I’ve never had the flu and have never taken a flu shot. No doctor has even recommended I get one. I’m now seeing various public service announcements that seem to suggest a social responsibility in getting one in the COVID era. Should everyone get the shot, and if so, why?
The CDC says that “everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season with rare exceptions.”
I’m rather astonished that no doctor has recommended that you get a flu shot. At every doctor appointment I go to during flu season (even those at various specialists like my orthopedic doctor), I get asked if I’d had my flu shot yet.
My work also encourages employees to get them in their annual flu shot clinic.
I used to be hit-or-miss on getting the flu shot when I was younger. Then I got the flu twice in the late ‘90s. I never want a repeat of that. Both events are seared into my brain as two of the most severe illnesses I’ve had in my life. I have now gotten a flu shot without fail every year for over 20 years. About 6-7 or years ago, I did actually come down with the flu once after getting the shot (as its effectiveness not 100%). However, even though I got sick, it was a much milder illness (meaning I could actually watch TV instead of being curled in a ball in bed praying for death).
So while there is public benefit to not contributing to the spread of influenza, there is also a benefit to you personally.
I’d say it’s a good idea to do so - it doesn’t take long, it (probably) isn’t too expensive, and it’ll help protect you from the 'flu. I don’t see a downside.
Heck, I got my first 'flu shot at the beginning of our season, back in May. Figured if there were ever a time when having it was unwelcome, it’d be during a pandemic of a disease with similar symptoms.
I got my flu shot this year in the third week of September, about a month earlier than I usually do, on the recommendation of my doctor. As she put it, “You really don’t want to get the flu this year.”
I’ll say. I’ve never been charged a dime for a flu shot. It saves the insurance industry MUCH more than the cost of the shots in the reduced number of flu victims.
For years, I didn’t bother, but more recently, I’ve gotten one every year. Just last week, in fact. Personally, I think everyone who can, should get proven vaccines for any communicable disease. Minimal risk, maximum benefit to society. Seems the most responsible course to me.
This is an official warning. Your not funny added comment about feminists qualifies as being a jerk, especially with your prior history. Do not keep this up and do not try to derail this thread.
I’ve never had a flu shot, never been recommended to have one by my GP or anyone else. I also don’t qualify for a free NHS flu jab either. This year I decided to have one simply because of the risk of getting flu and C19 together. One or other would be bad enough, but both at the same time is not a risk I want to take if I can avoid it.
I had flu several times as a kid, and once as a young adult. I didn’t get flu shots for years, thinking that natural immunity might be stronger, and being willing to risk the seasonal flu.
Then, one year, my employer had a big push to get people vaccinated, thinking it would reduce sick time. And I was one of the senior people in my office, so I thought I ought to set a good example and get one.
That year, everyone I knew came down with the flu except me. My husband was sick, my kids were sick, my parents were sick, my sister and her husband were sick. I was running around like a mad-woman doing everyone’s critical errands. (I even walked my sister’s dog one day, when she and her husband weren’t up to it.) And I thought, “Wow, this is MUCH better than having the flu. Having the flu is actually pretty miserable.”
I’ve gotten a flu shot every year since. Usually I’ve gotten it latish, towards the end of November, since I usually have my annual physical then, and it’s convenient, and I haven’t really been afraid of the flu. But this year I am afraid there will be a second surge and I won’t be able to go to the doctor in November, so I did both the annual exam and got the vaccine on Thursday. My arm is sore and itchy. 
But the flu does suck. So… worth it.
I haven’t always gotten a flu shot. I did the last few years that I worked because as a consultant I spent time in workplaces that were potential petri dishes-- public library, a hospital, a facility with a child care center.
Now that I’m retired, and especially now that I’m locked down, I don’t come in contact with ANYONE. I dash in and out of the supermarket once or twice a week and that’s it. If I were still in the college choir or church choir twice a week, I’d be sure to get one. But these days I’m not close enough to any other human beings for more than a few seconds-- walking quickly past them-- to be exposed.
I don’t think I’ve ever had flu. Can’t remember. In December 2019 I came down with the Sore Throat from Hell for about a week and lost my voice for about three weeks after the acute phase passed. Don’t know what that was all about.
I might not get a flu shot this year. Haven’t decided for sure.
ETA: @puzzlegal Your story inclines me to get a flu shot this year…
You need to find better doctors. Getting a flu shot has been a standard community recommendation for decades. If your doctors aren’t recommending them to you, who knows what else they aren’t up on or aware of? All of mine for the past 30 years have been recommending them to me.
I probably should have mentioned that part of my rationale is the side effect of mild flu-like symptoms. Since I’ve never had the flu (that I know of), why put myself through that? But it seems like past experience is not necessarily indicative of the future. The other thought (and admittedly off-base) was that exposure through the vaccine could somehow increase my chances of getting it in the future.
ETA: in all fairness to the doctors, I only saw an orthopaedist for a couple of Achilles tears during the past 15 years, until last year.
People react differently. I always feel like shit after getting a tetanus booster. But I’ve never had more than a sore arm after a flu shot. And if the doctor does a good job, it’s not all THAT sore.
This year was typical. I barely noticed the shot itself when I got it. Later that day, the spot became sensitive to pressure, and sometimes I noticed a little soreness even if I didn’t touch it.
The following day it remained sore, and itched a little. Also, an unrelated skin patch was a little itchy, probably due to my immune system being alerted by the adjudavent. Today (Saturday – I had the shot Thursday morning) I don’t think I would have noticed anything wrong with the arm if I weren’t posting in this topic. But if I poke at it, it’s slightly tender.
If I got sick for a few days, I would probably pass on the vaccine, honestly.
In addition to all of the other reasons to get the flu shot, here’s a new one for this year; the live virus version of the vaccine (the nasal spray version) may provide some protection against COVID-19.
I get the flu shot because I used to regularly get the flu, and it sucked. A full week in bed wishing for death, thinking I’d rather be at work and healthy than in bed feeling this awful. A second week when I can get to work, but I still feel awful. And then sometime into the third week, I start to feel normal.
Oh for fuck’s sake. This place was always ridiculous. Now it has become intolerable (as well as intolerant). Enjoy your echo chamber, while it lasts. I couldn’t find a way to delete my account, so please ban my ass. See you in the funny papers.
You should definitely get the flu shot if you are over 65, work with the elderly, work in health care or have chronic conditions or heart or lung disease. The shot is not equally effective every year. But the scientific evidence is unequivocal. If you believe in scientific evidence.
If you are allergic to flu shots or unwilling to sign the papers than don’t bother. If you are allergic to eggs or thimersol than the type of shot you get may matter.
Covid by itself does not change things much from before - except early symptoms overlap and may cause anxiety or recommendations for isolation.
I’m now seeing various public service announcements that seem to suggest a social responsibility in getting one in the COVID era.
The argument is that the more people who have the jab, the harder it is for the virus to spread, i e., “herd immunity” (the same applies to any other routine vaccination). In the context of Covid, the less the risk of flu viruses spreading, the less the potential pressure on health services when they’re having to deal with Covid, and the less the risk of both additional serious complications for those who are infected with Covid, and of people being more susceptible to Covid infection because they’re weakened by flu infections.
I’ve gotten the flu show for the past ten years or so. Just got it Friday, in fact, when I was at the doctors for some blood work.
Was also due for my pneumonia shot (I think I get it every five years).
I get a flu shot every year, for free, starting in 2015. I never get sick from the shot and never suffer from a sore arm. Without the shot, I’ve only gotten sick with the flu once since becoming an adult, which was several years before 2015 (I used to get it all the time in junior high and high school.) In that respect, it’s not very valuable, but it takes very little time and no money.
I think it’s even more important this year. I doubt it will directly protect me from COVID, but many people with mild COVID develop mild flu-like symptoms. If I got those symptoms without getting a shot, I might think it’s just a mild flu. But with the shot, I’m more likely to head to the nearest testing centre just to be on the safe side, and that’s important because I live with my elderly mother. I am at a low risk for COVID, but she is not.
I have gotten the flu shot every year for decades. It’s not a big deal unless you are one of the rare people who have a particular sensitivity.
Six years ago when the bad strain of H1N1 was going around, my sister got it and it killed her. She was on a ventilator for two weeks but she couldn’t be saved. She didn’t get a shot. Her twin daughters were six years old at the time. I was her medical power of attorney and had to approve the DNR and to take her off of life support.
Get your shot and don’t risk putting your family and friends through what we went through.