Winter protection

[Kate]

You winterize your boat. You winterize your car.

Winterize yourself. Get a flu shot! (If not for yourself, then to protect your loved ones and colleagues.)

That's my nudge for the week.

[sailor55330]

My wife is a Nurse and is required to get flu shots. I asked her if she wasn’t required would she—immediate no. I asked the nurse in my doctors office last year—would you get it if you didn’t have too—-another quick “no”. You Can keep your plague injections

[NautiGirl]

My wife is a Nurse and is required to get flu shots. I asked her if she wasn’t required would she—immediate no. I asked the nurse in my doctors office last year—would you get it if you didn’t have too—-another quick “no”. You Can keep your plague injections

I'm not usually one to call someone out publicly, but please don't be the guy that spreads misinformation and fear about a perfectly safe vaccine.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321207.php

[Bfun220]

All I know is that an employer required me to get the flu shot and each year I was given the shot i got stomach flu. Never had stomach flu before that and never had it after i stopped getting it. Add to that the 2018 flu vaccine was only 29% effective and I see no reason to get a flu shot. I will also confirm the nurses I know would not get the shot if not required to.

[cmattj]

Considering the average life expectancy of the western Male in the 1800s was 36 years old.
I’ll take advantage of the modern day technology!
I’m in!!

[Big Block Power]

I got my shot last week. I was fine after it and my parts manager called in sick the next day. He's a wimp. He calls in on a running nose so who knows. I only got sick 1 time after a flu shot. They say you can't get sick from it but I do disagree with that. But hey if it gives me 1%chance of not getting it in ahead of the Game and it was free through work. I really think everyone has the own opinion of it.

[AsLan7]

I got my shot last week. I was fine after it and my parts manager called in sick the next day. He's a wimp. He calls in on a running nose so who knows. I only got sick 1 time after a flu shot. They say you can't get sick from it but I do disagree with that. But hey if it gives me 1%chance of not getting it in ahead of the Game and it was free through work. I really think everyone has the own opinion of it.

.
I received the shot every year for 26 years in the military. Was never a fan because of the side effects I (and the majority of unit members) experienced for a short time after receiving the shot or flu-mist. We attempted to schedule the shot when not scheduled to fly for a few days.


According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention...

"The flu shot is a killed flu virus that consists of only half of the virus—the part you need to make an immune response to," explained Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. "There is no possibility you can get the flu from the flu shot."

However, you could experience discomfort from the shot itself, which are very similar to symptoms of the flu.

▶︎The flu shot will not actually give you the flu,
▶︎ However, people who get the flu shot may experience muscle soreness, fever or nausea.
▶︎The CDC recommends getting vaccinated as soon as the shot is available in your area. Generally, it's best to get vaccinated by November.

Bottom line --You get the flu shot to ward off getting sick, but feeling crappy is a common side effect of the vaccine.


.

[Bfun220]

"There is no possibility you can get the flu from the flu shot."

My hospital visits after my flu shots would tell a different story. But they did try to justify it by saying my stomach flu only lasted 3-4 days. Without the shot they said I could have gotten the flu and been out a week or 2. Have never gotten the flu since I stopped getting that shot. It's better to eat healthy, stay active and wash your hands.

It's funny the US and Canada are the only nations that use the blanket statement that everyone should get the flu shot.

[Big Block Power]

"There is no possibility you can get the flu from the flu shot."

My hospital visits after my flu shots would tell a different story. But they did try to justify it by saying my stomach flu only lasted 3-4 days. Without the shot they said I could have gotten the flu and been out a week or 2. Have never gotten the flu since I stopped getting that shot. It's better to eat healthy, stay active and wash your hands.

I don't do any of that. Glad I got the shot. Lol
I just look at it as if I don't get it bonus. If I do get it, I would have anyways. So oh well.

[Kate]

My wife is a Nurse and is required to get flu shots. I asked her if she wasn’t required would she—immediate no. I asked the nurse in my doctors office last year—would you get it if you didn’t have too—-another quick “no”. You Can keep your plague injections

If it's "plague injections" that worry you, then you might try this "prevention" -- the plague mask. It was worn in the 17th century, (pre-medicine, pre-Pasteur) to ward off the "miasma" that was thought to cause disease.

[Kate]

"There is no possibility you can get the flu from the flu shot."

It's better to eat healthy, stay active and wash your hands.

Now that's funny. Those activities are intended to boost one's immune system and protect one from contracting the virus. Which is exactly what the flu vaccine does, only far more effectively. And they're based on the very science behind the vaccine.

Nauti, I stand with you (and Matt), but don't have your tact. The "it's better" approach is like saying the following: Brakes? I don't need no stinkin' brakes. They're not always effective. Besides, they sometimes lock up and cause accidents. It's better to just drag your feet along the ground.

[sailor55330]

My wife is a Nurse and is required to get flu shots. I asked her if she wasn’t required would she—immediate no. I asked the nurse in my doctors office last year—would you get it if you didn’t have too—-another quick “no”. You Can keep your plague injections

I'm not usually one to call someone out publicly, but please don't be the guy that spreads misinformation and fear about a perfectly safe vaccine.

I never said the vaccine wasn’t safe. I never referenced anything about the effectiveness of the vaccine at all. In fact,the only thing I said was that 2 people in the medical field both told me they would prefer not to get the injection given the choice. My “plague injection” reference was meant tongue in cheek. Apologies if I offended anyone. In no way was my post meant to spread misinformation. Perhaps Bfun said it better than I did....lesson learned I guess.

I don’t get the shot and usually get sick once a year. My wife gets the injection and she gets sick once a year—usually about a week after me. Maybe that’s coincidental. Me, I don’t like needles—-that’s the reason I don’t get the shot—plain and simple. I choose the hand washing/try to be healthy routine. As a friend of mine once said..."take my advice and do as you please".

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321207.php

[jhnmdahl]

To clarify a few things, flu mutates quite rapidly, and the flu shot is made well in advance of each year's flu season, so some years it's more effective at preventing flu than others. A typical flu shot addresses no more than three or four strains that are predicted most likely to be the ones that spread in the coming year, but offer more limited protection against other strains.

There are two kinds of flu shot - killed virus, and attenuated virus. The attenuated ones are weakened enough to make getting the flu from the shot practically impossible, while the killed ones are simply dead but have enough of their original characteristics intact to provoke an immune response.

If you're old, you can now get a "senior" flu shot that is a higher dose than a regular flu shot, which helps the slowing immune systems of more vulnerable seniors protect against the included strains. Babies don't get a flu shot until six months or so, and kids younger than 8 or so often get two shots to help build their baseline immunity.

You can't get the flu from a flu shot, but it is designed to provoke an immune response and some symptoms are likely. These are usually a sore or warm spot around the injection site, and occasionally a mild fever. Symptoms such as an upset stomach may be an egg allergy reaction to the flu shot, but are more likely a symptom of some secondary illness you've picked up elsewhere. If you know you're getting a flu shot, be vigilant in the days leading up to the shot and for a week or two after the shot to wash your hands often (and always before eating), and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with dirty hands.

The science is pretty well settled on this. No shot is risk-free, but the odds of you dying of preventable flu are much, much higher than of being injured somehow in getting a flu shot. Do your own research on reputable sites (think CDC, Mayo Clinic, etc., not Facebook) or ask your doctor for more info - they've usually got a handout debunking many of the myths that seem to be picking up steam on social media, along with the research to back it up.

John

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/misconceptions.htm

[akorcovelos]

My Wife is an RN and required to get one, she gets the flu most years. I never get a flu shot, almost never get sick. It reminds me of all the drug commercials on TV that have side effects that are the same as the symptoms they are supposed to be curing. Don't tag me as an anti-vaxer, but when it comes to the flu shot my personal experience says it's not worth it, YMMV.

[okielaker]

CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9.3 million – 49.0 million illnesses,
between 140,000 – 960,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 – 79,000 deaths annually
since 2010, in the United States.

If there's a good chance I can avoid becoming one of those statistics (especially the last one),
particularly since the vaccine is free for those of us on medicare, I'm taking that chance.

A couple of days of mild discomfort is a whole lot better than death, IMHO. Dead people
aren't allowed to put their cobalt boats in the water, come springtime. Now, can we get
back to vaccinating our cobalt boats against the cold? (weather).