I fight it off in a few days. Dr. agrees with me!

Damn straight!

Those who think H1N1 was no big deal should consider themselves fortunate. I dealt with 2 fatal cases last fall, and it was really, really nasty. Our species dodged a bullet last year, make no mistake about it.

I always get the flu shot & have had no reaction. I seem to still get the flu every 2-3 years & my doctor contends its a variety not covered by the flu shot. Some years ago I had a fund raiser in the DC area & lots of people from Africa attended. A few days later my temperature sored to 103/104 I was sick to my stomach & had tremendous joint pain. I was hospitalized in isolation for 7 days. The hospital had the flu strain tested & it was some exotic African strain not covered by the flu shot.

I got a flu shot just a couple days ago. Haven't had one for about 5 years, I guess. I understand it's risky business, but the nurse was really cute ...

Yes, the vaccine can make you "sick".

Flu symptoms are your body's reaction to the virus. Live or dead virus, your body can react to it in such a way as to make you feel sick.

but a dead flu virus aint gonna make you sick....the bodies reaction to the vaccine might be a slight fever, any other symptoms are a different virus....

Always - for at least the last few decades.

Epidemiologists will point out that every flu strain you fight off - has a cumulative effect on the body. Think of it as a work-out for the immune system.

And when the next "big one" hits (a world-wide pandemic with high fatalities) - there is much evidence that suggests that individuals with immune systems primed to fight influenza will have a much lower fatality rate than individuals who's bodies haven't fought as many flu strains.

All stains of influenza are related - however distantly.

Even though the cocktail of strains given on any year won't totally protect an individual from non-inoculated strains - every flu one fights off - primes the body's immune system.

Everyone in my family gets all the shots available - every year. So far, the results have been worth it, as we watch dozens of friends every year - needlessly suffer.

Epidemiologists are experts in their field.

When in doubt - listen to medical experts - they know what they are talking about. They know more than most of us do. It's why they are considered experts - and we aren't.

Best way to avoid flu is to learn to keep your hands away from your face, avoid those who are obviously sick, and take lots of vitamin D and C.

Exactly.. It's a crap-shoot anyway, vaccine-wise..

I got my flu shot yesterday. I get one every year. Never had one make me sick and I can't remember the last time I had the flu.

People either have faith in them or they don�t, and for any particular individual you can�t prove anything either way. Although I believe there are studies which will indicate that in a sample population those with flu shots were infected less and/or had less severe cases of the flu than the population that didn�t get them.

1. You get the shot or you don�t get the shot and still get the flu. Could be you�d have gotten the flu anyway.

2. You get the shot or you don�t get the shot and don�t get the flu. Could be you wouldn�t have gotten it anyway. Or could be you�d have gotten the flu if you didn�t get the shot.

I get one every year because the hospital I work for gives them free to employees and I haven�t had the flu. Maybe I�m just lucky.

Also got shots for Hepatitis A and B and some other nasty disease before going to Africa. Also sprayed my clothes with Permethrin and used DEET while there. Did not get hepatitis and never got a tick bite.

Who knows? But it doesn�t hurt to err on the side of caution.

nope, never they blow this BS out of wack...where did the bird flu go?...it flew the coop....^*$^&#$%^sobs

Every year, never a choice. But, after all of the other stuff they have forced upon us, what is a little flu bug going to hurt?

Have gotten the shot every year for some time. Havn't had any problems and consider some of the people I work with come to work sicker than a dog it is a reasonable precaution. Would still like to know what that one idiot had that one time. He was there all of five minutes and managed to give me whatever it was and I couldn't work the next week.

People think they're showing their boss what heroic workers they are by dragging themselves into work when sick. That has to change. Employers, instead, should make those folks feel like a-holes for coming into work and infecting their remaining workforce.

Working at a hospital, every year we have to take certain classes (watch a video and take a test on the content) as part of our employment, one of them being infection control. Some of it is about blood borne and airborne pathogens and what not, but basically the video could simply be labeled �Wash your freakin� hands!!!�

We have one employee who is the male version of Typhoid Mary. He has kids and from October to May is constantly sniffling and coughing with whatever his little darlings have brought home from their school. He constantly coughs on his hands and never, ever washes them, but then handles doorknobs, the communal coffee pot, basically anything he can get his hands on.

Drives me nuts.