Got my flu shot at the pharmacy at Target way back in October. There was only one other customer getting it back then so no big wait. Never had the flu but started getting the shot 3 years ago when COBRA ran out. Figured $25+/- was cheaper than a doctor’s visit/prescription.
This year the pharmacist gave me the new one with the short needle. He held it up to show it to me. Like I could see what it looked like without my reading glasses on (I had already put them away after doing the paperwork). Ha! Anyway, this time that cute short little needle left my arm sore for a couple of days at the injection site when the long needle in the past didn’t. Go figure. Next year I’ll need the super duper shot because I’ll be 64! Or maybe that one is at age 65.
“Not getting a flu shot has worked for me” could easily be defined as “I have been lucky and/or lived or worked in a setting that minimizes my exposure to flu carriers”.
Mainly I wanted to point out that while people with compromised immune systems are often vulnerable to flu, the opposite situation is hazardous as well. Some flu strains (H1N1 was an example) disproportionately hit healthy young people with strong immune systems. The Great Influenza of 1918 ravaged younger populations for what’s thought to be a similar reason - a powerful immune response to the flu (“cytokine storm”) caused devastating injury to the body, including swamping the lungs with fluid.
Overall, one might be best off as a middle-aged person whose system has immune memory of a number of different flus, is strong enough to mount an effective response to infection but not so strong that it inflicts innocent bystander damage on the body it’s supposed to protect.
I got my flu shot a while ago. I interact with middle school students every day, and they’re a bunch of snuffling little virus factories, so I’m not taking any chances. And while we’re on the subject, if you haven’t gotten a pertussis booster since you were a kid, it’s worth asking your doctor about. Whooping cough won’t kill most adults, but it’s not pleasant, and if you’re ever around babies, it can kill them.
Same here, right down to the laying helplessly on the couch bit (and the worst part of all was that it was during Christmas vacation and we had to cancel our annual trip home so that I could spend my vacation days being sick.)
All that time, I had mistaken really bad colds for the flu. When I actually got the flu, I knew immediately that it was the first time I’d ever had the flu. As a general rule of thumb, if you feel like you’re dying, it’s the flu. Whenever people tell me that the flu is ‘‘no big deal,’’ I conclude that they have never actually had the flu.
Incidentally, I’m getting my flu shot today, at Rite Aid.
All very true, which is why my initial response to the OP was,
I fully acknowledge that it makes sense and there’s really no down-side to getting the flu shot. And that my not getting it is perhaps illogical; thus I wouldn’t ever advise anyone against it.
I’m all for getting a flu shot - got mine in November - but be aware, this year’s shot doesn’t cover all of the strains out there. Look at me, I’m currently stuck home with the flu. Still, something is better than nothing.
Getting the flu shot is not about you. It is NOT ABOUT YOU. It is about the vulnerable people you may come into contact with, and herd immunity. You’ll probably live through a bout of the flu. The old lady you stand next to in the supermarket may not, and I’m fairly certain you don’t want to be the one that passes it to her.
Also, the more people that are at least partially protected by the shot, the fewer people there will be who pass the virus along, meaning less risk for truly vulnerable people. The flu shot is not about YOU, it is about THEM. Get a damn flu shot.
I’m tired of people arguing that since it doesn’t cover every single possible virus that may make them sick, they’re not going to bother.
This year’s shot is a good match for the most prevalent circulating strains. Unfortunately, there are dozens of strains of influenza wandering around and the flu shot can’t predict all of them with perfect accuracy a year in advance (which is how early they need to get the formulation down in order to manufacture it). This year we’re also dealing with several really nasty upper respiratory viruses that aren’t influenza but can make you miserable as shit for a week. And there’s the norovirus outbreak causing havoc, which is a problem because people like to call vomiting and diarrhea “the flu” when it’s not influenza-related at all.
You may still crash your car while you’re completely sober, but that doesn’t mean you may as well drink before driving.
I had this last year, which in my case was six months ago. It’s the first time I’d been sick in about four years, and hit me really hard. Seriously sucked. But, as noted, not the flu. A flu shot would not have prevented it.
Is this true? I thought that, while the flu can lead to horrible illness, there’s also such a thing as a mild case of influenza, that comes across feeling like a nasty cold, with fever, chills, and body ache. Am I wrong?
That’s what I’ve got right now. Is it “really” the flu? No idea, I don’t plan to go to the doctor unless things get worse. I did have a flu shot in October through work. My husband, who had this first, did not have the shot. He’s feeling better and playing WoW about 5 days in. I’m on my second day and still feel like crap. More achiness and chills and fewer upper respiratory symptoms than a typical cold.
The flu shot is only about 59% effective. Definitely not perfect.
While I agree that the vulnerability of young children, elderly and immunosuppressed people one may come into contact with is worthy of consideration, sheer altruism doesn’t work very well as a motivation for getting immunized.
Better to say “It’s not just about you.”
And yes, it’s possible to get a mild case of the flu. Even when flu shots are not completely protective, they may result in one getting a relatively mild illness.
