Flu Shots

[mlicari]

People just don't get how deadly full blown influenza is. And about 98% of people who claim to have had the "flu" actually just had a really bad cold. If you've ever truly had diagnosed flu (via a nasal swab lab test), you'd remember it.

Yep. I've had it once, back in 1999. Completely incapacitating. At first I felt so bad that I was worried that I was going to die. Then when I felt even worse, I was worried I wasn't going to die.

[Steve N]

The problem is that we've had vaccines for many of these illnesses for a couple of generations now, so there's not much first-hand memory of how bad it once was. Of course, they're making a bit of a comeback thanks to these idiot "anti-vaxxers." But that's what you get from taking your medical advice from form Playboy bunnies.

SN

[ALF18]

The problem is that we've had vaccines for many of these illnesses for a couple of generations now, so there's not much first-hand memory of how bad it once was. Of course, they're making a bit of a comeback thanks to these idiot "anti-vaxxers." But that's what you get from taking your medical advice from form Playboy bunnies.

SN

Very well said. Jennings also has made some great comments.

I get a flu vaccine every year, and I'm in my mid-50s. Have been getting flu shots since I was young in the military, and have never once come down with the flu (lots of colds and gastrointeritis, though). Had my shingles vaccine last year; my mother-in-law had shingles a few years ago, and she went through pure hell!

I think the greatest danger with vaccines is that people have become so used to the relatively excellent current state of health in the modern world, that the charlatans and alarmists that talk anti-vaccine are being believed. The worst in recent memory was the disproven myth that childhood vaccines caused autism. Debunked, yet believed by many otherwise reasonable people.

My policy is to get vaccinated. Hopefully others also will, because the more people that get vaccines, the healthier the overall population is, which is good for everyone.

ALF

[Jennings]

This sounds a lot like what I described in post #15 http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=278955&view=findpost&p=2652629.

I don't know exactly how a flu vaccine works, but is it possible that the shot triggered my reaction? Maybe even by small chance?

Injectable influenza vaccines in North America are made will *killed* (as in dead, as in not living, as in pushing up the daisies) virus, so you **cannot** (let me repeat that **CANNOT**) get the flu from a flu vaccine. It is not physically possible, and more than you could be bitten by a dead mosquito. It's just not possible. The way a flu vaccine works is that your immune system recognizes the dead virus in the vaccine as an invader (good thing), and produces antibodies to it. As I mentioned, you can get a mild reaction, but if you get "sick" from the vaccine it's because you were already harboring another virus, and the tax on your immune system allowed it to manifest more than it might otherwise have done. You **CANNOT** (did I mention you CANNOT?) get the flu from an injected flu vaccine.

The nasal spray vaccines are made with modified live virus. The key word is "modified". They *CANNOT* (see above) give you the flu. The nasal spray vaccine does tend to cause more of a reaction simply because it's a still living virus, albeit one that is only able to stay alive in the cooler temperatures of your nasal cavity, and not in the warmer environs of your bronchial tree or your lungs. Lots of really smart people have spent a lot of time and money perfecting this, and it's been tested, tested, tested again, and retested again (and again).

So yes, you can get a 'flu-like' reaction to a vaccination. Anyone who ever gives you a vaccination should (by law) tell you that. You'll have signed a piece of paper stating that you understand that. But what none of them can do (did I mention this?) is to give you the flu.

Here's the straight dope from the CDC (very, very smart people):

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm/

[Exhausted]

Interesting explanation. It was the nasal type that made me miserable. I called the Navy docs who gave it to me and they just said it was a bad reaction, but yeah it was misery for nearly my whole leave. Thus, I haven't touched them by choice since. My history may have played a part in it though: earlier that year I had pneumonia, a condition I experienced a total of three times in 4 years in the military. Or it's still possible I picked something up at the same time, but ....

What about serious reactions to flu vaccine?

Serious allergic reactions to flu vaccines are very rare. If they do occur, it is usually within a few minutes to a few hours after the vaccination. While these reactions can be life-threatening, effective treatments are available.

Now that I'm in a huge metropolis area, maybe I'll consider them again one day.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Exhausted

[Supertom]

I'm a little late on this but yes, I got a flu shot, even though it makes me sick with the well-known flu-like symptoms a few days after. I skipped it last year and hey, guess what? I got the flu. Oddly enough, I did get sick after getting my shot last Friday. Take the shot, guys. The flu sucks big time.