Flu

[aftermidnight]

Me too, I'll take my chances with the vaccine, there's flu and then there's flu, some of the milder ones are more a touch of food poisoning then actual flu. The bad ones are BAD. Had it twice in my life when I was much younger and before flu shots were available. Having a compromised immune system it took me months to recover so even if the shot doesn't stop me from getting the flu, hopefully I won't get it as bad. I've had the shot every year for the last 15 years, never had a reaction to it or even a sore arm.

Annette

 

[Beekissed]

You couldn't PAY me to take that shot. It really bothers me when I hear friends who work in the medical field saying that they are require to get it or lose their jobs...

Legally they can't do that, but not many people will challenge it due to fear of losing their jobs...but they truly can't. That's an invasive procedure. My sons work in the medical field and they told them if they didn't take the shot they'd have to wear a mask at all times at work, but they can't do that either...that's a violation of the employee's HIPPA rights...those things work both ways.

My sons refused both things..the shots and also the masks. They couldn't legally make them do either thing.

 

[bobm]

I worked at a University Vet. Med. Teaching Hospital ... I took all of the samples for rabies ( over 100 / year with 4 positive for rabies per year on average). I took the duck embrio anti rabies shots and have one of the highest anti rabies titer. I also necropsied suspected bovine tuberculosis animals. Today, I still can't donate blood because I test positive for the antibodies for tuberculosis which I do not have tuberculosis only the antibodies against it. I have taken the flu shots every year for the past decade. I do not get serous cases of the flu, but from time to time I get a case of not feeling well for about a week. Now this could be a flu but it is so mild that it is really not very eventful.

 

[digitS']

I have been around the aged and persons with compromised immune systems a lot in recent years. I have had an annual flu shot for over 20 years. I will continue to try to not be someone carrying an infection around to others.

As far as I know, I haven't had the flu in all of those years. I used to catch colds quite often but they have avoided me pretty much in recent years ... until this winter. I think most of those earlier colds were a result of being around people in schools. Got the last of the school kids outta the house and DW and I have been mostly staying outta the scrum .

Steve

 

[buckabucka]

I get the flu shot each year. Some years are better matches than others. I was out of work all last week (first time ever!), but my doctor wasn't convinced it was the flu. It was a bad virus though, and prolonged by the fact that I developed a secondary sinus infection and needed an antibiotic.
I agree, children are the worst threat! I see almost 500 young children every week, all coughing and sneezing on me. And yesterday, I saw a kid repeatedly licking his hands for some reason.

 

[Beekissed]

Something interesting I read today when reading a discussion on the flu vaccine...

HERD IMMUNITY • "Herd immunity" is not achievable via vaccines because.... A) vaccine-induced antibodies wane. B) Some people are low responders (antibodies made are low). C) Even having high antibodies does not mean you can’t get infected. D) vaccine failure, the vaccine is not as effective as claimed. E) Some vaccines give you the virus and you shed that virus after you get vaccinated. An individual vaccinated against a disease can spread the disease when the virus or other microbe in the vaccine sheds. F) Vaccinated people can infect others while they are asymptomatic as in the case of pertussis. There are outbreaks among highly vaccinated populations and the vaccinated get the disease. G) Vaccines only activate part of the immune system. Cellular immunity is not activated. Vaccine immunity is not the same immunologically as natural immunity. When vaccines are delivered by injection, the mucous membranes are bypassed and thus blood antibodies are produced but not mucosal antibodies. H) Viruses mutate and become more virulent...and old vaccines are not effective against the mutated strains. The mutations keep happening even if new vaccines are invented. The term, ‘herd immunity’, was coined by researcher, A. W. Hedrich, after he’d studied the epidemiology of measles. He concluded that when 68% of children younger than 15 yrs old had become immune to measles via infection, measles epidemics ceased. Herd immunity can only come from natural immunity acquired from recovery of infection, not by vaccination. Dr. Tatyana Obukhanych, Ph.D in immunology said, "The biomedical belief that a vaccine-exempt child endangers the society by not contributing to herd immunity is preposterous, because vaccinating every single child by the required schedule cannot maintain the desired herd immunity anyway." “When I was in medical school, we were taught that all of the childhood vaccines lasted a lifetime. This thinking existed for over 70 years. It was not until relatively recently that it was discovered that most of these vaccines lost their effectiveness 2 to 10 years after being given. What this means is that at least half the population, that is the baby boomers, have had no vaccine-induced immunity against any of these diseases for which they had been vaccinated very early in life. In essence, at least 50% or more of the population was unprotected for decades.If we listen to present-day wisdom, we are all at risk of resurgent massive epidemics should the vaccination rate fall below 95%. Yet, we have all lived for at least 30 to 40 years with 50% or less of the population having vaccine protection. That is, herd immunity has not existed in this country for many decades and no resurgent epidemics have occurred.--Dr. Russell Blaylock MD. Even the CDC says this: "Since pertussis spreads so easily, vaccine protection decreases over time, and acellular pertussis vaccines may not prevent colonization, we can't rely on herd immunity to protect everyone."