Will you get a flu shot this fall?

[MissGotRocks]

Yes, I get one every year. I had the real flu once - not an upper respiratory virus or a stomach bug - it was the real deal. I was sick for two weeks and I've never missed a flu shot since. There's always truth in numbers - why do you think every health care professional is vaccinated?

It is not a live virus so you can't get the flu from it. Some people get sick after getting the shot from something else but not the flu. Any doctor will verify that. The flu mist is a live virus but they've found it is not always as effective. There are some years that the predictions aren't correct and a strain comes along that you're not protected against but it is the best insurance out there yet. The flu season hasn't been terrible in the last couple of years in my area but I'm not willing to take the chance.

The flu virus is always mutating and changing - hence the reason for vaccination against various strains every year.

 

[Rockinruby]

I'll be volunteering at our local children's hospital this winter. Do I need to get a flu shot to protect myself or the kids I'm around?

You need to get a flu shot to protect the kids. Even when not symptomatic, you can be a carrier And you can infect others. I am surprised they didn't tell you this was a requirement.

Thanks!

I checked and they offer it free to volunteers. They just haven't sent a notice out yet.

 

[katharath]

Yep. I used to get the flu every.single.year until I started getting the shots, and it was miserable. I usually get mine at a pharmacy or grocery store or somewhere, just if it's September/October and I'm out and see a sign for flu shots, I'll get one.

Yep!! Me too. Finally started getting the flu vaccine a few years back and haven't had the flu since. Already got mine this year, just last week. I don't have the time or the inclination to get sick!! Now I feel very foolish for not getting my shot in past years.

 

[kenny]

I rarely get a cold, and I don't think I've ever gotten a flu.
I'm a bit OCD about keeping my hands away from my face and ALWAYS washing my hands the minute I get home.

I usually don't bother getting a flu shot.
I'm old and have only gotten 2 or 3 flu shots.

 

[VRBeauty]

I'll be volunteering at our local children's hospital this winter. Do I need to get a flu shot to protect myself or the kids I'm around?

I've spent a lot of time in hospital settings in the past few years. In each one, during flu season, staff who haven't gotten a flu shot are required to wear a surgical mask when on the floor.

 

[caf]

Always!

 

[OoohShiny]

For those interested in the thimerosal preservative...

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/ucm096228.htm

Is this thimerosal stuff bad, then?

I'm guessing so!

 

[lyra]

Thanks for the reminder. I will get it tomorrow after I do my blood test. I've been getting it annually for almost 20 years now and have not had the flu since. I also need a pneumonia shot, but I need to know if I'm cleared for that as I'm on an immunosuppressant.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Nope. Low effectiveness rate doesn't inspire me to get the shot. I can see it for health care workers and the elderly or otherwise ill. But healthy people with strong immune systems just don't need it, as far as I am concerned.

I think the change in recommendation to immunize everyone is ALL about !!!!

 

[mom2dolls]

Yes a few weeks ago.

 

[SMC]

Yes, and thanks for the reminder. I saw this thread and called my pediatrician's office to see if they were available. They just got the flu shots 2 days ago, so I'm taking my daughter tomorrow.

My workplace always has a flu shot bonanza (they call it Fall Health Awareness Day or something) sometime in the fall, and they have people come in to give us the flu shots for free. Super easy, hard to say no to one!

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I teach Kindergarten, I get the shot every year.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I work in healthcare...yes...

 

[distracts]

Nope. Low effectiveness rate doesn't inspire me to get the shot. I can see it for health care workers and the elderly or otherwise ill. But healthy people with strong immune systems just don't need it, as far as I am concerned.

I think the change in recommendation to immunize everyone is ALL about !!!!

The issue with the elderly or otherwise ill getting vaccinated is that vaccines are less likely to be effective for those populations. People with healthy immune systems are more likely to be able to build the antibodies to fight the disease, and stop progression, with the vaccine, than those who are compromised are. Vaccinating the healthy population, and especially children, is the best way to stop the spread of the disease and reduce mortality rates from it. For a good real-life example of this, you can see Japan's history with the flu vaccine - it used to be mandatory for schoolchildren and rates of disease and mortality (mostly of the elderly) fell, but eventually they made it non-mandatory and started vaccinating the elderly, as is done in most countries, and mortality rose again. There are a few communities in the US which have recently adopted free school vaccinations for the flu, and those communities have seen greatly decreased incidence of the flu and virtually no deaths from it.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Yes and influenza - particularly secondary infections of pneumonia and such - do kill lots of people each year unfortunately. It is a personal choice not to get the shot but I think the numbers show that it is effective in the vast majority of years. My doctor says the flu shot is almost like exercising your immune system to recognize and ward off the virus once exposed. The virus changes and mutates every year so it would be very hard to build up a natural immunity to an ever changing germ.

I wasn't so gung ho about the flu shot either until I got the flu. After that, I run not walk to get that shot - lol! It's been 20+ years now since I've had the flu. Could be luck but I can't help but feel the luck is enhanced with the yearly vaccination.

Whether you get the shot or not - good luck and best wishes to us all for a healthy winter season!!

 

[luv2sparkle]

I don't get it. It is not worth it since it is less that 50-60 percent effective. I have had the flu a couple times over the years but not enough to make me want to get the shot.

 

[Bonfire]

Got mine today.

 

[missy]

So it's weird and I am not sure it is attributable to getting the flu shot on Wednesday since it was such a delayed reaction if it was related to that but felt achey all day yesterday (friday). Right now I feel OK but I guess time will tell if I am getting sick and it is something unrelated to the vaccination or if it was just due to the vaccination and then I will be fine today.

I will add you cannot get the flu from the vaccination but you can get side effects where you might be achey for a day or 2 for those of you who are on the fence and worried you can get the flu from the vaccination...you cannot.

Yes and influenza - particularly secondary infections of pneumonia and such - do kill lots of people each year unfortunately. It is a personal choice not to get the shot but I think the numbers show that it is effective in the vast majority of years. My doctor says the flu shot is almost like exercising your immune system to recognize and ward off the virus once exposed. The virus changes and mutates every year so it would be very hard to build up a natural immunity to an ever changing germ.

I wasn't so gung ho about the flu shot either until I got the flu. After that, I run not walk to get that shot - lol! It's been 20+ years now since I've had the flu. Could be luck but I can't help but feel the luck is enhanced with the yearly vaccination.

Whether you get the shot or not - good luck and best wishes to us all for a healthy winter season!!

Yes I agree with you MGR. Getting the flu once in 2004 made me so horribly miserable that I have gotten a flu vaccination every year since and so far knock wood no flu. And yes even though some years it is a total miss I still feel like it is worth getting because it can only help. Except there is a small risk so something we should all be aware about but despite that for the majority of people I say it is worth getting. Especially for the elderly, for children and for people with compromised immune systems and people who work in health care who are often around ill people for their protection and the patients protection.

 

[missy]

I think I'm getting sick so never mind to flu shot giving me aches. I think it is just a coincidence and the aches are from actually getting a virus independent of the vaccination.

 

[msop04]

You can't get the flu from the flu vaccine. It's a dead virus.

Really? because my pastors wife got one (flu shot) last year and got deathly ill immediately afterwards. Swore she would never get another one. I just don't believe it was "coincidence", and neither did she.

Interestingly, my SIL works at a dentists office and every year all the workers get a flu shot but her, and she's the only one who never gets the flu.....

The pharmacist told my mom the shots only have a 50% chance of working. And we all know they "guesss" at what flu's to try and protect against. So with those odds, I'll take my chances. I've never had a flu shot and have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what. Have had several bouts of flu when I was younger, but none in many years. Pretty sure I built up a natural immunity to them, which is the way it works.

You cannot get the flu from the flu vaccination. It is a dead virus.

You can, however, contract flu from FluMist, which is an inhaled live virus. It's not uncommon to have fever, chills, and flu-like symptoms (albeit not actual flu positive) immediately after being vaccinated. If someone contracts the flu virus (meaning the patient was actually flu-positive via testing) after getting the vaccine, it was because said pt had already been exposed to the flu OR the CDC completely missed the strain (the latter not likely, as the CDC is almost always correct in determining this).

I don't know why your pharmacist said the vaccine only had a 50% chance of working, as this is uninformed and simply not true. The CDC doesn't just "guess" which strains -- and they are rarely wrong.

"...have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what."

This made me laugh and shake my head at the same time. I'm a pharmacist, but I'm sure there are MANY people who could tell you exactly what is in pretty much any pharmaceutical you wish. If you don't know any of those, you can easily Google it. But, of course I understand if you don't want to use Google, as you can find so many crazy things there. I'm at work, so I'll grab a package insert for our flu vaccine and post. The strains will vary, depending on the year...

 

[msop04]

I couldn't get a clear enough scan for the package insert, so I looked it up online for easier viewing...

We use Fluzone Quadrivalent by Sanofi Pasteur. This year's flu vaccine covers influenza A subtype and type B.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM356094.pdf

 

[msop04]

Nope. Low effectiveness rate doesn't inspire me to get the shot. I can see it for health care workers and the elderly or otherwise ill. But healthy people with strong immune systems just don't need it, as far as I am concerned.

I think the change in recommendation to immunize everyone is ALL about !!!!

The issue with the elderly or otherwise ill getting vaccinated is that vaccines are less likely to be effective for those populations. People with healthy immune systems are more likely to be able to build the antibodies to fight the disease, and stop progression, with the vaccine, than those who are compromised are. Vaccinating the healthy population, and especially children, is the best way to stop the spread of the disease and reduce mortality rates from it. For a good real-life example of this, you can see Japan's history with the flu vaccine - it used to be mandatory for schoolchildren and rates of disease and mortality (mostly of the elderly) fell, but eventually they made it non-mandatory and started vaccinating the elderly, as is done in most countries, and mortality rose again. There are a few communities in the US which have recently adopted free school vaccinations for the flu, and those communities have seen greatly decreased incidence of the flu and virtually no deaths from it.

Yes!!

 

[doberman]

Always - It's a requirement for the job. I've never had an adverse reaction of any kind to the vaccination. I have a killer immune system; I really never get sick. But 20 years ago I got the flu and it was no joke, I don't want that again.

 

[Ellen]

You can't get the flu from the flu vaccine. It's a dead virus.

Really? because my pastors wife got one (flu shot) last year and got deathly ill immediately afterwards. Swore she would never get another one. I just don't believe it was "coincidence", and neither did she.

Interestingly, my SIL works at a dentists office and every year all the workers get a flu shot but her, and she's the only one who never gets the flu.....

The pharmacist told my mom the shots only have a 50% chance of working. And we all know they "guesss" at what flu's to try and protect against. So with those odds, I'll take my chances. I've never had a flu shot and have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what. Have had several bouts of flu when I was younger, but none in many years. Pretty sure I built up a natural immunity to them, which is the way it works.

You cannot get the flu from the flu vaccination. It is a dead virus.

You can, however, contract flu from FluMist, which is an inhaled live virus. It's not uncommon to have fever, chills, and flu-like symptoms (albeit not actual flu positive) immediately after being vaccinated. If someone contracts the flu virus (meaning the patient was actually flu-positive via testing) after getting the vaccine, it was because said pt had already been exposed to the flu OR the CDC completely missed the strain (the latter not likely, as the CDC is almost always correct in determining this).

I don't know why your pharmacist said the vaccine only had a 50% chance of working, as this is uninformed and simply not true. The CDC doesn't just "guess" which strains -- and they are rarely wrong.

"...have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what."

This made me laugh and shake my head at the same time. I'm a pharmacist, but I'm sure there are MANY people who could tell you exactly what is in pretty much any pharmaceutical you wish. If you don't know any of those, you can easily Google it. But, of course I understand if you don't want to use Google, as you can find so many crazy things there. I'm at work, so I'll grab a package insert for our flu vaccine and post. The strains will vary, depending on the year...

It may be a dead virus in the shot, but it can and does make people deathly ill (so it really doesn't matter one wit whether it's live or not, now does it?). My pastors wife is not the first person I've heard of that happening to.

You don't know why the pharmacist said that flu vacs are only 50% effective? I would say because that's what the CDC ("who is almost always correct in determining things and rarely gets anything wrong") says.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

How effective is the flu vaccine?

CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the flu vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness can vary, recent studies show vaccine reduces the risk of flu illness by about 50% to 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are like the vaccine viruses.



And as I said, they "guess" (maybe "guestimate" would have been a better word?) at which strains will cause most problems in a season and produce jabs for that. Backed up again by the CDC.

What are factors that influence how well the vaccine works?

How well the flu vaccine works (or its ability to prevent flu illness) can range widely from season to season. The vaccine’s effectiveness also can vary depending on who is being vaccinated. At least two factors play an important role in determining the likelihood that flu vaccine will protect a person from flu illness: 1) characteristics of the person being vaccinated (such as their age and health), and 2) the similarity or "match" between the flu viruses the flu vaccine is designed to protect against and the flu viruses spreading in the community. During years when the flu vaccine is not well matched to circulating viruses, it’s possible that no benefit from flu vaccination may be observed. During years when there is a good match between the flu vaccine and circulating viruses, it’s possible to measure substantial benefits from vaccination in terms of preventing flu illness. However, even during years when the vaccine match is very good, the benefits of vaccination will vary across the population, depending on characteristics of the person being vaccinated and even, potentially, which vaccine was used.



I'm glad you got a good laugh at my statement. However, I'm not sure why you found it funny. Here's an article on jabs that includes a list of commonly used ingredients. The list comes from the CDC's vaccine additives page. So I assume it's reliable? (though this is just what they list, I would not be at all surprised if there were other things omitted) If you don't understand the implications of these ingredients and the affects they could possibly have on peoples health, I don't have the time to tell you. But I would highly suggest you look into it, for your healths sake.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037653_vaccine_additives_thimerosal_formaldehyde.html#ixzz4LCk1c7rd


Here's an article on aluminum.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/22/aluminum-toxicity-alzheimers.aspx



And a couple on human DNA. NO ONE can know the total affect of human DNA in vaccines, because we don't even know everything there is to know about DNA, much less when it's injected into other people.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/10/this-shocking-fact-is-never-disclosed-on-any-vaccine-informed-consent-form.aspx

http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/human



Your statements here (which I proved erroneous) are proof for anyone reading this, that no matter what one's "title" or how professional they look or sound, research yourself! Research people. Because we are being misinformed at best, and lied to at worst, a vast majority of the time now.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I'd catch a cold now and then, but haven't caught the flu in over 30 yrs... I don't want to break my winning streak by getting a flu shot....

 

[msop04]

You can't get the flu from the flu vaccine. It's a dead virus.

Really? because my pastors wife got one (flu shot) last year and got deathly ill immediately afterwards. Swore she would never get another one. I just don't believe it was "coincidence", and neither did she.

Interestingly, my SIL works at a dentists office and every year all the workers get a flu shot but her, and she's the only one who never gets the flu.....

The pharmacist told my mom the shots only have a 50% chance of working. And we all know they "guesss" at what flu's to try and protect against. So with those odds, I'll take my chances. I've never had a flu shot and have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what. Have had several bouts of flu when I was younger, but none in many years. Pretty sure I built up a natural immunity to them, which is the way it works.

You cannot get the flu from the flu vaccination. It is a dead virus.

You can, however, contract flu from FluMist, which is an inhaled live virus. It's not uncommon to have fever, chills, and flu-like symptoms (albeit not actual flu positive) immediately after being vaccinated. If someone contracts the flu virus (meaning the patient was actually flu-positive via testing) after getting the vaccine, it was because said pt had already been exposed to the flu OR the CDC completely missed the strain (the latter not likely, as the CDC is almost always correct in determining this).

I don't know why your pharmacist said the vaccine only had a 50% chance of working, as this is uninformed and simply not true. The CDC doesn't just "guess" which strains -- and they are rarely wrong.

"...have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what."

This made me laugh and shake my head at the same time. I'm a pharmacist, but I'm sure there are MANY people who could tell you exactly what is in pretty much any pharmaceutical you wish. If you don't know any of those, you can easily Google it. But, of course I understand if you don't want to use Google, as you can find so many crazy things there. I'm at work, so I'll grab a package insert for our flu vaccine and post. The strains will vary, depending on the year...

It may be a dead virus in the shot, but it can and does make people deathly ill (so it really doesn't matter one wit whether it's live or not, now does it?). My pastors wife is not the first person I've heard of that happening to.

You don't know why the pharmacist said that flu vacs are only 50% effective? I would say because that's what the CDC ("who is almost always correct in determining things and rarely gets anything wrong") says.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

How effective is the flu vaccine?

CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the flu vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness can vary, recent studies show vaccine reduces the risk of flu illness by about 50% to 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are like the vaccine viruses.



And as I said, they "guess" (maybe "guestimate" would have been a better word?) at which strains will cause most problems in a season and produce jabs for that. Backed up again by the CDC.

What are factors that influence how well the vaccine works?

How well the flu vaccine works (or its ability to prevent flu illness) can range widely from season to season. The vaccine’s effectiveness also can vary depending on who is being vaccinated. At least two factors play an important role in determining the likelihood that flu vaccine will protect a person from flu illness: 1) characteristics of the person being vaccinated (such as their age and health), and 2) the similarity or "match" between the flu viruses the flu vaccine is designed to protect against and the flu viruses spreading in the community. During years when the flu vaccine is not well matched to circulating viruses, it’s possible that no benefit from flu vaccination may be observed. During years when there is a good match between the flu vaccine and circulating viruses, it’s possible to measure substantial benefits from vaccination in terms of preventing flu illness. However, even during years when the vaccine match is very good, the benefits of vaccination will vary across the population, depending on characteristics of the person being vaccinated and even, potentially, which vaccine was used.

What you bolded just reinforces my statement below...

I'm glad you got a good laugh at my statement. However, I'm not sure why you found it funny. Here's an article on jabs that includes a list of commonly used ingredients. The list comes from the CDC's vaccine additives page. So I assume it's reliable? (though this is just what they list, I would not be at all surprised if there were other things omitted) If you don't understand the implications of these ingredients and the affects they could possibly have on peoples health, I don't have the time to tell you. But I would highly suggest you look into it, for your healths sake.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037653_vaccine_additives_thimerosal_formaldehyde.html#ixzz4LCk1c7rd


Here's an article on aluminum.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/22/aluminum-toxicity-alzheimers.aspx



And a couple on human DNA. NO ONE can know the total affect of human DNA in vaccines, because we don't even know everything there is to know about DNA, much less when it's injected into other people.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/10/this-shocking-fact-is-never-disclosed-on-any-vaccine-informed-consent-form.aspx

http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/human



Your statements here (which I proved erroneous) are proof for anyone reading this, that no matter what one's "title" or how professional they look or sound, research yourself! Research people. Because we are being misinformed at best, and lied to at worst, a vast majority of the time now.

I laughed because you reminded me of the patients who pick up their medication, immediately read the side effect profile, and are convinced they will experience every one of them after taking their medicine because the leaflet said it could happen. Then they proceed to google everything they can find "proving" that it's unsafe. Then they buy some snake oil from an online "natural medicine" site and end up coming back in a week because the infection has gotten really bad and now they have a secondary infection.

And while the flu vaccine can make some people feel crummy (flu-like symptoms for a few days), it will not make you "deathly ill" as you state.

So... please chill out. Admittedly, there are many things that I am not well versed in, but I am a pharmacist, and I happen to know a good bit more than the lay person in regards to medicinal chemistry and all things "drug". I can read the CDC site just like anyone can. The difference is, I know how to read scientific reviews and studies with understanding. I took an entire class on Drug Literature and know how to use the information. I don't blame you for being confused. There's a difference in reading and understanding. Even the most legit studies can be used to show just about any result you can imagine if not reviewed properly. I understand because this is my career and field of study.

Now... the 50-60% statistic is for the overall population -- not otherwise healthy individuals. Those who are elderly, young children, or the immunocompromised bring that efficacy stat WAY down, as distracts wisely pointed out. Healthy people not falling into those categories can expect a much greater benefit by receiving the flu vaccine. By doing this, they help protect the other populations for which it has lesser efficacy. The 50-60% statement can be a bit misleading if you don't piece together all the pertinent information.

posted by distracts:
"The issue with the elderly or otherwise ill getting vaccinated is that vaccines are less likely to be effective for those populations. People with healthy immune systems are more likely to be able to build the antibodies to fight the disease, and stop progression, with the vaccine, than those who are compromised are. Vaccinating the healthy population, and especially children, is the best way to stop the spread of the disease and reduce mortality rates from it."

Regarding my statements that you say you've "proved erroneous"... there's a reason I have a doctorate in this field of study, and my guess is that you don't and are likely not in the medical field. I don't mean this to sound ugly or belittling in any way... but I stand by what I said and have the background and qualifications to understand it, that's all.

 

[Ellen]

You can't get the flu from the flu vaccine. It's a dead virus.

Really? because my pastors wife got one (flu shot) last year and got deathly ill immediately afterwards. Swore she would never get another one. I just don't believe it was "coincidence", and neither did she.

Interestingly, my SIL works at a dentists office and every year all the workers get a flu shot but her, and she's the only one who never gets the flu.....

The pharmacist told my mom the shots only have a 50% chance of working. And we all know they "guesss" at what flu's to try and protect against. So with those odds, I'll take my chances. I've never had a flu shot and have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what. Have had several bouts of flu when I was younger, but none in many years. Pretty sure I built up a natural immunity to them, which is the way it works.

You cannot get the flu from the flu vaccination. It is a dead virus.

You can, however, contract flu from FluMist, which is an inhaled live virus. It's not uncommon to have fever, chills, and flu-like symptoms (albeit not actual flu positive) immediately after being vaccinated. If someone contracts the flu virus (meaning the patient was actually flu-positive via testing) after getting the vaccine, it was because said pt had already been exposed to the flu OR the CDC completely missed the strain (the latter not likely, as the CDC is almost always correct in determining this).

I don't know why your pharmacist said the vaccine only had a 50% chance of working, as this is uninformed and simply not true. The CDC doesn't just "guess" which strains -- and they are rarely wrong.

"...have no desire to shoot myself up with only God knows what."

This made me laugh and shake my head at the same time. I'm a pharmacist, but I'm sure there are MANY people who could tell you exactly what is in pretty much any pharmaceutical you wish. If you don't know any of those, you can easily Google it. But, of course I understand if you don't want to use Google, as you can find so many crazy things there. I'm at work, so I'll grab a package insert for our flu vaccine and post. The strains will vary, depending on the year...

It may be a dead virus in the shot, but it can and does make people deathly ill (so it really doesn't matter one wit whether it's live or not, now does it?). My pastors wife is not the first person I've heard of that happening to.

You don't know why the pharmacist said that flu vacs are only 50% effective? I would say because that's what the CDC ("who is almost always correct in determining things and rarely gets anything wrong") says.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

How effective is the flu vaccine?

CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the flu vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness can vary, recent studies show vaccine reduces the risk of flu illness by about 50% to 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are like the vaccine viruses.



And as I said, they "guess" (maybe "guestimate" would have been a better word?) at which strains will cause most problems in a season and produce jabs for that. Backed up again by the CDC.

What are factors that influence how well the vaccine works?

How well the flu vaccine works (or its ability to prevent flu illness) can range widely from season to season. The vaccine’s effectiveness also can vary depending on who is being vaccinated. At least two factors play an important role in determining the likelihood that flu vaccine will protect a person from flu illness: 1) characteristics of the person being vaccinated (such as their age and health), and 2) the similarity or "match" between the flu viruses the flu vaccine is designed to protect against and the flu viruses spreading in the community. During years when the flu vaccine is not well matched to circulating viruses, it’s possible that no benefit from flu vaccination may be observed. During years when there is a good match between the flu vaccine and circulating viruses, it’s possible to measure substantial benefits from vaccination in terms of preventing flu illness. However, even during years when the vaccine match is very good, the benefits of vaccination will vary across the population, depending on characteristics of the person being vaccinated and even, potentially, which vaccine was used.

What you bolded just reinforces my statement below...

I'm glad you got a good laugh at my statement. However, I'm not sure why you found it funny. Here's an article on jabs that includes a list of commonly used ingredients. The list comes from the CDC's vaccine additives page. So I assume it's reliable? (though this is just what they list, I would not be at all surprised if there were other things omitted) If you don't understand the implications of these ingredients and the affects they could possibly have on peoples health, I don't have the time to tell you. But I would highly suggest you look into it, for your healths sake.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037653_vaccine_additives_thimerosal_formaldehyde.html#ixzz4LCk1c7rd


Here's an article on aluminum.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/22/aluminum-toxicity-alzheimers.aspx



And a couple on human DNA. NO ONE can know the total affect of human DNA in vaccines, because we don't even know everything there is to know about DNA, much less when it's injected into other people.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/10/this-shocking-fact-is-never-disclosed-on-any-vaccine-informed-consent-form.aspx

http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/human



Your statements here (which I proved erroneous) are proof for anyone reading this, that no matter what one's "title" or how professional they look or sound, research yourself! Research people. Because we are being misinformed at best, and lied to at worst, a vast majority of the time now.

I laughed because you reminded me of the patients who pick up their medication, immediately read the side effect profile, and are convinced they will experience every one of them after taking their medicine because the leaflet said it could happen. Then they proceed to google everything they can find "proving" that it's unsafe. Then they buy some snake oil from an online "natural medicine" site and end up coming back in a week because the infection has gotten really bad and now they have a secondary infection.

And while the flu vaccine can make some people feel crummy (flu-like symptoms for a few days), it will not make you "deathly ill" as you state.

So... please chill out. Admittedly, there are many things that I am not well versed in, but I am a pharmacist, and I happen to know a good bit more than the lay person in regards to medicinal chemistry and all things "drug". I can read the CDC site just like anyone can. The difference is, I know how to read scientific reviews and studies with understanding. I took an entire class on Drug Literature and know how to use the information. I don't blame you for being confused. There's a difference in reading and understanding. Even the most legit studies can be used to show just about any result you can imagine if not reviewed properly. I understand because this is my career and field of study.

Now... the 50-60% statistic is for the overall population -- not otherwise healthy individuals. Those who are elderly, young children, or the immunocompromised bring that efficacy stat WAY down, as distracts wisely pointed out. Healthy people not falling into those categories can expect a much greater benefit by receiving the flu vaccine. By doing this, they help protect the other populations for which it has lesser efficacy. The 50-60% statement can be a bit misleading if you don't piece together all the pertinent information.

posted by distracts:
"The issue with the elderly or otherwise ill getting vaccinated is that vaccines are less likely to be effective for those populations. People with healthy immune systems are more likely to be able to build the antibodies to fight the disease, and stop progression, with the vaccine, than those who are compromised are. Vaccinating the healthy population, and especially children, is the best way to stop the spread of the disease and reduce mortality rates from it."

Regarding my statements that you say you've "proved erroneous"... there's a reason I have a doctorate in this field of study, and my guess is that you don't and are likely not in the medical field. I don't mean this to sound ugly or belittling in any way... but I stand by what I said and have the background and qualifications to understand it, that's all.

Ok, this made me laugh. And it's a perfect note to end on.

 

[AGBF]

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.

 

[MollyMalone]

Yes I started getting annual flu shots 18 years ago when I became a hospice volunteer (in both of the hospice programs for which I've volunteered, flu & pneumonia vaccinations were-are required of volunteers). 4 years ago, I got hit with the flu in early September -- before I'd received the shot (I was in the forefront of the "flu season" which started early that year) -- and I was miserably sick and out of the office for almost a full 2 weeks.

* * * You can't get the flu from the flu vaccine. It's a dead virus.

Really? because my pastors wife got one (flu shot) last year and got deathly ill immediately afterwards. Swore she would never get another one. I just don't believe it was "coincidence", and neither did she. * * *

Ellen, the flu vaccination does not confer immediate immunity; no surprise that it takes time for your body to fully develop the antibodies, about 2 weeks.

 

[ksinger]

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....