Correct. There are multiple strains and the shot protects against the 3 or 4 that they feel will be most prevalent. Protection lasts for about 6 months.

No, I will not. I have in the past tried and three years in a row it left me violently sick on the floor of the bathroom for a minimum of two days. Had it gotten any worse I would have had to have been admitted for IV fluids.

That and dad911 is correct. It reduces the chances of you contracting the flu. Some years are better than others. A few years ago it was 30% effective. We had 12 cases that year and 11 of the cases had the vaccine.

No. The flu vaccine is the only one that has ever made me sick, other than the boot camp inoculations. Man that was the worst. I have gotten the Shingles vaccine.

never have... never will..
I have however given a few K over the years....
not for me or my fellow medic's..
Doc's ..Nurse's .. we all fudged it..

Rika

i'm no Virologist. cant they make the flu vaccine cover ALL the strains? maybe it iwll make the dose too large?

I don’t usually get the flu shot. I may do so this year.

Mandatory for my work - Hospitals don't want to deal with flu AND Covid so they are making the flu shot mandatory, no exemptions whatsoever. Even if you work from home, like me !

Just got my flu shot last friday. With the push to be ready for a covid vaccine in november, the companies that distribute needles and syringes are holding back stock so it ends up harder to get other shots. Not on purpose but that's the result of not enough inventory to go around. My wife tried to order them for the health center she runs and none are available for weeks. So she just has leftover stock from last year. One thing about the flue shot is even if it doesn't prevent you from getting the flu, the symptoms can be much less severe. So sick in bed vs sick in the hospital. The people who brag about never getting the flue may get lucky or they may get the flu, die and then never get the chance to go online and admit to their mistake. So the online boasts can be very one sided.

No. The strains mutate too fast and too often to get them all. They pick the top 3 or 4 predicted ones for the shot.
I had the flu once in college. I was too sick to take care of myself. I had to call my mom to come feed me. Now I always get the shot without fail.

I got mine last week. Painless except a tiny bit of a sore arm the next day. Last year was the only year I missed in about 20.

I wasn't sure if this was too early so I asked the pharmacist and she told me that ideally you should get in early fall (late Sept early Oct). This gives you the most protection throughout the flu season. However, the CDC is also recommending to get early due to the possibility of running out.

With Covid going around, I thought I'd be safe rather than sorry although I believe that if I were to catch Covid, I'd probably survive.

Never wear my seatbelt, never got in an accident. I think it's everyone's choice, get or not get.

My understanding is that vaccines are composed of the WBC-type immunity fluids of some other persons or animal usually.
(Given in small doses)
It's like a small cold basically.

The body absorbs the good parts, and genetically modifies it's own immune system, to provide long term resistance to the same type of potential threat.

The problem is every human is genetically different and may react differently to this shock to the system.
Some people are already naturally immune to whatever is the greatest virus going around, and some are not immune to the vaccine itself.

Gays in SF who were completely immune to direct contact with AIDS were found to be decedents of Europeans who survived the plague many centuries before.

Human biology is mostly viral in itself and part of the environment at large.
We have something like ten times the number of alien cells as human in our genome.
Both are ever morphing.

It's interesting to see so many people say they get sick in correlation with the flu shot. I've gotten the Flu shot twice... got sick with a "flu type" illness both times. Some doctors have tried to tell me that's impossible, or not connected. A rare few doctors have admitted that it can happen. Very conflicted because I think it would be a real problem to get flu and covid at the same time. The flu shot doesn't seem to be a home run regardless; too many strain possibilities. My friend's wife is a doctor and shes adamant that I need to get one this year.

Question for the doctors: If you get the flu and your immune system makes an adequate response, would it be harder for covid to take hold at the same time? My hypothesis is that the covid virus would be attacked immediately since your system is already revved up. I'm not a doctor though.

Interesting thread in that several report flu symptoms after a flu shot. That did happen to me big time in 2017. The other times not much reaction.

However, the few people I know who got shingles shots did have cases of shingles. There is an internal form of shingles that doesn't appear on the skin. This happened to my wife and really messed her up. It was very difficult to diagnose as most doctors haven't seen it.

The overall keenest doctor I know happens to be an ophthalmologist and pays a lot of attention to illnesses that can have a devastating effect on the eyes, such as shingles. He diagnosed it immediately. Go figure.

So, will I get a general flu shot this year? I was talking to the pharmacist yesterday about this. Of course he would be promoting shots because it's income but I trust this guy. He says do it and that all medical folks are onboard this year.

All but Tobra.

And he did mention that a double flu was possible and your chances with COVID and another flu don't have good odds.

Now the question really is where does one get this shot? Do I really want to go into CVS or Wallgreen's? Or the pharmacy at the super market? Not fooking really.

Why not CVC. They have the exact same vaccine that everyone else uses.

Damn good point Zeke. You may have changed my mind. SmileWavy

Getting a mild reaction to the flu shot is a good thing. It means your body is building antibodies to the virus.

Scheduled online with CVS to get the flu shot today. They had my ins. info already so it was free + they gave me a $5 voucher for Target which my wife will spend. Woot!

Got the shingles vaccine earlier this year and the 1st dose kicked my azz for 24 hours. The 2nd dose had little or no side effects.

Looking forward to the covid vaccine early next year when the US has a fully tested and trialed version. I'll pass on the ones from Russia or China. ;)

It seems that there is a handful of people that are convinced they will get sick if having a flu shot. And, I believe that they do indeed get sick.

Me: I never get sick, never ever. I wonder if I've convinced my self of that?

Hmmm...There once were two men; one said he could and one said he couldn't. Turns out they were both right.

I got my first flu shot last year and went into it thinking it was no big thing. I had symptoms for 6 or 8 hours and believe me it wasn't "no big thing." I had the shot this year with some trepidation, expecting the same kind of reaction. Nothing. It was literally like nothing had happened.