<p>“spouting this nonsense” per post 12…
Sorry, that’s how drugs routinely get pulled off the market. Sad to say that not everything that is touted as being “safe” truly is. It’s not until a large number of complaints come in that action is taken.
But I DO think medical personnel in direct contact with the public should get vaccines. And vaccinate your kids!</p>
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<p>My statement had nothing to do with the safety of drugs. My statement did not address safety issues or effectiveness of any vaccine. It is “nonsense” for an educated medical professional to state that a vaccine containing an inactivated virus can cause the infection which it is trying to prevent. It can’t.</p>
<p>^^ I believe you are referring to this nonsense:
[The</a> Influenza (Flu) Vaccine: Adverse Reactions. Thinktwice!](<a href=“http://thinktwice.com/flu_lie.htm]The”>The Influenza (Flu) Vaccine: Adverse Reactions. Thinktwice!)</p>
<p>Sadly, many people buy in it.</p>
<p>Well, the experts who study the flu vaccine have gone on record as saying that it is not as effective as we need it to be, that too many vaccinated individuals go on to become infected with the flu virus, etc. It’s not a perfect vaccine by any means. But nevertheless, one cannot be infected with the influenza virus by the vaccine.</p>
<p>D2 got whacked with influenza two years in a row in elementary school. So sick she was barely moving. One of those years I caught it from her, so I missed two weeks of work in a row (one with her being sick, one with me being sick). We have gotten shots every year since, and have not had it again. But… when H1N1 went around a few years ago, vaccinations weren’t available right away. Sure enough… she caught it, then I caught it from her. </p>
<p>I honestly have no patience with the anti-vaccine movement. There are a few legitimate health reasons why some people can’t get them, but the rest are really relying on on herd immunity (read: the rest of us get shots so hopefully they/their children will never be exposed). It is a form of free loading, IMHO.</p>
<p>I have always gotten a flu shot and probably will again this year but I admit this very recent research presented at an infectious disease conference in San Francisco this week has got me thinking:</p>
<p>“A strange vaccine-related phenomenon spotted in Canada at the start of the 2009 flu pandemic may well have been real, a new study suggests.
Researchers, led by Vancouver’s Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an influenza expert at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, noticed in the early weeks of the pandemic that people who got a flu shot for the 2008-09 winter seemed to be more likely to get infected with the pandemic virus than people who hadn’t received a flu shot.
Five studies done in several provinces showed the same unsettling results. But initially research outside Canada did not, and the effect was dismissed as a “Canadian problem,” a problem with the flu vaccine used in Canada.
But a new study suggests the findings were real.”
[Vancouver</a> researcher finds flu shot is linked to H1N1 illness](<a href=“Home | Vancouver Sun”>Home | Vancouver Sun)</p>
<p>FYI. Vaccines seem to be available at all locations in my area.
I’ll drop by my local grocery - pharm tomorrow. I have had severe flu twice. ( Not the “I feel bad and have a temp usual flu type " but the " in the ER, on the couch for 10 days and I’m a tough mother” type.)
Its a beast if you get the bad one.
I am always amazed by the supposedly well educated people in my community who say things like “Well, vaccines just don’t work of our family. I got a flu shot last year and got the flu worse than ever so I warned everyone not to let them do that to their babies”</p>
<p>Another one I heard from a friend of a young teacher " All those old diseases don’t really happen any more, so I don’t want to expose my baby to the risk of the vaccines."
Ok, let’s ignore the 40 infants under 2months who died this year of pertussis in this county because parents of older kids didn’t immunize.</p>
<p>As you can tell from my post above, I am very much a proponent of vaccines and have little patience for the anti-vaccine movement. However, there was a study released this week about the recent pertussis outbreaks (really going on over the past several years). The conclusion is that when they switched to a different vaccine in the 1990s, it has also turned out to be less effective. Even with a booster at age 11, it is not nearly as effective as the previous vaccine (which had some side effects). The CDC said specifically this week that the outbreaks of pertussis recently are due to this, not lack of vaccination. I am not saying that there are not pockets of pertussis that are made worse because of lack of vaccination, but it sounds like the actual vaccine effectiveness wears off far too quickly.</p>
<p>That, of course, has nothing to do with the flu vaccine this thread started off on. One other reason we get vaccinated for flu is that if the “big one” comes around again (like 1918, although obviously it could be a different strain), it is possible that previous vaccines could provide some immunity. If a vaccine is not immediately available due to the time it takes to ramp up production, we may be darned glad we vaccinated in 2003 or whenever something similar came around. So in addition to hopefully avoiding the flu this year, it could pay off (read: my family lives) down the road.</p>
<p>The acellular pertussis vaccine is effective, but the immunity wanes. That’s why you need boosters every ten years. Teens and adults are the reservoir for pertussis, and the source of pertussis for infants, who die because they’re not completely vaccinated with the initial series (< 6 months) or because they’ve not received the first dose yet (<2 months). It’s not really that it’s not effective, but it needs a booster. All teens and adults should get the tdap. Save the babies!!!</p>
<p>Jaylynn, this is not just that you need the 10 year booster, it is a much sharper drop in immunity than that.</p>
<p>[Whooping</a> Cough Vaccine Wanes Over Time | Healthland | TIME.com](<a href=“http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/13/whooping-cough-vaccine-wanes-over-time/]Whooping”>Whooping Cough Vaccine Wanes Over Time | TIME.com)</p>
<p>" You can’t get influenza from the influenza vaccine (it’s attenuated virus not a live virus), but you can get every other cold in the world"
-The best approach is to strengthen your immune system. Tons of fruits, strong vitamins, daily exercise, being outside for at least 1 hour every day year around and maintain weight within nornal range for the height works for me. However, everybody is different. Consider medical proffessional field, being around small children,…etc., there are risk factor outside of our control. What works for some will not work for others, just have to find your own way.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, you can choose to make up whatever facts you want to. Vaccines almost always do work, and reduce the risk of diseases that can kill you and your family. Of course it is important to live a generally healthy lifestyle. But if you skip recommended vaccines for yourself, kids, or grandkids, you are essentially relying on the fact that everyone else does not get sick and infect you (that herd immunity thing). It is a form of freeloading (and I am pretty sure you hate freeloaders) on those people who do choose to get vaccinated.</p>
<p>^Your assumption that everybody will get sick if not vaccinated is NOT correct. Your assumption that I have anything against vaccinations is also INCORRECT. Your assumption tha I am making up facts is another incorrect statement. In addition, I stated before that my own D. has flu vaccination because she MUST have it and she has no side effects. Generally, she is the one who get more colds every year, but they nave nothing to do with vaccination.</p>
<p>Not sure what is correct in your post and the purpose of you bashing my experience. My experience is what I have, I cannot go back in time and change them. Sorry for offending you by stating them.</p>
<p>My husband had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that weakens the immune system, in 1999 and 2001. He’s currently in remission. The risk of flu to him is very high and so he and all family members MUST have the flu vaccine. We get it every year (which reminds me, we’re due, maybe this weekend). None of us have had flu in years, thankfully. </p>
<p>Many people confuse flu with the common cold. True flu is a lot worse and lasts a lot longer. [CDC</a> - Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Flu Symptoms & Severity](<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/symptoms.htm]CDC”>http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/symptoms.htm)</p>
<p>I don’t believe there’s a conspiracy, BUT the two times I’ve had the vaccine, I got the flu. And it was awful. Now the smart Drs and nurses I know say that the vaccine didn’t cover the strain I got. Ok, so why get the vaccine???</p>
<p>Is it just me, or did the US have a practically non-existent flu season in 2011-12?</p>
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<p>Because you might have gotten the flu a second or third time, with the strains that the vaccine did protect you against.</p>
<p>^And this was exactly my H’s experience. It almost appeared from our “layman” point of view that vaccine weakened his system to the point that he was more prone to other strains, and then he had harder time than usual for him to fight it. It was so awful tat he missed several days at work, for the person who always goes to work no matter what, it was additional negative. No other negative experiences, and I NOT AGAINST people deciding what they wnat or not to do with their own bodies.</p>
<p>I had the flu in 1981. It was not an experience I ever want to have again. I’ve gotten the vaccine every year since 1982. And, I haven’t had the flu in those 30 years.</p>
<p>There was a very interesting article published a few years ago on whether the flu vaccine works at all. Some quotes:</p>
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<p>[Does</a> the Vaccine Matter? - Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer - The Atlantic](<a href=“Does the Vaccine Matter? - The Atlantic”>Does the Vaccine Matter? - The Atlantic)</p>
<p>Personally I no longer get a flu shot. But I make sure my vitamin D levels are high. My health has improved noticeably since I got my levels up.</p>
<p>IMO, YMMV, etc.</p>
<p>“Personally I no longer get a flu shot. But I make sure my vitamin D levels are high. My health has improved noticeably since I got my levels up.”</p>
<ul>
<li>There is a study that shows that Life Guards (who have elevated vitamin D in comparison to general population), have decreased rate of occurrance of ALL cancers, which leads to believe that vitamin D has some (great?) positive influence on immune system. So, it proves at least on of my points that being outside in day light every day is very very important.</li>
</ul>