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Flu shots are WORTHLESS!

Lookingglassman

Admiral
Admiral
I got the flu shot last week and now I sit here with the flu!

Well at least it was free through the VA so I didnt waste any money on it.
 
They aren't "worthless," but they can't protect you from all strains. They have to pick the most common ones. If the strain you caught is one of the rarer ones, or the result of mutations that made it too different from what you got vaccinated against, then yeah, you can still catch it.
 
I saw a headline on the news that getting last year's flu shot actually increases your chances of getting the Swine flu this year.
 
I saw a headline on the news that getting last year's flu shot actually increases your chances of getting the Swine flu this year.

:cardie: Did they provide any supporting evidence for that... interesting claim?

Actually, I head the same thing last night. They don't know why...

Sounds a little bit like correlation does not equal causation to me. Those likely to have got the flu shot last year are also in the groups most likely to be badly affected by Swine Flu.
 
:cardie: Did they provide any supporting evidence for that... interesting claim?

Actually, I head the same thing last night. They don't know why...

Sounds a little bit like correlation does not equal causation to me. Those likely to have got the flu shot last year are also in the groups most likely to be badly affected by Swine Flu.

From what I've heard from local news is that this is just one study, which others are still trying to verify. It's a bit early to tell.

On the flu shot topic, a local talk radio host simply asked the question if people were planning to get the flu shot or not and why. Almost every caller called in with "no" because...then some silly response. I just can't get over the myths that float around about the flu shot!

#1 myth: Getting the flu from the flu shot. Prove it. I dare you. :p

#2 myth: Flu shots result in big profits for Big Pharma. From what I understand - the flu shot isn't a big money maker. I believe this is a myth, too.

Also, the radio host had the argument that getting the flu shot helps boost the community's immunity. It helps the whole community.
 
^ It does. The fewer people who show up at work or school dreadfully ill means fewer people catching it.

J.
 
I just can't get over the myths that float around about the flu shot!

#1 myth: Getting the flu from the flu shot. Prove it. I dare you. :p

#2 myth: Flu shots result in big profits for Big Pharma. From what I understand - the flu shot isn't a big money maker. I believe this is a myth, too.

True, and my favourite one that's been dragged out in The Place That Cannot Be Named, the 'squalene content worry'. Squalene is a natural precursor to cholesterol, all mammals produce it and you're full of it now. Even if it could have some negative effect, the amount contained in a vial of flu shot would be a drop in the ocean.

Also, the radio host had the argument that getting the flu shot helps boost the community's immunity. It helps the whole community.

This is true as well - vaccination does not need to be total to be effective at preventing spread and eradicating diseases. The magic number depends on the bug, but I believe usually hovers around 60% - i.e. it is more likely than not that person x has been jabbed. The more people that are immune, the fewer carriers there are and the less chance of infecting others.
 
I got the flu shot last week and now I sit here with the flu!

Well at least it was free through the VA so I didnt waste any money on it.

I had the same reaction the first time I had a flu shot. My mom explained that they are supposed to work that way. They are injecting you with the flu, and the antibodies in your blood kills it off, and you are protected for the rest of the flu season.

At least, that's how she explained it to her then nine year old son who got violently sick after his first flu shot. Every year it was the same for her. Our local pharmacy who hold free flu shot day and she'd get all excited about the two of us getting our protection, then the next morning she'd wake up feeling like complete shit, and spent two days bitching about how she wishes she hadn't had the shot.
 
I got the flu shot last week and now I sit here with the flu!

Well at least it was free through the VA so I didnt waste any money on it.

I had the same reaction the first time I had a flu shot. My mom explained that they are supposed to work that way. They are injecting you with the flu, and the antibodies in your blood kills it off, and you are protected for the rest of the flu season.

At least, that's how she explained it to her then nine year old son who got violently sick after his first flu shot. Every year it was the same for her. Our local pharmacy who hold free flu shot day and she'd get all excited about the two of us getting our protection, then the next morning she'd wake up feeling like complete shit, and spent two days bitching about how she wishes she hadn't had the shot.

the flu germs in the vacine are dead so you can't get the flu from it but you can feel pretty crook as the body builds up the immunity.

I don't recall ever getting the flu shot but this year with Swine Flu my mum (a Registered for over 35 years and has worked on a couple of immunisation programs) is saying I should.
 
Last year I got sick after getting the flu shot, but I think I may have already had a touch of cold going in, so the shot just gave whatever it was an opportunity to take root.

Don't get the shot if you're even a little bit sick already!
 
true,.
but, i have also seen that people who get the flu after getting the flu shot seem to have a milder version then those who didnt get it.

though what is happening now is people are getting the seasonal flu shot but due to n1h1 hitting early and the vaccine not ready yet people are getting the swine flu.
 
I can't remember the last time I had the flu. I know it's been awhile. I don't consider the risk high enough to bother getting the vaccine.

And, God help me, I'm so sick (pardon the pun) of all this fear mongering about swine flu. What the fuck is this, Captain Tripps from The Stand? honestly, people can be such paranoid ninnies sometimes. :rolleyes:
 
I got the flu shot when I was in college my junior and senior years. About three hours later I was running a high fever and had called my Doctor. She said it was normal for me to have a reaction like and said to take a tylenol and just lay in bed until it passes. She really had no sympathy. And a friend of mine's mother(in college) was a doctor too so she told me to drink plenty of fluids that the reaction to the shot is normal and if I don't feel any better in two days, go see a doc immediately!
So that's why I don't even get the flu shot anymore. If I get the flu, I get it.
 
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