Flu shot

[Calvinator]

There's been a lot of fear mongering about the swine flu. apparently it has not mutated and it is not as deadly as they have made it out to be. Thousands die every year from the regular yearly flu. People have died, in the past, taking a flu shot. What is in the flu shot. I hear things and I don't like what I hear. I do not know what is true about the flu shot. The times that I have taken the flu shot in the past has never reduced my sick time taken from work. There is all kinds of stuff that goes around every winter.

I no longer trust the government. I do not believe that the government has the best interest of WE THE PEOPLE. Mandatory vaccinations may be in our near future, but as for now, no one is sticking me with anything.

What sayest you? Will you be taking the flu shot? Why or why not?

[Brandan Kraft]

My family gets a flu shot every year. I will wait in line and get the swine flu vaccine (it is no different than the regular flu shot). I am a firm believer in vaccinations.

As for the swine flu vaccine - it is NO DIFFERENT than a regular flu shot other than it is a different strain of the flu. It was created the same exact way the yearly flu shot was created (dead flu virus in eggs).

The reason the swine flu is a bit more deadly than the regular flu is because it's a new strain. Little immunity has been built up against it, and that is the purpose of the vaccine. I think modern vaccines are a miracle and a gift by God.

- Brandan

[Robert R. Higby]

I don't like government and the media forcing people to do what they (the government) decides they have to do. I believe that whether to get flu shots or not is a matter of personal conviction. I do not believe that the H1N1 form of pig flu is really different except as espoused by the alarmist media. We have seen many strains of pig flu in the past. The 1918 pandemic is believed to have been caused, not by pig flu, but by bird (chicken) flu starting in Kansas that transformed and infected humans worldwide.

I have not submitted to a flu shot since 1977, when one that I got then made me horribly ill. Neither has my wife--who also experienced severe sickness from the shot. But she is probably going to be forced by her employer to get this H1N1 vaccine because of the media hype--even though by all objective standards it is no more or less necessary than any other flu vaccine in history.

Don't misunderstand me--I don't oppose anyone who believes in getting the flu vaccine as a personal decision.

[rlhuckle]

I got a flu shot last year and the year before at work (free) and never got the flu those years even though some of my family members did (my kids get shots, my wife did two years ago but not last year). I haven't gotten one this year yet and I came down with the flu two weeks ago and missed 2 days of work (my wife got it last week and missed two days). I don't know if it was H1N1 or not. I heard some hearsay that the H1N1 is a variant of a strain that went around during the sixties and if you got it then, it won't hit you as hard as it does the younger generations today. Don't know if this is true, but the strain I caught two weeks ago was milder than what I remember some flu strains being.

I've never gotten sick from vaccinations since I was a kid. The only trepidation I have about the H1N1 shot is that it was hurried in its testing and distribution.

[Dahlseide]

I don't like government and the media forcing people to do what they (the government) decides they have to do. I believe that whether to get flu shots or not is a matter of personal conviction. I do not believe that the H1N1 form of pig flu is really different except as espoused by the alarmist media. We have seen many strains of pig flu in the past. The 1918 pandemic is believed to have been caused, not by pig flu, but by bird (chicken) flu starting in Kansas that transformed and infected humans worldwide.

I have not submitted to a flu shot since 1977, when one that I got then made me horribly ill. Neither has my wife--who also experienced severe sickness from the shot. But she is probably going to be forced by her employer to get this H1N1 vaccine because of the media hype--even though by all objective standards it is no more or less necessary than any other flu vaccine in history.

Don't misunderstand me--I don't oppose anyone who believes in getting the flu vaccine as a personal decision.

Ditto:

I have not had flu shots in the last 2 or 3 years; but this year my Mom would have been happy: I have washed my hands more times in one month than in the 18 years at home with her.

[Brandan Kraft]

When I don't get a flu shot, I come down with a terrible case of the flu sometimes. When I do get a flu shot, I will occaisionally come down with the flu, but the symptoms are much more mild than a full blown case of the flu. I now make it a routine practice to get a flu shot. Of course, I believe this should be voluntary - nothing should be forced on an individual or family by the government.

[Forester07]

I've never gotten a flu shot and don't plan to start. I've only had a bad case of the flu once but most years I never even get sick. I'm pretty much anti-vaccine and don't trust the pharmecutical companies that make the stuff. The amount of money that these companies generate for profit on selling the vaccines makes me wonder if some of it is for show. Just hype up the swine flu and the companies get double to money this year for the vaccines. Sickness and disease is a billion dollar industry and I've done well not to contribute.

I agree with Brandan that everyone is free to make up there own mind.

[Robert R. Higby]

I have only had the type of flu that shots are supposed to prevent once in the last 40 years. This was 2 years ago. It was a strain that shots typically did not prevent. I should have gotten Tamiflu as soon as the symptoms started but failed to do so. I won't make the same mistake again.

Shots may indeed be necessary for some people who are prone to get flu a lot.

I am not convinced that repeated vaccinations do not raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease later in life, so I do not get them. This is an issue for study of the medical evidence. My grandmother got Alzheimer's and she got her flu shot regularly every year for most of her life.

[trav]

The hospital (where I work) offers free flu vacs to employees, I've had the vac every year for the last ten years and I havn't had the flu once since I've started getting them(praise God).
Starting sometime this month we will be offered the H1N1 Vac. My wife thinks there's a conspiracy behind it and tells me I'm going to probably die if I get it, I'm not worried. But if I do fall ill and she's right we'll let you all know.

[Robert R. Higby]

If someone can convince me that I'm wrong on the Alzheimer's issue, I may consider starting to get them!

[Calvinator]

The North Texas State Hospital gives out the flu shot for free to the employees. I and A co-worker went and signed a wavier. The RN was not paying attention to the paper work. She went over to the refrigerator and took out two syringes.

I had to tell her to check the paper work. She took the news well.

[Calvinator]

If someone can convince me that I'm wrong on the Alzheimer's issue, I may consider starting to get them!

Due to where I work, I have seen what Alzheimer's can do. I would rather have the flu.

[Brandan Kraft]

If someone can convince me that I'm wrong on the Alzheimer's issue, I may consider starting to get them!

From the Alzheimer's Association website: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_diseas...alzheimers.asp
Myth No. 6: Flu shots increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Reality: A theory linking flu shots to a greatly increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease has been proposed by a U.S. doctor whose license was suspended by the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners. Several mainstream studies link flu shots and other vaccinations to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and overall better health.

• A Nov. 27, 2001, Canadian Medical Journal report suggests older adults who were vaccinated against diphtheria or tetanus, polio, and influenza seemed to have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those not receiving these vaccinations. The full text of this report is posted on the journal’s Web site.
• A report in the Nov. 3, 2004, JAMA found that annual flu shots for older adults were associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes. The abstract of that report is posted on PubMed.

[Robert R. Higby]

There are two sides to every argument and I don't necessarily believe all the tenets of either position. I realize that most of those who criticize the flu shot are alternative medicine doctors--though most of them are practicing physicians (not all).

The conventional medical establishment has promoted all sorts of ridiculous and absurd myths that are accepted as proven scientific fact, such as the second-hand smoke nonsense. I recently heard a prominent party-line physician on TV claim that heart disease is down 40% in any country/state that has banned smoking in restaurants!

[Highlyfavored]

I realize that most of those who criticize the flu shot are alternative medicine doctors--though most of them are practicing physicians (not all).

You should read ths: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1254...wsj_share_digg

[Robert R. Higby]

So much contradictory information! The news networks in this country are now reporting that that the seasonal flu shot MAY BE ENOUGH to protect you and that many do not necessarily need the H1N1 shot.

No end to conflicting data.

[rlhuckle]

I think the greater concern may be the rise in Autism rates among children and its possible connection to the preservative found in most vaccines. This also could be part of the Alzheimer's question.

[Highlyfavored]

I think the greater concern may be the rise in Autism rates among children and its possible connection to the preservative found in most vaccines. This also could be part of the Alzheimer's question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1z7K...ayer_embedded#

[rlhuckle]

Now there you go--post a video that takes an hour to come up on dial-up.....(chuckle)...

Can I get a memo?

****I just saw the headline--yeah, I heard about that on the radio....

[Highlyfavored]

Dear FDA