Who believes in Flu shots?

How many people get the flu shot every year?

My symptoms came on early yesterday, and has increasingly intensified over the past 36 hours.

Let me tell you....the strain I got is terrible!

I heard that the flu shots you get are typically previous strains and that it’s not very effective, though I get one every year. This year I got the fly even after the shot was administered.

Who has experience or insight?

 

All I can say is I rarely get the shot, and I rarely get sick. I may get sick enough to not go to work once every 5 years give or take. I'm sure I'll pay for this someday, but it's worked for 38 years...so far...hope you feel better soon Mark! Get some Tamiflu

 

This year the shot is only 10% effective, from what I have heard. They have to guess at the beginning of the season what strain to use for the shots, and sometimes they are less successful than other years.
I have never had the shot, and never had flue. I know people who had the shot and still got flue. I am not going to say it is a waste or wrong to get the shot, but I am not doing it.

 

I haven’t gotten the shot in 9 years and haven’t gotten the flu since either. Hope you feel better soon

 

The USAF doesn’t care if I believe in it or not...mandatory shot (or sometimes the mist) every year for the past 23yrs. I hate it. I know it’s in my head, but I swear the shot makes me feel sick for a day or so afterwards.

 

Same here with the Navy. I got the shot in late fall and was down hard with the flu the first week of January.

 

My children, wife, and myself have never had a flu shot. I can’t remember any of us having the flu. I’m not a weirdo, my kids get what is mandatory, but the rest, meh...

 

Haven’t had one since my first year of college, roughly 6 years ago. I may get a cold once or twice a year but never anything else. Thank God for a magnificent immune system.

 

I have never had the shot. Unless I had it as a kid but I don’t remember. I get sick once a year sometimes twice. It’s usually not too bad. But you have to remember I’m a plumber and I’m around a lot of germs every day. I feel my immune system has taken care of itself by fighting off anything that is thrown at it on its own. I use the Neutra bullet and have a smoothie every morning for breakfast. Kale, beats, carrots, spinach, celery, cucumber, Apple, orange, strawberries. I change the ingredients occasionally. This along with emergenC whenever I think I feel something.

 

If you have a doctor, get a z pack, fastest way to better.

 

Yesterday was pretty mild, along with this morning, but this evening it’s all kinds of rough. They made me wear a mask to the pharmacy in Breckenridge, where I saw 2 more people wearing

This is the first time in years I’ve gotten it but remember the feeling very well.

Funny statement of the day; nurse comes in and hands me prescriptions......them states “this year’s flu is awe full! Get these scripts, juice, soup, some comfy undies and settle in to bed for a battle.” It’s normally not bad enough to stay home from work, but this time it’s crippling, and HIGHLY contagious

 

Tamiflu, Zpack, codeine cough syrup, and a fresh bottle of Tylenol

 

I have had the flu shot twice. In both those years I got so sick I thought I was done. Probably a coincidence as doctors tell you there is NO way the shot can cause the flu but for me I’m not buying it. The sickness I got those years was not the flu but a stomach virus/chills, puking diarrhea fever thing. It was brutal.
Hope you get well soon!

 

Hope you feel better. To answer your question I got it and so did the wife and kids.

Not to get political or anything but to me using the “I don’t get it and I haven’t gotten sick” is like saying you don’t need to wear your seatbelt because it hasn’t saved your life yet.
I just read the article about the 10% efficacy rate this year and it definitely isn’t reassuring especially if you had to pay for it. It was “mandatory” in the Marine Corps and since I got out it’s been covered by insurance.
With that being said if only 60%(or whatever the percentage is) get the shot and this year it’s not very effective it’s not hard to see how it’s such an issue. If you mix in the fact that it gets spread like wild fire at school and work and people sometimes have to go to work even if they have symptoms and now they start spreading it of course it will get out of control.

I heard a story on the radio that a school here in Oregon actually shut down for a few days to get cleaned and allow any virus to die because they had classes with almost 50% of the kids out sick.

Also an add being run that basically said 15 people were in the ER. 7 came in for non flu related issues but 15 left with the flu. Paraphrasing that a bit but it was the basic point of the add.

 

My routine is similar until I fall off the horse

 

That could’ve been on of the strands

 

Ok, snuggle up with the codeine and get well. I had a bad dental infection recently, and they gave me basically the equivalent of a z pack, but steroids. Worked wonders in many ways.

 

Flu shot every year - the VA used to give them to me and now I get to go to Walgreens and get it. I think they have a special "VA" batch they pull from... Probably the leftovers from the previous years batch. Anyways, it usually works for me. This year I knew I was screwed when I was buying kolaches in La Grange and the damn cashier was coughing and horking all over the place. I should have grabbed my kolaches, thrown a $20 down, and yelled "keep the change" as I ran out the door.

Anyways, this years flu kicked my ass. I was down for about 13 days until I felt better. It started with tight muscles in my arms, went to a sore throat, and then all hell broke loose. Every day was a different symptom. If you can get on it early, try to start taking Black Elderberry syrup. I've heard that'll help. Otherwise, stock up on the mucinex.

Also, watch your symptoms. At one point I had a fever spike to 103 and my resting heart rate jumped from 70 to 130.

It's been 2 weeks since I started feeling better and my lungs still feel a little strange.

 

I do not get the shot. Like @Boerseun says they guess what to use so not always effective. Also in my mind, the flu/cold is always mutating, so by the time you get the shot the thing has mutated already.

So I stick with regimen of sweat, vitamin C and be outdoors. Flu is spread by people being in close quarters in the winter and making it easier to share the virus/bacteria.

 

Well, that’s not very reassuring

 

This is the first time I’ve been sick in CO (5 years). I chalk it up to that freakin store I see so many people come through

 

Zpack is antibiotics, for bacterial infections. Doesn't do a thing for the flu virus.
Too many Drs give away zpacks to appease their patients. It's becoming pretty ineffective because of its overuse. To the point in many cases it's placebo and actually more hurtful. they give it for a common cold which last 5 days, zpack is a 5 day coarse so everyone thinks its what cured them . When infact the virus just ran it's coarse.

Zithromax and any steroid are not equivalent. Not sure what you mean by the steroid worked wonders in many ways?
Steroids do work wonders for many things, but not infections. Steroids actually compromise your immune system, but in some cases are necessary to treat certain symptoms of certain infections such as pneumonia.

 

I believe there is a new cover it all flu shot in testing or something. Still a pass for me.

 

They prescribed one to me today (on top of Tamiflu) for the bronchitis that was also discovered

 

Bingo, that’s what I got, worked well. Should I emberass myself and say how it helped me?

 

Mark how many times do I have to tell you... STOP LICKING HANDRAILS! JEZZ That is NOT free gum!

 

I have to get the flu shot where I work, or else I would have to wear a mask all day at work. That would not work for me for a 12-16 hour shift. I couldn't deal with that. It's been mandatory for about 10 years, I got the flu once during that time, and have treated probably a 500 patients during that time. Not too bad. It is a guessing game as far as what strains if the flu they choose to add to the vaccine. A lot goes into it but sometimes it just isn't as effective as others. Certainly no garrentee it'll work for everyone.