# Are you getting a flu shot? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371 "2016-10-01T16:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/61 "2016-10-02T21:39:55Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Up till now I never have because I wasnt in a high risk group but I think I will this year because of my age. With age comes wisdom(apparently). ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/62 "2016-10-02T22:20:47Z")
I’m in a high risk group, so I get one every year, although I haven’t yet this year. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/63 "2016-10-03T00:36:04Z")
Our town gives them free but not till Nov. 15 this year. Last spring I got what my doctor called a mild case of the flu. He got it too. He said the vaccine was probably not quite right, but it helped. I guess I’ve gotten them for at least 20 years, maybe more. I’ve also had the pneunomia and shingles shots. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/64 "2016-10-03T00:46:33Z")
I do plan to get my flu shot, I am told my insurance covers it at 100%. Several people at work skipped their shots last year and caught the flu. I am a nurse and I think we should just have a flu shot party at work and just stick each other for the fun of it, but I have been overruled.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/65 "2016-10-03T00:48:36Z")
Yes indeedy! ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/66 "2016-10-03T00:55:40Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I always get one and will again next year. > > On February 13th, 2014, my sister died from H1N1 swine flu. She didn’t get a shot. How awful. I’m sorry for your loss. > [@DinoR](#): > > Since I don’t routinely spend time around people at high risk of death or serious complications from the flu, and I’m not one of those people myself, I skip the flu vaccine. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Bear in mind, though, that very few of us are insulated from “priority” groups such as the elderly, very young, immunosuppressed etc. who would rather not catch influenza from us. Exactly. Unless you’re a shut in, you don’t know that you won’t be in contact with one of us. It only takes a second, one little bug left on a door handle or escalator or a touch screen somewhere, even if you’re not shaking hands. I’m not old. You would never know unless I tell you that I’m immunosuppressed and could easily catch something. I get my flu shot every year and the whole family gets them too to ensure I don’t catch it anyway. I had some shitty thing a few years ago that wiped me out for a full week and I never want it again. Unless there is a declared shortage or you have an allergy, why not get vaccinated? ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/67 "2016-10-03T02:21:53Z")
Yep, I work in a hospital (non medical position, but one with a high risk of exposure) so it’s both free and mandatory. (Medical exemptions are granted, of course, but philosophical ones are treated as, “Jesus Christ, you’ve got to be kidding, this is a freaking hospital.”) I’m just amazed at all the posters saying they’ve never had the flu/only had it once. Really? Those are some strong constitutions out there. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/68 "2016-10-03T02:58:52Z")
I’m not getting one. In 2014 I had the quadrivalent one to cover 4 strains and nearly scratched all the skin off of my palms for two or three subsequent days. It was the first time I had a bad reaction to a flu shot, but I’m not taking the chance on that, or something worse, happening if I try to get another one. I’m retired, so for the most part I can avoid the diseased herd like I couldn’t do when all of my rude coworkers would come to work sick or not to sling snot all over stuff I was next in line to touch. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/69 "2016-10-03T04:51:39Z")
Yes. They offered the flu shot free at work last week, for spouses, too. She came down to my office, we got the jab, then went for lunch. Too easy to pass-up. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/70 "2016-10-03T05:55:47Z")
Got it today. It dawned on me that I really didn’t want to be in a crowded synagogue over Rosh Hashanah without it. ETA: took ibuprofen immediately before to avoid soreness at the shot site. I never have a reaction to it, and don’t anticipate any ill effects. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/71 "2016-10-03T09:17:10Z")
I’m getting mine at work next week. Last year, flu swept through our office like the bubonic plague so the company regards it as a good investment. It isn’t compulsory, but I’m certainly taking them up on the offer. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/72 "2016-10-03T12:14:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ll get mine in the next week or two. It’s convenient getting it at the grocery store pharmacy and then I buy my groceries. I blew it off last year, but will get one today. I think it’s kind of disquieting getting an injection from a woman who runs a cash register at the grocery store pharmacy, though. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/73 "2016-10-03T14:43:00Z")
In line right now. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/74 "2016-10-03T15:40:59Z")
I’ve got an extreme needle phobia. My one ambulance trip was essentially because I saw other people getting a flu shot, passed out on a hard floor, and still have the scar on the back of my head from the concussion I suffered. Since then I’ve gotten FluMist most years, but with the new CDC condemnation of FluMist, it’s unlikely to be available to me. I certainly believe in vaccines, but the terror I suffer from contemplating the shot is so severe, and my memories of the time I spent on a stretcher so vivid, that I’m not sure I can bring myself to do it. If I do, it’ll be with tranquilizers, the day off work, and someone to drive me to and from the clinic. I really wish FluMist remained available on a limited basis for phobics like me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/75 "2016-10-03T17:08:26Z")
> [@Magicicada](#): > > I’m just amazed at all the posters saying they’ve never had the flu/only had it once. Really? Those are some strong constitutions out there. I only got it for the first time maybe three or four years ago. I wasn’t tested for it, but that’s what my doctor said it most likely was. That said, it didn;t at all match the experiences of other flu sufferers, who say they are unable to get out of bed it’s so bad. To me, it’s just felt like a bad cold with fever, but nothing that confined me to the bed, so I have some doubts that it was the flu. Regardless, with a two-year-old and a 7-month-old in the house, I’m not taking any chances. I only started getting the shots when the 2-year-old was born. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/76 "2016-10-03T17:10:25Z")
Every year. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/77 "2016-10-03T17:24:36Z")
I’ve had pneumonia 7 or 8 times; half of those developed from the flu. I get the shot _every damn year_ (and will probably start the pneumonia vaccine as I pass 50). And it’s free at work, so my arm is now sore. (Still waaaay better than the flu.) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/78 "2016-10-03T17:41:19Z")
Absolutely. My work provides them to employees for free, but even if they didn’t, I’d pay for it. I had the flu once over a decade ago and it’s something I hope to never repeat. And now that we have a little one at home, it’s that much more important. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/79 "2016-10-03T17:48:36Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > No, never did and never will. I never get sick. Haven’t had a cold in more than ten years. But I did get a yellow fever shot this summer. Ive had about 5 or 6 of those. I don’t get the reasoning here. Where’s the downside to getting a flu shot? ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371/80 "2016-10-03T17:55:32Z")
Absolutely. My employer pays for it and even turns it into a mini-health fair with vendors and prizes. My SIL has Lupus and my co-worker had chemo. I also hardly ever get sick. That’s why I have approximately five months of paid sick leave accumulated. But when I do get sick, I am down for the count. I spent a week battling pneumonia in August. No thanks. Plus I like my SIL and, most of the time, my co-worker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-flu-shot/767371.md?page=5)