You’re right, of course. It’s like not using a condom because you’ve never gotten HIV. But “I’ve never had the flu” is usually a statement that the risks of getting the flu seem to be pretty low for most of us.
Like all medical decisions, I think it should be taken on a case-by-case basis, weighing the benefits and risks. If (when) I worked in a hospital or school, I’d put up with the sore arm and fever, because the benefit to me and to those around me would be greater than the temporary ick of feeling like crap for two days. As it is, the miniscule risk of me contracting influenza doesn’t outweigh the benefit of not losing two days of work and having a really achy swollen arm.
I have had the flu twice. It was really, really bad. I also have asthma and have been to the hospital a couple times from that. The combination of the two is borderline lethal for me. So, as I walked through Chicago O’Hare last week & the local hospital was offering flu shots (right there after I cleared security), I figured it was a good move to get one. If it helps me skip the flu, it was well worth the $35.
My arm was a tiny bit sore, but not nearly as bad as the other one (since I cut down a tree limb when I got home)!
Except I’m nowhere near my 20s and haven’t been for a long time.
Honestly, if I worked in health care OR if my son w/ type 1 diabetes still lived with me OR if I had any of the medical conditions that are indicators I’d be at a higher risk if I caught the flu, I would get the shot. But I don’t, so I don’t.
I’m sure if I ever do get it, I will get one every year after that. I know influenza is not a joke. I was in China during SARS and I remember reading a very sane article that pointed out how many people die from influenza every year (the article compared the death rate from SARS to influenza and also to the infection rate for the various hepatisises (spelling?)) so I don’t think I’m underestimating how nasty it would be to get. I just think my risk factor is really quite low.
Although I’m ridiculously healthy, I’ve had pneumonia 5 (maybe 6) times after an incident of chemical pneumonia in my 20s. If there’s a flu virus going around, I’ll catch it. So I got my flu shot on Monday. I’m thinking of asking my doctor about the pneumonia shot, too.
My arm was a little sore but nothing terrible – but I took great pleasure in hamming it up in front of my cow-orker who’d whined all last Friday about how much it huuuuuurt. Of course, I then felt achy and icky the next day, first time that happened with the flu shot.
Annoyingly, the local news has been reporting that the flu shot may not have the right mix of viruses this year, and recommend the attenuated live virus nasal spray.
I’ll be gatting mine within the next couple of weeks, as will my husband. I usually get one, but this will be his first in a long time (possibly his first ever). We have a 2-month-old, so we fall into one of the high-risk categories. My son got his a couple of weeks ago, with about a million other vaccines.
I got one. Always do. I have chronic pulmonary disease and so am high risk. I did have the flu once, and fortunately the respiratory part of it was mild. The shots always make my arm ache slightly but never enough to mind, except for the time I tried exercising and massaging my arm right after the shot, which made it hurt like hell for days. Lesson learned.
I haven’t had the flu in at least 30 years, but I got a shot this year. My doc recommended it at my yearly physical because I take steroids, which seem to increase your risk for every annoying health condition. My arm hurt for about 3 days, but I haven’t had any other adverse effects.
I thought I had had the flu, until I actually got the flu three years ago. IOW, I had the so-called “stomach flu” or those bad colds that people call “flu” and I didn’t know those were NOT influenza until I contracted influenza. I was sick as a dog – three days, nothing, try 12 days – and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. I could certainly imagine how, if I had been older or less healthy, or it had been worse, I could have died from it. Now I work in a field tangentially related to health care and have had the opportunity to read about bird flu, the likelihood of an influenza epidemic, pandemic planning, etc.
I will NEVER go without a flu shot again. I understand that the protection it offers is not complete, but it’s a hell of a lot better than nothing.
I have never gotten a flu shot and I doubt I ever will.
I haven’t had influenza in over a decade so it is not imperative for me to hop on the “flu shot” bandwagon.
Never have before, but I will this year. I have acquired a medical condition that a) makes my immune system less efficient and b) makes a flu a lot more serious for me than for a normal person. This adds up to a flu shot being a very reasonable thing to get.
Got a flu mist last Saturday. I had no choice about it. That is one of the benefits of being a Soldier, you don’t have to make mundane decisions like that. So far no ill effects.
I always get a flu shot at my campus health center. Just $15 for staff.
With sickly college students around, plus all the germs in the college workout center, I figure I’d better be on the safe side.
I bet you’re not getting actual influenza, just other awful diseases with similar but not quite as bad symptoms. From my mother’s description of one of the really bad flus she got one year, I’ve never had the flu. Nasty colds, yes. But not the flu.
I’m 31 and basically healthy but figure it can’t hurt to get it – well, okay, it hurts a teeny bit – and it was free.
I always get it, as I work in healthcare and it’s free, but last year I had a bad site reaction with extreme itching, redness, heat, and swelling, so I’ve been told I shouldn’t get them again. I’m thisclose to risking it, because I really want one, and I can’t find anyone that will say I’m allergic to it for sure.
