I haven’t kept up on this, so would love to glean from those who do.
For the past four years H and I have gotten the flu shot. Neither of us have ever gotten the flu (with or without the shot), but back when we started we were around a lot of immunocompromised folks and were told (by a doctor) that one can be a carrier without symptoms, so it was safer for them if we got the shot. Enough said. We got the shots and have since.
Is that belief still valid?
A couple years ago I recall some discussion on whether the shot was effective for more than 3 or 6 months (forgot which), so it was better to wait until the season began and have it last longer.
How did that discussion turn out?
Also a couple of years ago I recall reading studies that said the shot is more effective if one gets it in the morning and takes a nice walk afterward, or in general, stays active for the day.
Is that still valid?
My issue to address is getting the shot this year… We usually get the shots in Oct, but I’m home now and around my mom for two out of three weeks in the near future. Her chemo/cancer makes her immunocompromised.
Should I plan to get the shot tomorrow or Monday instead of waiting until Oct when I’m back?
Would planning on two shots this season (one 3 or 6 months down the road) be suggested?
Is morning still the best time (asked because if I’m in school - which I am some of these days - afternoon is actually easier)?
Or has a bunch of this been debunked and the fact that we’ve never gotten the flu - for me even when I come in super close contact with it at school multiple times - mean we’re among the lucky who have an innate ability to fight the virus off and there’s really no need - save the doses for others who do need it?
These are great questions! I live in a warmer climate and usually hold off until November, but I probably should do it earlier since it takes a couple of weeks to be fully effective.
I’ve only had a bad case of the flu one time, and that was in college. It hit me during finals week (naturally!) and the nurse at the health center told me I was just nervous for finals! Wrong! I had the flu, and it was bad. I could barely stand, but I took my finals and vowed I would always get a flu shot from that time forward!
This winter’s flu vaccine has different strains for the A-H3N2 and one of the B strains, compared to last winter’s flue vaccine. The A-H1N1 and second B strain (the one found in the quadrivalent vaccine) are the same as last winter’s.
Because the trivalent vaccine is more common, you may have to specifically ask for the quadrivalent vaccine if you want the second B strain in addition to the A-H1N1, A-H3N2, and first B strain.
@pearl0607 How is your yelling at me and not even addressing my actual questions the least bit helpful?
The only question of whether or not to get the flu shot was at the end and based upon reasoning you didn’t even address. The rest is timing and what you yelled doesn’t even answer my questions about that. (timing in the year and time of day)
Quite honestly, your post is a huge turn off and would make me NOT get the shot if I weren’t already convinced it were a good one to get. I’m looking for honest answers to my questions about timing - not a mindless condemnation.
I’ve already gotten my flu vaccine. I was picking up a prescription and the pharmacist asked if I wanted to get one there while I was there. Yes, I sure did. I will mention that I did not feel great after receiving the vaccine, so it might be worth it to get it now when you’re not caring for your mother and can care for yourself.
I’ve already gotten it, too. I was in CVS anyway and there was no line at the Minute Clinic.
I’m not convinced that there’s an optimum time to get the vaccine. Flu season seems to start at different times in different years. Getting the shot is more important than the exact timing.
We had ours at work on Tuesday. My husband’s doctor told him to wait until October. So, go figure. I’ve never heard the thing about the morning or the walk. I do get mine in my dominant arm and have been told to use the arm and rub the spot to minimize soreness. This year’s shot hurt more but wasn’t killer. It is not a live virus, so you shouldn’t feel sick at all from it, but it is a foreign substance in your body and I felt just a tiny bit “off” that night and the next morning. No fever or anything, just maybe not quite 100%. My husband gets the shot designed for seniors, but the medical folks that come to our office just bring the one “regular” shot. I encouraged my staff to get their butts downstairs for the shot, but I’m not sure many of them did. It’s free for us and I hate needles, but it is important to get the shot, in my opinion.
"For the past four years H and I have gotten the flu shot. Neither of us have ever gotten the flu (with or without the shot), but back when we started we were around a lot of immunocompromised folks and were told (by a doctor) that one can be a carrier without symptoms, so it was safer for them if we got the shot. "
This is more a question of whether to get the killed virus shot or the live but weakened virus inhaled vaccine. Get the shot. For the reasons you mention above, plus there are some studies showing that last year’s live virus vaccine didn’t work very well - get the shot.
"A couple years ago I recall some discussion on whether the shot was effective for more than 3 or 6 months (forgot which), so it was better to wait until the season began and have it last longer."
Don’t wait. The immunity doesn’t fade in 6 months so much as the virus continues to mutate such that the vaccine is less of a good match for the virus in circulation, and thus the functional immunity is less effective. But waiting won’t help. The virus will mutate whether you wait or not, and the vaccine composition is updated only once a year. So there is no advantage to waiting.
3.“Also a couple of years ago I recall reading studies that said the shot is more effective if one gets it in the morning and takes a nice walk afterward, or in general, stays active for the day.”
Your immune system does not “go to sleep” or wind down and start resting when you do. But if you can get some exercise after the immunization, go for it., It can’t hurt. But I wouldn’t hold off getting the vaccine for any significant length of time in order to arrange it around your opportunities to exercise.
"Should I plan to get the shot tomorrow or Monday instead of waiting until Oct when I'm back?"
Get the shot right away. See #2.
"Would planning on two shots this season (one 3 or 6 months down the road) be suggested?"
Unless you, yourself, are immunocompromised there is probably little to no advantage to getting to getting a second shot of any given season’s vaccine preparation. With a normal immune system, one shot will very likely get you as much immunity as you are ever going to get.
I would recommend you get the flu shot soon (before you are around your immunocompromised mother) so you can avoid feeling guilty if she should otherwise come down with the flu.
I got my one and only flu shot 6 years ago and promptly came down with a 6 week virus (not the flu). My doc assures me it was pure coincidence, but understands my reluctance to get a flu shot.
@Creekland , thank you for starting this discussion. I was on the fence about when to get my flu shot and will be calling CVS this afternoon to make sure they have the quadrivalent vaccine again this year. If so, I’ll go tomorrow.
DH and I got the quadrivalent vaccine last week. The prevailing thought as I was told about waiting for October is in case the virus mutated and the vaccine that was prepared for that years flu strain would not be effective. There have been outbreaks of flu in Europe and the Middle East already.