According to my daily Nursing Advance more than 50% of the population will not be getting the vaccine because they think it will give them the flu or don't want to be bothered. Flu kills too many people each year. My husband is end stage-but I made sure he got the vaccine. Flu is not a nice way to die.
OK, I just want to make sure everyone knows that the flu vaccine CANNOT give you the flu! Some vaccines are live attenuated vaccines that can cause some people to become ill. The Flu vaccine is not one of those. It is given during the flu season and some people have already been exposed to the virus when the shot is given and get the flu because they would have become sick with or without the vaccine. It takes the vaccine about 3 weeks to develop protection. It clearly saves lives every year. Some years the vaccine is a better match than others but even at the worst match it does save thousands of lives. PLEASE, PLEASE get vaccinated and have your DH vaccinated. The lives you save may be your own..
Just to clarify what Sandy said: the flu SHOT cannot give you the flu or make you sick.
The flu vaccine that is delivered nasally (FluMist) is an attenuated vaccine that can give you "flu-like symptoms." I, personally, do not recommend getting vaccinated with FluMist, since in my experience, the "flu-like symptoms" you can get from FluMist are hard to differentiate from the flu itself.
But the SHOT is a very, very good thing to get. And we got ours the day after they were first available.
I debated about getting my husband a flu shot as he is not out in the public anymore but after talking with my doctor, she convinced me I should. I could bring the flu home or my caregiver could (she comes once a week as a relief for me). I told my doctor that it's difficult for me to get him into a car, much less into the office. But, she said if I could get him there, the nurses would come out and give him a shot while sitting in the car. So, that's what we did and I'm so glad she made that suggestion. Sometimes, just getting little things done for him become such a major issue.
CVS pharmacies has 'minute clinics' at most of the cvs where you just walk in and they give you the shot. very fast and no wait usually. if it says minute clinic on the front of the store next to CVS they do shots. divvi think walgreens does them too if you dont want to have to visit the dr office.
I stand corrected, the flumist is live attenuated. I do not think of it as an adult vaccine. We give it in my clinic to children but it is only available to those 2-50 who have no risk factors. Our LO's are at high risk and would not qualify. The flumist for healthy individuals does not cause the flu either and I have found it to be well tolerated. It should not be given to anyone who is immunocompromised because it can make them sick.
Sandy, I ended up stuck with FluMist that year when there wasn't enough vaccine to go around. I tried everything to get the doctors to agree I was in SOME sort of high-risk category, no dice. (Nuts.) I consider myself to be pretty healthy, rarely catch anything ... although I was a teensy bit stressed that year, which may have been the problem ... but I got soooooooo sick from it. And was I ever mad, too. Paid $35 just to make sure I had the flu on Christmas!
You must have been under 50 years of age because it is not approved for over 50. That is why, being over 50 is a risk factor. The immune system for those of us over 50 is not as strong as it once was. Keep in mind that it does not take effect for 3 weeks, you may have already been exposed while sitting in his office arguing with him..(grin)! Next time, lie about your age and tell him you are too old!
There's not going to be a next time. If I can't get the regular vaccine, I'll just take my chances. I forget the numbers now, but I found out (afterward) that a surprisingly small percentage of the population gets the flu each year, something like less than 10%?
I'm aware that it takes time for a vaccine to work, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't exposed to the flu in the interim before the FluMist should have taken effect. I was mostly holed up in my office ten hours a day, or at home, or driving in-between -- that is THE time of year when all the grant applications are due. (I won't miss having a "normal" holiday season this year at all ... my "normal" holiday season for the past twenty years has been working my tailfeathers off!) I wash my hands a gazillion times a day during flu season. I never even saw anybody sneeze ... the flu hadn't really hit here yet. My husband was doing all the errands, and he never got the flu. None of my staff got the flu until later in the season.
And I'm not crazy enough to go to the doctor's office during flu season unless I'm deathly ill -- I did all my arguing by phone.
Sorry you guys who say the flu shot cannot make you sick, but I have had a bad reaction to the flu shot 3 years in a row. Fever, headache, body aches,chills, all within hours of receiving the shot. I debated with the nurse whether to get it this year and my DH would only do it if I also got the shot. She said there was a possibility of reacting again if I had before and it may not be the vaccine itself but the delivery materials. I don't know but this is the last time for me. My husband was fine and I will figure something out next year if necessary to get him the shot. Just what I needed on top of everything else, to be sick. My DH tried to get me ice wrapped in towels and a drink of water and you can't imagine the mess in the kitchen from that adventure.
So, jules ... maybe you'd like FluMist a lot better than the shot! <grin>
If I recall correctly, eggs are used in the production of the shot, and if you're allergic to eggs, you're not going to react well. Sandy D, is there anything else in there that could be causing the problem?
I think I would prefer someone hit me over the head with a twoXfour. The little pamphlet we get at the public health office said at the very end in tiny letters that some people have an adverse reaction which can last one to two days. I didn't read this till I got home. So I'm one of those few people.
By the by, I'm not trying to discourage anyone from getting the flu shot, quite the contrary. I felt it was important enough to get my DH his shot that I would risk getting sick again. I can't even imagine him having the flu and trying to deal with that as well.
I have kept out of this discussion purposely because every medical professional in the world disagrees with me, but since Jules brought it up, here is my story.
I have never had the flu in my life. I never had pneumonia either. I get sinus infections; I used to get bronchitis a lot; but I have never, ever had the flu. I also never, ever had a flu shot. Until December 2003. My new doctor insisted I get the flu shot, so I got it. By the end of the week, I had full blown pneumonia. If you've ever had pneumonia, I can tell you - it's not fun. As I said, every doctor insisted there was no connection between the flu shot and the pneumonia. However, I have never had another flu shot, and neither have I gotten the flu or pneumonia since.
I'm sure it was just the way my body reacted, but I'm staying away from the flu shot.
Sid is very high risk, and he always gets the flu shot.
Just to add to this discussion, here in Vancouver, Canada, CBC radio had a series of interivews at the beginning of the 'flu shot season - about 3 weeks ago - pointing to the risk of getting Guilliame Berre (sp?) Syndrome. It had been thought there was a one in a million chance to get it following a 'flu shot; that's now up to 5 in one million. I asked my family doctor about it, and he said that because the vaccine isn't heated up to the temperature that would kill a GB virus, that it there is a risk of getting it. Fifty-per-cent people getting GB syndromes die; the others have a poor recovery rate. He says that practically no one dies of 'flu anymore, and that since I don't have lung or heart problems, I shouldn't get the shot. So, for the first time in years, I didn't. Like Joan, I get sinus infections and am on antibiotics for that about 2-3 times a year, but that's when I have a 'flu shot anyway. Mary
My daughter and her husband both had a bad reaction to the flu sho this year. They both had ver4y sore and brused arms, fever, chills, headache---the works.
I've been geting the flu shot for about 12 years now, may have missed 1-2 times. Generally might have a tender arm for a bit, might feel "off" for a day or so--not sick, just "off". DH got first flu shot last year--no issues at all. Rccommended as he's high risk, that he get both the flu and pneumonia shots this year. We both got them both. My response was the same as before. Later the same afternoon, he came out of the bedroom and VERY sternly informed me emphatically he is NEVER getting that 2nd shot again. His arm was tender. He didn't or couldn't explain why he felt that way, but since it was the pneumonia shot and they don't have to repeat each year, it's okay. He had no other complaints that I could determine.
"Practically no one dies of flu any more..." This doctor seems to know almost as much about flu as some doctors know about AD.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average, approximately 226,000 people in the U.S. alone are hospitalized, and an average of 36,000 die from flu and its complications every year.
And this is WITH so many of us getting vaccinated! Imagine how much worse it would be if everyone decided not to...
And for a personal story, about 10 years ago I called the paramedics on myself. They took me to the hospital. I don't remember being put into the ambulance or taken into the hospital. When I woke up in Emergancy I asked, "Where am I?" I had pneumomia. 5 days in the hospital. Two months on disability.
It started with the flu. The biggest comblication of the flu is pneumonia.
When I was still in my 50s, I went to a flu shot clinic for at risk patients. The nurse didn't want to give me the shot until I explained about pneumonia and the hospital stay. I never even got to tell her the rest of my at risk problems before she shoved a pink form at me and told me that since I wasn't 65 the shot would cost $20.
There are ingredients in the flu shot that are not tolerated by many people. For some it is a local reaction and for others there are systemic reactions. It most certainly can cause illness (just not influenza). Everyone is different. It is so important to remember we are overdue for a pandemic flu which happens when the virus mutates to a new strain that no one has had exposure to and is much more deadly. In those cases, our flu vaccine will not have much benefit. Just be prudent about handwashing (80% of what we catch is from hands, nopt air borne), stay away from ill people and avoid crowds. Use common sense...
Well, I'm getting my shot tomorrow. I forgot to have our doctor give me the shot when DH got his, so I have to go and get it. I called today, and they will be having walkin injections until dec 5. I get it because of my Dh, but I am 65 now, so I knowit's also for me. I've had it for the last 9 years, and never had anything but a sore arm, and I have never had the flu, but Sunshyne is right, 36,000 die each year. Can you imagine.! Certainly if you can tolerate it, it's worth getting.