I’m wondering whether to get the flu shot. I don’t want to get the flu. I haven’t had the flu in many years. But this flu season is supposed to be especially bad, and I don’t want to get sick, so I was thinking that maybe I should get the shot.
But also, it seems that the places where you get the flu shot is at clinics, which are overcrowded at this time of year…because so many people have the flu. So if I go to a clinic, I’ll have to wait a long time AND be exposed to a lot of sick people.
I don’t know about Montreal, but in the United States, every chain drugstore (Walgreens, CVS, etc) and every large grocery and discount store with a pharamacy department (Safeway, Walmart, Target, KMart, etc) has a big banner outside that says “Get your flu shot today, no appointment needed.” The Walgreens stores with 24-hour pharmacies can give you a flu shot 24 hours a day!
I don’t see anyone lining up or waiting.
Is it not the same in Canada? If not, come on down and have a flu shot vacation!
Common sense party line: Yeah, get it. Even if you get the flu regardless it’s likely to be just a mild case. I’ve yet to read of a downside (anti-vaccination wackos excepted.)
Personal experience: I’m almost 55 now. Had the flu shot once, in 1995, and immediately came down with the worst head cold in history within a week. I’m a person who gets colds maybe once every 5 years, at most.
Didn’t have the flu shot ever again…in January 2011 I came down with a hit-by-a-truck, high-fever, could barely move or eat for days flu, nasty shit, Typhoid-Mary-like, the trip from my bed to the bathroom was a Battaan Death March of misery, nasty shit.
/hypernole, kind of.
So that makes it the first time in 54 years I have had the flu, and the only year I got the shot I got a very nasty cold. Considered getting the shot this year but then saw a TV news story about how flu illnesses are rocketing skywards despite increasing numbers of people getting the vaccination, and decided fuck it I will take my chances.
Be warned, the guy in front of me died of autism-related symptoms within minutes of getting the shot. The anti-vaccination people were right after all!
I’m currently asking around on Facebook if there’s anywhere in Montreal that I can get the flu shot without being around a bunch of sick people (i.e. a clinic.) No answers so far.
I got the flu shot just before Christmas at the local community health unit - there was no wait at all, and only two other people in there getting shots.
The nurse who gave me the shot also explained why people sometimes get sick right after getting the flu shot - your body is now busy making flu antibodies, and your immune system can be pre-occupied. So get the shot, but be careful with your health for a couple of weeks afterwards.
I’ve been getting it the past four years or so, and it’s great. I usually get really sick around christmas, and I stay sick for 4 months or more (cold then flu then cold again, etc.) Since I got flu shots, I’ve never had a cold or flu. Considering how much I pay for cold medicine and doctor’s visits, I save maybe 200-300$ per year.
The match of flu vaccine viral strains to what’s circulating in the environment is reported to be good this year (a major issue with efficacy of flu shots is how well researchers can predict the circulating strains - flu shots are less effective in years where the match turns out to be poor).
Flu shots are not a 100% guarantee against catching flu (though if you get flu, symptoms are likely to be less severe). Given that it’s a relatively cheap form of insurance, and that you’re protecting not only yourself but those around you (very young infants who can’t get flu shots, the immunosuppressed, Grandma who’s especially prone to severe illness if she gets influenza) it makes sense to get a flu shot.
Disclaimer: for the first time I can recall, I had a reaction to my flu shot this season - my arm was sore for a few hours afterward. At least I didn’t turn into the Incredible Hulk.
Ugh, had flu all over Christmas. Literally Ill from the day I stopped work (21st Dec) til the day I went back ( today). My partner got the shot (free on the NHS) and is untouched.
Pharmaprix offers some flu shots. Search by postal code - there aren’t very many locations offering them, and you have to make an appointment, but it’s an option for you if you want to avoid a CLSC or doctor’s office.
Any pharmacy should be able to tell you where to go for a flu shot. Just call or pop in and ask.
Just realized I linked the French site. Hope that’s ok.
Sorry, I just realized I said I had the flu shot - I actually had the flu nasal spray. I had no symptoms from it that I noticed; I seemed a bit tired, but that was right at Christmas, and it could have just been from all the Christmas running around.
The nurse who gave me the spray said that it might not be okay for people with asthma to get the nasal spray, since it might set off asthma symptoms. My poor husband - doesn’t want the shot because he hates needles, and might not be able to get the nasal spray since he has mild asthma.
Get one of those disposable face masks if you’re worried.
I got mine at a pharmacy. My insurance covered the cost and I walked out in about 20 minutes. Felt kind of icky for the rest of the day (like a very mild cold) and my arm was sore for a couple days afterwards.
I hate (as in, get woozy) needles but every year I get a flu shot. It started when I was caring part-time for my elderly grandparents. They have both passed on and the year after I thought about not getting a shot. Then I thought that what if I managed to give it to someone else’s grandma or grandpa and they died.
