# Have you gotten a flu vaccination this flu season? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126 "2012-12-05T22:00:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bot3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@bot3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bot3)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/61 "2012-12-07T13:08:55Z")
I had mine a few months back. I can’t convince my wife to get it. And she is a school teacher. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/62 "2012-12-07T13:54:48Z")
I have never had one. Mostly because my husband is dead set against it and I just don’t have the energy to argue with him about it. I did get sick this year, but I don’t know if it was the flu or just a bad cold. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/63 "2012-12-07T14:05:18Z")
Yes, and it was @#$% worthless. I’ve been ill twice since, after having been perfectly healthy for 2 years. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/64 "2012-12-07T14:14:31Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > Yes, and it was @#$% worthless. I’ve been ill twice since, after having been perfectly healthy for 2 years. If you got influenza, that particular vaccination wasn’t effective - but it certainly does not cause you to get colds or other ailments (barring a temporary cold-like reaction if you had the FluMist spray). ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/65 "2012-12-07T22:22:39Z")
Can I change my answer in the poll? I got mine this afternoon. The pharmacy had the little tiny needles, but said that they’re finding most insurance companies don’t cover them, so people are opting for the bigger ones. I didn’t even ask until seconds before she stuck the non-tiny needle in my arm, but it still wasn’t a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/66 "2012-12-08T15:35:23Z")
I haven’t gotten around to it, and I haven’t decided for certain if I’m going to. It’s a matter of paying for it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/67 "2012-12-08T15:54:50Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I haven’t gotten around to it, and I haven’t decided for certain if I’m going to. It’s a matter of paying for it. [Free Flu Shots](http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext?nxd_id=443972) or check with the [Springfield Clinic](http://www.springfieldclinic.com/PatientCareServices/DiseasesConditions/FluShotClinics) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/68 "2012-12-08T17:50:34Z")
Yes, always get it, even more important this year with new babby in the house. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/69 "2012-12-08T20:08:37Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > Yes, and it was @#$% worthless. I’ve been ill twice since, after having been perfectly healthy for 2 years. Worthless against the particular strain that you got, you mean (if it was actually the flu). Annual vaccinations only protect against what are thought to be the most prevalent and nasty bugs. They can’t cover them all. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/70 "2012-12-08T21:30:34Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I haven’t gotten around to it, and I haven’t decided for certain if I’m going to. It’s a matter of paying for it. Yeah, as a few other people have said, it’s unfortunately not a “cold shot.” And even more unfortunately (even though I wholly support people getting it), it isn’t 100% effective against influenza, especially since we can’t cover anything close to every strain in a single injection. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/71 "2012-12-09T00:19:39Z")
I got mine back in September. I was at my doctor’s office for my yearly physical, and he offered the shot. I never used to get one, because I hate needles. But a few years ago I decide that if I can put up with having blood drawn every three months, I can certainly deal with the much less intrusive flu shot. It’s really a non-event to me. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/72 "2012-12-09T03:03:54Z")
I got mine a little late, just a couple of weeks ago. I’d have done it earlier, but I was sick (with a stomach bug of some sort) on the day we had a shot clinic at work. Everyone in the family has had one now. Mr. Legend and I had our pertussis shots last year, so we’re covered for a while. I’m not all that worried about getting it myself, but I’m willing to do what I can to help decrease the incidence of the disease so that maybe fewer infants will get it. And now that everyone is mentioning the new, smaller, needles, I think I understand what my pharmacist was trying to tell me when I got my shot. I let him know that I’m really bad about needles, and he said, “Oh, I’ll show it to you…” but I told him, “No, you won’t, not if you want to stick it into my arm.” I’m guessing he was going to show me how very tiny the needle was, but it wouldn’t have helped. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/73 "2012-12-09T03:06:36Z")
Asthmatic and the flu tries to kill me. My doc told me once that I should wait until after Halloween to get the vaccine that is best for the coming season, but he’s an Osteopath so what does he know? Anyway, last year he jabbed me in mid-October and I took that as a message that he’s changed his mind so I got it in mid-October again this year. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/74 "2012-12-09T04:08:16Z")
Absolutely. Last year I got lazy and waited until it was too late. Picked up my first case of the flu in a decade or more a few days after getting the shot because it hadn’t had enough time to incubate in my body before I was exposed. It was a classic case in the worst sense of the word - textbook progression and utterly miserable. Knocked me out of work for a week and left my digestive system in a shambles for a couple weeks beyond that even after I recovered from the virus itself ( I could barely keep anything down when I was sick and my stomach pretty much shut down as a result ). Do NOT want to repeat that experience this year or any other. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/75 "2012-12-09T08:54:38Z")
Probably not. I’ve never had one before (that I can remember, at least–although can’t account for when I was very young) and I’ve never had the flu (yet). ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/76 "2012-12-09T09:50:29Z")
Yes, a doctor at our church had a day offering free vaccination shots in October. Its very painless for me compared to most other shots I’ve had. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/77 "2012-12-09T11:03:32Z")
Yup, last September. Flu shots are free at work. Glad to contribute to the herd immunity. And glad to reduce my chances of getting the flu. Have had it twice in my life & it sucks. Are there\* still\* adults who wuss out about injections? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/78 "2012-12-09T12:26:05Z")
I honestly don’t recall the last time I got a flu vaccine. And recently, I saw a news report that said the vaccine isn’t all that effective, especially among older folks, which includes me. I won’t be bothering again this year. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/79 "2012-12-09T12:32:42Z")
OK, I want to hear from some of the special snowflakes, three of them at this point. Aren’t the only possibilities Did, Did Not but Do Plan, and Did Not and Do Not Plan? ---
**Author:** ![minionkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@minionkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minionkat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126/80 "2012-12-09T14:22:34Z")
The last clinic is this Thursday and I will be attending. I had a terrible cold in November, so I couldn’t get one. Before that, it just didn’t occur to me. I suppose I could seek out a pharmacy, but the health unit is just so much easier. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gotten-a-flu-vaccination-this-flu-season/643126.md?page=5)