I’m not sure if it’s worth getting a flu shot. I’m in a high-risk category, being pregnant and asthmatic. However, if the vaccine won’t protect me against the Fujiian strain, and the other strains are not as serious… is there a point? My husband is vehemently opposed to me getting a flu shot because his grandfather died three days after getting one. Since we are very strapped for cash, I’m also thinking, if it’s not going to be that effective anyway, I’d rather spend the $20 on a present for one of my children (they aren’t getting much, and no one besides our kids are getting presents at all.)
IANAD, but the CDC says you should (and I did).
The flu shot does NOT make people sick
Yes, you should get one if you can find one. This year’s shot is not as effective as it usually is, but it’s still effective – some estimate it offers up to 50% protection. That’s a lot better than the 0% you’ve got now.
–Cliffy
I’d get it.
But it will be interesting to see the data (if there IS any being collected) about this current vaccine and rates of infection (which can’t be collected until after this flu season). Also, did the deaths of the Colorado children occur in direct relation to flu complications? There is a lot of serious data to be looked at when this winter is over.
But get the shot for sure!
Otto’s link highlights my frustrations with this flu season:
You can’t go a single news cycle without being told how important it is to get a flu shot, and how this could be the worst flu season in years, and how many have died, with possible projections on how many will die, yet-- THERE ARE NO MORE SHOTS AVAILABLE!!!
At least let me die in peace…
I’ve been trying for four weeks to get my 12 month old a flu shot. Pediatrician- nope. All out, not reordering. Local hospital- nope. Town Board of Health, my doctor, my wife’s doctor, Boston hospitals, walk-in clinics, pharmacies- nope, nope, nope… well you get the idea.
Unfortunately, MinniePurl, your choice may be made for you.
It is more expensive, but the nasal spral FluMist is still available. It costs more, but for those that really want it, it’s probably worth the price to them.
However, some HMOs & PPOs, in light of the flu shot shortage, have approved covering the difference in cost between the shot & nasal spray, which will be good news for a lot of people.
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2003/12/08/daily31.html
FluMist is not a good idea for you, though MinniePurl, b/c the spray is not recommended for asthmatics.
Oops…some health care providers are covering the complete cost of FluMist, not the difference in cost between it & the shot.
Little known fact is that about 20,000 people die in US from flu annually. Yes, mostly elderly and the very young, but compared, say, to SARS, it is an enourmous problem. This is not to say that the effort devoted to wiping out SARS was wasted, but it was worth the effort only if it actually nipped in the bud and the jury is still out on that. Flu is impossible to contain and the vaccine is far from perfect. Yes, it sometimes causes a mild version of the disease (that is what most vaccinations do after all) and complications are possible. But all in all, it is good tradeoff and my wife and I get shots every fall. Of course, if it is not available, there is not much to be done about that. I heard that they manufactured an unsually large number of doses this year, so perhaps the message is finally getting through and large numbers of people are getting the shots. This should cut down significantly on the transmission rate too. (Or maybe not if people with mild cases are thereby induced to get out of bed.)
I had the flu a few years back and you don’t want to get it. The body aches were so bad I could hardly move without getting a lot of pain in my joints. It’s way worse than a cold and it also lasts longer.
Are people dying from the flu or are they dying from complications?
For example an older or a younger person getting the flu and that going into pneumonia (sp?) or the like.
Repeat: The injection style flu vaccine does not give you a mild version of the flu. The virii are dead, dead, dead. Bad reactions to the flu shot are limited to things like allergic reactions to something in the vaccine. Note the “Are you allergic to eggs?” question on the form.
Flumist, however, is a live (weakened) virus vaccine. It isn’t recommend for certain age groups and categories.
The human mind is highly susceptible to suggestion. An odd feeling the day after a flu shot gets quickly magnified into “I got the flu, and it’s from the shot!”
Also, a lot of people were already coming down with a bug just as they get the shot. You just can’t convince most people of the concept of “coincidence”.
There is a very simple solution to this. GET THE FLU SHOT EARLY! In other words, don’t wait until December when the flu season really begins to heat up. My son got his flu shot in late October, and my wife and I got ours in mid-November, just as we do every year. None of us had any trouble whatsoever getting the vaccine this year, nor have we had any trouble in previous years.
The vaccine manufacturers make enough vaccine based on historical demand. If everyone would reliably get vaccinated every year like the CDC recommends, they would produce more. For this year’s flu season, though, late-comers are out of luck because the vaccine takes 4 to 6 months to produce.
What does not work is when a large chunk of the population, who usually refuse to get a flu shot, decide they want to be vaccinated when an epidemic starts. Are the vaccine manufacturers supposed to produce an extra 50 million doses of vaccine on the off-chance that this is the year that everyone decides to get vaccinated?
P.S. Upon re-reading your post I see that you say that you have been looking for four weeks to get a flu shot for your toddler. Frankly, I find this hard to believe. None of the flu-season hype started until around Thanksgiving. (News agencies reported the cases in Colorado on November 26.) In any event, from late October to mid November there were flu clinics all over the place. So even if what you say is accurate, you still shouldn’t have waited as long as you did.
Actually, your smart-assed (and painfully obvious) “solution” does nothing to address the actual gripe: that the news is still telling people to get flu shots, despite the fact that there are no more. Can’t find 'em? Try harder.
And as far as what you find difficult to believe- who gives a crap? I’m certainly not going to be faxing you a copy of the waiting list at my daughter’s pediatrician.
FTR, though I will still get her shots if they become available, I’m not terribly concerned about not getting them. Civilization will continue.
Actually, robby, I’m gonna go ahead and apologize for getting pissy. I do think that your post was snarky and stopped just short of calling me a liar, but I really don’t wish to get into it with you in GQ, and I have no desire to play the SDMB “quote each other and try to garner support” game over in the Pit.
-j
smoke, I apologize if my post came across as snarky. I do find it surprising that you were unable to get your child vaccinated four weeks ago. (I don’t find it surprising at all, however, that you have had trouble over the last two weeks.) However, I am not omnipotent and may certainly be incorrect in my supposition.
My comment was not intended to be smart-assed. I sincerely wish more people would get the flu vaccine on an annual basis, rather than waiting for epidemics.
I do find it frustrating to listen to people in my office bemoan the fact that they have been unable to get vaccinated lately (over the past week or two), when my company actually hired a nurse to administer the vaccine at my workplace in mid-November, and these same people flatly refused the vaccine. (In fact, only 20% of the people in my office took the opportunity to get the free vaccination!) These same people get the flu just about every year, miss a week of work, and dump their work on those remaining. These people also tend not to vaccinate their children, which causes them to miss more work when their kids get ill. Now, nobody chooses to get sick, but when the choices people make tend to lead to their illness, which then impacts those around them, it gets frustrating.
Combine this with the fact that I’ve had to listen to a co-worker (who didn’t get the vaccine) complain all week about how they’ve been unable to get their kids vaccinated (which they didn’t decide to do until this week) and you may see why your post hit a nerve.
So anyway, smoke, I’m sorry if this frustration spilled over to you.
so what are the odds one willget it?
I missed out a month or so ago, it was 15$ at our library.
Now we cannot find it anywhere.
EVERYONE we know has been sick, retailpeople also (and what are they doing handling our groceries?)
My son has had a cold on and off for at least a month, he feels weak mainly, an dhas a stuffy nose.
I toldhim just wash your hands all the time and he’s drinking lots of Ginger Ale (4 liters a day).
I got mine in October because it is the best protection for the odds on getting the flu. Perhaps you won’t be exposed to it and perhaps you will. Why take a chance. It can be deadly and that means that you could be dead. Do you want to take that chance? The flu doesn’t respect age either.
Actually, age does matter, as you only have a significant chance of being killed by the flu if you are very young or old. For everyone in between, the chances of dying from it are a lot smaller then being dying from a gunshot wound or automoblie accident.
HPL… I should have mentioned that if a person’s resistance is down when he is exposed to the flu then he doesn’t have much resistance to it and his chances are slim for survival. So, why risk it at any age. One never knows what can happen for sure.