# Pro-vax supporters, the flu vaccine. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 2, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434 "2015-11-02T17:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/101 "2015-11-06T22:16:37Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > It’s not protection from “last year’s flu”; in simplest terms, it’s protection from what they think this year’s flu is going to be. Sometimes they get it wrong, as they did last year. Most years they get it right (or close enough). > > I used to get the flu every winter. I’ve not had it since I started getting the vaccine every year. Make of that what you will. Me, too. Anecdotal, but I used to get the most awful wanna-die flu every winter (usually early December). I haven’t been sick with flu once since I started getting a flu shot every year. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/102 "2015-11-06T22:45:27Z")
Post my previous reply after reading only about a third of the thread. Now that I’ve finished reading it all, I’d like to concur with those about what having the flu is like. Yes, you do pray for death. The time passes so slowly it seems as if you’re in suspended animation. In Hell. It is not the sniffles. It is not the stomach “flu.” If you’ve never had the flu, you’re lucky. If you have had it, you KNOW you’ve had it. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/103 "2015-11-07T03:48:36Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > And that’s why the “controversy” comes down to two sides: > > A) People who think influenza is a bad cold or a tummy ache > > B) People who know what influenza actually is, either because they’ve had it or they had to take care of someone who’s had it. > > If there’s anyone from Group B here who doesn’t want a flu shot, let them speak up. Actually, that used to be me. I did not get the shots when I was more than two degrees from high risk people. Even after two bouts with the flu, I figured I was young and healthy, and my immune system could work for its living.\* Then people I loved started popping out other people I loved, and I was first in line for those shots. I do not get the vaccines for my benefit, it’s a social responsibility. - Actually, I was afraid that less effective vaccines would contribute to the evolution of “super bugs”; now I accept that antibiotics in animal feed will do more damage than my immune system could dream of. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/104 "2015-11-07T06:34:58Z")
> [@j666](#): > > - Actually, I was afraid that less effective vaccines would contribute to the evolution of “super bugs”; now I accept that antibiotics in animal feed will do more damage than my immune system could dream of. It’s not impossible to find meat that doesn’t include all those hormones and antibiotics. And let me tell you, grass-fed beef tastes a hell of a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/105 "2015-11-07T12:31:51Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It’s not impossible to find meat that doesn’t include all those hormones and antibiotics. And let me tell you, grass-fed beef tastes a hell of a lot better. It’s not eating the meat; the issue is that the misuse of antibiotics breeds antibiotic resistant strains, super bugs. I really worry about super bugs. But that’s not the point here. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/106 "2015-11-07T13:28:04Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > And that’s why the “controversy” comes down to two sides: > > A) People who think influenza is a bad cold or a tummy ache > > B) People who know what influenza actually is, either because they’ve had it or they had to take care of someone who’s had it. > > If there’s anyone from Group B here who doesn’t want a flu shot, let them speak up. Tentatively raises hand… I don’t get a flu shot because I am a allergic to them. And yes, I’ve had real flu with 103 degree fever and everything. Yes, that’s bad - breaking out in hives, all-over-itch-from-hell followed by wheezing and suffocation is also bad. Regrettably, I have to take my chances with catching the flu. So please, please get your shot if you can, even if you’re healthy, because some of the rest of us can’t. And no, I’m not frail and elderly or visibly “sick”, I look very healthy and robust. Which I am. But the only thing between me and the flu is herd immunity. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/107 "2015-11-07T13:35:10Z")
You gotta ‘wanna believe’, these anti vax stories, such as they are. That said, it’s clear you’re not really interested in being open minded, that you’ve already swallowed the Koolaid. Sprayed as an aerosol in hospitals, to secretly vax the anti vaxers? Are you seriously maintaining this nonsense theory has any credibility? And then you honestly expect your ‘opinion’, or anyone promoting it, be treated with respect? Even you cannot be that naive. Your thread appears to be just a very transparent way of spreading this anti vax junk. Sadder still? You can’t even own it, and need to posture as, ‘Well, this is just what someone told me/I heard!’ What is respect worthy in that? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434/108 "2015-11-07T13:59:57Z")
> [@bump](#): > > …My favorites are my idiot coworkers who use the logic of “Well, when I got a flu shot, I got the flu. When I didn’t get the flu shot, I didn’t get the flu. So I don’t get the flu shot.” Of course, I suspect what they’re calling the “flu” is actually some sort of gastroenteritis, and not actual influenza, so it’s totally not even an apples-to-apples comparison. ☹ I was about to relate my experience. I got flu every winter as a teen. Then I mostly didn’t as an adult. Maybe once. Something about driving to work and not hanging out with groups of kids. So I didn’t bother getting the shot. Yes, flu is miserable, but I figured I’d get better in a week or two, and perhaps better long-term immunity than from a shot. Then, my office had a vaccine drive. They sold it as wanting to reduce wasted time off. I was management, so I dutifully got a shot to be a good example. Later that winter, my whole family got the flu. And I didn’t. My husband was sick as a dog. My parents couldn’t leave their house. My sister didn’t have the energy to walk her dog. (I visited and did that, and the usually aggressive dog was clearly grateful to me, and treated me well.) I did a lot extra errands and housework, all the while thinking how much better was than being sick. I’ve gotten the shot since then. My insurance pays for it, and I’ve never had a worse reaction than my arm being sore for a couple of days. > [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > How much was it, if you don’t mind my asking? I get it for free because of my job. The last time I had to pay for it was years ago and that was $25 at the health dept, which at the time was cheaper than my doc’s office. It looks like the shot is $32 at CVS, less the value of the 20% off coupon they give you. > **[CVS Flu Shot Prices? 💉 (Updated for 2023)](https://www.flushotprices.com/cvs-flu-shot/)** > > Are you looking for information on where to get flu shots? You might want to consider inquiring with personnel of CVS Pharmacy, the second largest It costs a lot more at my doctor’s office, because they use the individually packaged dose instead of the preserved stuff in a multi-dose bottle. And, doctor/hospital overhead. I asked my doctor to look up the price, once, and was really shocked by it. But my insurance pays, and I have a slight allergy to thimerosal, so I usually get it from my doctor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-vax-supporters-the-flu-vaccine/736434.md?page=5)