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- Dec 3, 2011
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ksinger|1474819957|4080592 said:AGBF|1474798360|4080509 said:Queenie60|1474472311|4079234 said:Yes. A few years ago I got the flu even though I had the shot.
If that was the same year it happened to me, it may have been the year that that the "wrong" 'flu strain was in the vaccination. I do not recall the details, because I didn't read about it at the time, only heard about it from my doctor, but the 'flu strain that hit wasn't the same that was expected when the vaccine was prepared. Maybe it simply mutated; maybe it wasn't the same strain at all. As I said, I didn't read about it, but the problem that year was, apparently, in the vaccine.
The 2014-15 shot was the one that was targeted for strains that subsequently drifted, as I recall. I got caught in that one. I got the flu shot in November. Then in Jan of 2015, I got the flu. I caught it quickly though, and was prescribed Tamiflu, which some studies say does not shorten duration or decrease hospitalizations. Regardless, I took it, and got over it pretty quickly. While it kinda sneaked up on me and only gave me fever and cough, my boss had the flu that season too, and it hit her VERY hard and fast. She was seriously down for the count....
Yes, Tamiflu is time-sensitive. It must be taken ASAP at onset of symptoms, and it really only shortens the duration by couple of days.
Copays can be very high for it, and I often counsel patients (and parents of pts) to not feel badly if it's just too expensive. It's heartbreaking to see tears come to a mother's eyes because she can't afford her child's Tamiflu... It often makes them feel a little better when they know that it merely shortens the duration of symptoms and their child will be just fine without it.