Tennessee is one of the hardest hit areas, apparently. My dad’s pediatric office is out of both kinds of vaccine, injectible and Flumist. But yeah, unless you’re allergic to eggs (the vaccine is made by growing the virus in chicken eggs), you should get the vaccine.
-Lil
It’s only 50% effective?
I’m one of the people who never get the flu shot. I have never, as far as I know, been sick with the flu (and have avoided being sick off work for the last 7 years). Only since school have I even been sick.
Are flu shot good for life? Or do you “wear off” after a while?
Vaccines are supposed to do two things:
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Keep you from getting sick.
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Prevent the spread of the disease.
The problem with flu vaccines is that they do neither one very well, because they are mainly defending against last year’s strain. One could even argue that getting the shot and reducing your symptoms to the new strain will result in a much higher transmission rate (i.e. you may be more liekly to come in contact with people while contagious).
The even more perverse thing is that people are much more likely to get their flu shot if they had really bad flu the year before. The shot they are getting will most likely be the strain they have already been exposed to! They will also be more resistant to the new strain already.
Flu shots are a good public health idea. Last year’s flu has a strong possibility of coming back if there is a large population who was never exposed to it. Still, until they can give us flu shots for this year’s flu, the benefits will be minimized.
A flu shot or vaccine is good for one strain or ‘variety’ of the flu virus.
Don’t know how long that protection lasts or how effective it is.
Every year the CDC and counterpart agencies decide what strain of the flu is most likely to be a cause of major concern and then encourage the producers of vaccines to produce that particular strain.
Here again it is a crap shoot as to how good you are at making educated guesses as to which strain to protect for.
I took the high pressure gun shot quite a few years ago in the fall and come March I had the flu (new strain?) so bad I thought I was going to die and afraid I wouldn’t.
I’d get it. This flu sucks. I’ve been in bed (as in unable to stand up long enough to take a shower- getting water and microwaving soup are big efforts) for three days. I would give anything for a freaking shower right about now. Not to mention all the job hunting, holiday visiting and other festivities (and neccesities) I’m missing out on.
The vaccine is a mixture of several (dead) flu types. They try and guess which strains will be most virulent that year. It is not foolproof, but generally protects against the worst types. It is a very good idea for those over 65 or with chronic health conditions, and is worthwhile (though less so) for others.
Every time I get the flu shot, I escape getting flu. Every time I get the flu, I’m devastated for a week or longer. I was in my doctor’s office for something unrelated (kidney stones–Yow!) and the nurse asked me if I wanted a flu shot. She didn’t need to ask twice. The news was already rumbling about the scarcity of the vaccine for some programs.
“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.”
However, according to the Vaccine Information Statement at http://www.cdc.gov/nip/flu/pubs_04/vis_flushot03_pt.pdf, a flu shot can give you mild fever and aches which can certainly be confused with the flu.
“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).”
I am aware of at least 3 U.S. studies planned or underway of the effectiveness of this year’s flu vaccine. One study is supposed to produce results before Xmas but that may be wishful thinking.
I don’t know why I’m mentioning this, but I’ve never gotten the flu shot. Partly because I’m a starving college student and thus don’t have a hell of a lot of money to burn, plus the fact that I rarely get sick anyway. At most, I get sick for about 3 days once a year(I don’t know if it’s a cold or the flu) and then for the rest of the year I’m fine.
If I only had to get one or maybe two(like every other vaccine), I might do it, but the idea of having to go and get one every year…
So that being said, I haven’t found a compelling reason yet.
Good news for those who haven’t gotten the flu vaccine yet. And also, from CNN
Hopefully the increased availability of the vaccines will help to stem the growing tide of flu sufferers. My state isn’t even listed as having “widespread” flu cases yet, but already the ER has been packed with flu patients. We’ve been seeing more than our usual number of children lately too; I heard at work that our local Children’s Hospital ER was advising patients that there would be a 6-10 hour wait for noncritical patients earlier this week.
Stay healthy, fellow Dopers! (And if you can get a flu shot, take it!)
I would never take anything like that when pregnant.
You will not sleep well until delivery.
Where I work trialled the vaccine at one office a few years ago. I did the evaluation of the results, and they were so good that I have the shot every year now. Fortunately work gets adoctor and nurse in and they churn through them. It’s free for staff because work saves so much on sick leave costs.
I didn’t get a shot, but ironically enough, I came down with something after spending 2 1/2 hours in an urgent care waiting room. My friend had been in an auto accident, and was told by the police to get checked out. She got a clean bill of health, but the waiting room was populated by a lot of people that had been given masks by the staff. So, now I have a fever, cough, and general body ache…
I kind of wonder how many of the crazy parents who refuse to immunize their children are lining up for flu shots now. well, probably just a tiny percentage.
I work in a hospital pharmacy in an outpatient oncology clinic. We are nearly out of flu shots. Last year we dispensed about 250 flu shots. This year we are over 700 and counting. If you are at all in a high risk category you should get the shot, but it’s important to get it early, as the droves of people being sent away without one will attest. The Flumist version is great for healthy individuals, but if you get it you shouldn’t go near anyone with a compromised immune system for 3 weeks, since it does use a live attenuated virus.
I’ve already had the flu twice this year. Once in September so bad that I was really scared for my life, and once that I’m just now getting over.
I’m 22, generally very healthy, and rarely ever get sick (usually once every 3-4 years.)
Should I try to get a vaccine at this point if I can find one or is there really much of a chance of me getting it 3 times in one year?