Will you get the swine flu shot?

[creekster]

And it causes autism.

Man, you shouldn't even joke abotu this. Someone will believe you are serious.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Man, you shouldn't even joke abotu this. Someone will believe you are serious.

He does have a few strange theories...

[wuapinmon]

I'm a professor. <redacted> yes, I'm getting it.

[il Padrino Ute]

I'm not saying the flu shot causes people to the the flu. There are several people in my family who have received the shot, then were later diagnosed with the flu. The vaccine isn't 100% effective, so I sometimes wonder if it's a genetic thing that causes it to not be effective or something else. All I know is that if I'm going to get the flu, it's going to happen with or without the shot.

My understanding is that there are thousands of strains of the flu that are not affected by the flu vaccine. If one gets a flu shot and gets the flu, it's one of those strains.

And I always get one of those strains when I get a flu shot. When I don't get the shot, I don't get the flu.

EDIT: never mind. I'm a hack. Statman beat me to it.

[chrisrenrut]

Last time I had the flu- 10 years ago

Last time I got a flu shot- 10 years + one month ago

I know that by myself I am a small sample size, but it works for me.

Also, a mostly unrelated fact, I have a Seinfeld-like record of not having vomited in over 20 years. It's to the point that I'm afraid to, and feel horrible seeing or hearing anyone else vomitting.

[doctorcoug]

Several theories combine to explain it: first, the flu vaccine doesn't boost your immunity to all varieties of the flu, just the ones (4 or 5 versions each year) that you're most likely to get. Second, getting the vaccine doesn't make you immune to those versions of the flu - only less likely to get them. And third, random (bad) luck.

And yes, lots of people say they've 'got the flu' when what they have is a bad cold.

It isn't the flu and it isn't a cold, it is an antigenic response to the foreign substances just injected into the body. To be a cold, a virus would need to be replicating, which there isn't. Same goes for th flu, as Ercougar said, the flu shot is a dead virus. Dead viruses have no ability to replicate. The flu mist is a little bit different.

To the op question: I started getting my flu shot the year I started medical school. I got it this year and will get H1N1 shot as well. Same goes for my family. The benefits far outweigh the risks.

[WashingtonCoug]

I will be getting both shots. I don't want to risk my two young kids getting the flu. I didn't think the flu was all that bad until I actually got the flu two years ago. I will never miss another flu shot EVER.

One thing maybe the doctors can clear up on this board. People at work are saying that some people that get the regular flu shot are becoming more susceptible to the H1N1 virus. Is there any possible truth to that? We've had a huge outbreak in our office of the H1N1 and a bunch of those people had the regular flu shot already. I realize the regular flu shot isn't going to protect against H1N1, but could it really make you more susceptible? Seems kind of fishy to me.

[kccougar]

I guess this is one of those areas where I'm a little kooky. Not home-school-keep-the-fluoride-out-of-my-water kooky, but a little weird. I don't like to take any medication that is not immediately necessary. It just doesn't seem natural to me. I don't like to take aspirin. I don't take supplements.

Again, I'm lucky because generally I'm pretty healthy. I'm sure if I got migraines I would want to take something, but I don't so I'd rather just not be taking anything in but food.

And finally, I eat a lot of junk food so obviously I'm a walking contradiction. But I still don't think I'll get the swine flu shot.

[creekster]

I guess this is one of those areas where I'm a little kooky. Not home-school-keep-the-fluoride-out-of-my-water kooky, but a little weird. I don't like to take any medication that is not immediately necessary. It just doesn't seem natural to me. I don't like to take aspirin. I don't take supplements.

Again, I'm lucky because generally I'm pretty healthy. I'm sure if I got migraines I would want to take something, but I don't so I'd rather just not be taking anything in but food.

And finally, I eat a lot of junk food so obviously I'm a walking contradiction. But I still don't think I'll get the swine flu shot.

measles vaccine? mumps vaccine? Are those necessary?

Ihave had a flu shot evry year for at least 7-8 years. I have never had a negative reaction to the shot nor have I had the flu in that time frame. Just to provide an opposing but euqally irrelevant (in and of itself) sample.

[ERCougar]

I will be getting both shots. I don't want to risk my two young kids getting the flu. I didn't think the flu was all that bad until I actually got the flu two years ago. I will never miss another flu shot EVER.

One thing maybe the doctors can clear up on this board. People at work are saying that some people that get the regular flu shot are becoming more susceptible to the H1N1 virus. Is there any possible truth to that? We've had a huge outbreak in our office of the H1N1 and a bunch of those people had the regular flu shot already. I realize the regular flu shot isn't going to protect against H1N1, but could it really make you more susceptible? Seems kind of fishy to me.

No.

[WashingtonCoug]

Good to know. Thanks.

[ERCougar]

measles vaccine? mumps vaccine? Are those necessary?

Ihave had a flu shot evry year for at least 7-8 years. I have never had a negative reaction to the shot nor have I had the flu in that time frame. Just to provide an opposing but euqally irrelevant (in and of itself) sample.

I'll give everyone another "n of 1" study. Well, actually "n of 2". We went up to stay at my SIL's house for Christmas a few years ago and during our stay, every person in the house, child and adult, got the flu, except for the two of us. The difference? My SIL is an ER nurse--and got a flu shot.

I'm actually not nearly as passionate about the flu shot as I am about childhood vaccines. The average healthy person doesn't suffer serious consequences, other than a few days of feeling miserable and missing work (at least with the normal seasonal flu--swine flu seems to be acting a little differently), so if you're not an at-risk person and you're not around a lot of at-risk people, I don't have a problem with you skipping it.

I have a huge problem with kids skipping immunizations, but I think we've touched on that subject somewhere.

[ERCougar]

Good to know. Thanks.

Sorry to be so abrupt--I didn't mean it personally. It's just such a silly idea, with absolutely no scientific basis whatsoever. Your instinct was correct.

[WashingtonCoug]

Sorry to be so abrupt--I didn't mean it personally. It's just such a silly idea, with absolutely no scientific basis whatsoever. Your instinct was correct.

No worries, you gave me all the information I needed. I thought it sounded weird too.

[JohnnyLingo]

I got a typhoid fever vaccine back in the day, and for three days afterward I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I know, bacterial infection is different from a virus.

I can get the flu shot for free through my work insurance. I might do it, I might not. I've never had a flu shot before and never really gotten the flu, I think. Hard to tell.