# Did you get sick from your flu shot this year? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 17, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964 "2011-10-17T21:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/61 "2011-10-21T00:43:28Z")
I’ve never received a flu shot, and have never had the flu. Come to think of it, I was 6 years old the last time I was sick. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/62 "2011-10-21T01:14:36Z")
After my injection (I didn’t even feel the shot, to be honest.) nearly 11 hours ago, the swelling at the injection site is just about gone, and the muscle soreness is all but gone. Cool. I’ll be sure to get this every year from now on! ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/63 "2011-10-21T10:30:17Z")
I usually feel like I had the flu " lite" , but this year it just felt like I had been punched in arm. Beats having the flu. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/64 "2011-10-27T02:43:02Z")
Got my shot about 5 hours ago. So far so good. Arm felt a little sore a couple hours ago, but not now. I took a Tylenol just to be safe. Should know for sure in the morning. Glad to get this over with. Usually I don’t give a flu shot a second thought. But, after my mom got a fever it made me worried. It’s still much better than being sick for a week with the flu. At most the shot may make you a tiny bit feverish for an evening. Flexing the arm also helps avoid soreness. I did a few bicep curls with a 5 lb weight. Just enough to get the muscle moving. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/65 "2011-10-28T21:33:07Z")
I’m no crank, and it didn’t make me “sick,” as such, the shot – but I was incredibly tired the afternoon after taking the shot in the morning. Basically passed out for hours, couldn’t sit up at my desk without narcolepting out. Probably coincidence, but I still give it a yes. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/66 "2011-10-28T22:14:15Z")
I got mine a week ago. No side effects, though my arm was a bit sore. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/67 "2011-10-28T22:33:04Z")
Today on NPR’s _Science Friday_ they had a discussion on the effectiveness of flu vaccines. Researchers did a meta-analysis of studies and concluded that there was slim evidence that the vaccines helped people over 65, and overall they were only about 50-60% effective even with an adjuvant, depending on the year. And that the nasal spray was less effective than the shot. Panel was one of the study authors and a guy with the CDC. They did agree that the vaccine was extremely safe, the main side effect was a mildly sore arm for a day or two, that there was no way one could get even a “mild” case of the flu from it, and everyone should get one. [http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201110281](http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201110281) I’m probably still not gonna though. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/68 "2011-11-19T22:16:20Z")
I’ll vote tomorrow, since it looks like a lot of people who felt poorly afterwards, including a couple I know in real life, only did the next day. I purposely got it over the weekend just in case… It’s been 5 or 6 hours, and while that arm _does_ feel achy, it’s more my forearm that aches not where I got the shot, so it could be coincidental. FTR, the drugstore where I got my shot is one that offers the high dose shot (and a separate pneumonia vaccine) to people 65+ ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/69 "2011-11-19T22:44:49Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’ve never gotten a flu shot, and I don’t plan to start this year. No, I’m not an anti-vaxxer; I just don’t feel it’s necessary for me in my current condition (44, healthy, and not in any of the major risk groups). As far as I know I’ve never gotten the flu either. I’m of the same mind. I did get a flu shot several years when I had to take my daughter to get one. Coincidentally (or not), I contracted flu shortly thereafter. Haven’t had the shot or the flu since. I can’t speak to the accuracy of this, but I was told once that the flu shots only cover certain nastier strains the CDC predicts will be prevalent from year to year and therefore doesn’t protect you from contracting any other strain. Any truth to this? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/70 "2011-11-19T22:49:33Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I can’t speak to the accuracy of this, but I was told once that the flu shots only cover certain nastier strains the CDC predicts will be prevalent from year to year and therefore doesn’t protect you from contracting any other strain. Any truth to this? It is true. But the year that h1n1 hit, they tested a lot more people than usual to see if what strain they had. Less than 2% of the people they tested had any strain of the flu other than h1n1 or the strain they _thought_ would be the biggest one when they decided on the vaccine for the year. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/71 "2011-11-19T23:36:57Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Today on NPR’s _Science Friday_ they had a discussion on the effectiveness of flu vaccines. Researchers did a meta-analysis of studies and concluded that there was slim evidence that the vaccines helped people over 65, and overall they were only about 50-60% effective even with an adjuvant, depending on the year. And that the nasal spray was less effective than the shot. > > Panel was one of the study authors and a guy with the CDC. They did agree that the vaccine was extremely safe, the main side effect was a mildly sore arm for a day or two, that there was no way one could get even a “mild” case of the flu from it, and everyone should get one. > > [http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201110281](http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201110281) Thanks for this link. I love scifri. Based on this report, the fact that I don’t carry any risk factors, and I haven’t had a flu shot for years, I’m not likely to get one any time in the near future. It’s disturbing to think that it may be even less effective in the very people who need it most: the elderly. > [@elfkin477](#): > > It is true. But the year that h1n1 hit, they tested a lot more people than usual to see if what strain they had. Less than 2% of the people they tested had any strain of the flu other than h1n1 or the strain they _thought_ would be the biggest one when they decided on the vaccine for the year. Ah, good to know I wasn’t making stuff up. According to the report linked above, if I understand it correctly, even that year they didn’t get any better than 59% efficacy even though the strain had remained virtually unchanged from the previous year. I think it was back in 2005 or 2006 when avian flu was all over the news and there were sporadic shortages and delays in that season’s vaccine distribution that was the last year I was vaccinated. I seem to recall dithering over getting it because initially they were reserving the vaccine for at-risk individuals and children, but the day I took my daughter down to the health dept. for the vaccine, waiting in line for hours, supplies has been replenished and I was urged to get it myself. I hate to say it but it almost felt like a waste of time and energy. I guess I should note that while I did become sick that season with a miserable flu, I did not contract H5N1. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/72 "2011-11-21T00:48:25Z")
So…it’s been more than a day now. I’m pretty achy all over. This didn’t happen the last time I got a flu shot, so I’m glad I decided not to get it done when I’d have to work the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/73 "2011-11-21T01:24:08Z")
My pneumonia vaccine made me sick. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/74 "2011-11-21T01:38:17Z")
I had mine the day before going to a Halloween party - I had a sore bicep, but that was it. I noticed that my tetanus booster that I had a couple of years ago hurt a lot more, but I didn’t have any reaction to that, either. I get the flu shot for three reasons - 1, I hate getting sick, and I did have a flu many years ago that I still remember - hated it. 2, My husband hates needles and he has asthma - I help protect him by getting a shot. And 3, herd immunity. Everyone who isn’t getting sick isn’t passing it around. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/75 "2011-11-21T01:48:46Z")
This year: soreness and mild swelling at site for a couple days, and minor chills for a couple hours the same night. Nothing traumatic at all, though this is the first year in ten that my immune response to the flu vax didn’t beat me up for 2 or 3 days. Not sure if I am somehow more tolerant to this strain, or if my immune system is just in kick-ass form at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/76 "2011-11-21T03:10:51Z")
Got mine yesterday morning. No serious after effects, but my arm is a bit sore. Oddly enough, it wasn’t yesterday, but a couple hours ago it suddenly started feeling a bit bruised. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/5daacb/32.png) [@Old\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Goat)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/77 "2011-11-22T00:50:47Z")
Got the shot about a month ago. I try to get an annual flu shot 'cause I hate being sick. For the first time, I had a sudden deep muscle ache about 60 hours after the injection, right where I got the shot. It may have been the enhanced version of the shot, because I am over 65. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/78 "2011-11-23T08:39:43Z")
For all of those who aren’t getting the flu shot because they are young/healthy/never had the flu. The flu shot, in your case, isn’t really about keeping you from getting the flu. It’s about keeping you from spreading the flu virus to those, (like **Broomstick** , who can’t get the flu shot, but would still not care to have the flu, thanyewverymuch. Or, to my grandfather, who is 97, and who I love dearly, and who would likely not survive the flu. Or, to any chronically ill child you may run across with a weakened immune system. As **chiroptera** says, the vaccine isn’t 100% effective, but that actually makes it _more_ important for as many people as possible to get it. The more people who get the shot, the fewer to end up with the flu, or just carrying the flu virus. And the fewer people they pass it to. Which lowers the chance of getting it even further. Which reduces the risk to people for whom the flu could be very, very serious indeed. That’s how herd immunity works. I extend my heartfelt, personal plea to you all. Please, please get a flu shot. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/79 "2011-11-23T13:11:35Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Oops! Had a brain fart and pushed the wrong button. Take one off “normal one and had a reaction” and add one to “normal one and did not have a reaction”. I did the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964/80 "2011-11-23T16:56:59Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I haven’t gotten my employee-sponsored flu shot yet. Keep this thread around for a couple more weeks and I’ll report back. I will say that I’ve gotten a flu shot almost every autumn for the past decade and never gotten sick from it. Well, since this got bumped back up, I’ll report back that a) I didn’t feel the injection one bit (“what? you’re done already?”) and b) only side effect was a slightly sore spot on my arm for a bit, nothing more, and c) no illness otherwise. In case anyone’s taking notes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-get-sick-from-your-flu-shot-this-year/599964.md?page=3)