I hope everyone goes and gets their annual flu vaccine. I will be going today for mine. are you getting yours?
I will - we are required at work - but that won’t happen till at least October.
It is way too early to do it now. Our doctor recommended to wait until October.
It takes 2 weeks for antibodies to develop so don’t wait too long. Official recommendation is to immunize as soon as vaccine is available. They think immunity generally lasts a year except for those over age 65.
No nasal spray recommended this year. It was completely noneffective last go round.
http://www.immunize.org/askexperts/experts_inf.asp
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm
My doctor as well as son’s allergist recommend not getting too early; both said wait until late Sept/early Oct. I get mine at work which is usually in that time frame.
Have my yearly checkup next month and I’ll get it then.
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_annual_reformulations_of_the_influenza_vaccine , the 2016-2017 vaccine contains one of the same strains as the previous year (A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus) and one new A strain (A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus, replacing A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (H3N2)-like virus that was in the previous year vaccine).
If you get the quadrivalent vaccine, the B strains are the same as the previous year (B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus and B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus). However, the more common trivalent vaccine contains only B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus, instead of B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus that the previous year trivalent vaccine contained.
Does the vaccine get adjusted later in the season? Meaning, is there a reason to wait? D is getting her second Meningitis B vax next week and could do flu then unless it’s better to wait. She’ll need the flu shot eventually as she does some shadowing and similar in hospitals.
The strains of virus in the vaccines do not get changed during the same season (although in 2009, a second vaccine for the newly discovered strain was rushed out).
I have a question, I am 19 and I’ve never had to get the flu vaccine until this past year because of work. I’ve never gotten the flu either as far as i know. I live in MA, i know its for safety concerns at the hospital, but other than the obivous about precaution.
Why do so many people get the vaccine every year? Do that many people get the flu? Is my immune system that good that i never got it before?
Just general questions, its like the flue season is huge, but in my family nobody gets it. I get my other vaccines, i just always leave the flue behind since its constantly evolving i figure so should my own immune system?
Because they don’t want to get the flu. They’re also protecting others who can’t get the vaccine.
Enough do. But no, you’re not doomed to get it without the vaccine. It’s possible you’ve never been exposed.
Have you ever knowingly been exposed to the flu? The REAL flu? Not the “ouch my stomach or chest hurts” flu.
Getting the flu shot not only protects you against the flu (though not all strains but some protection is better than none) but it also protects people like me who can’t get vaccines. It’s called herd immunity. The less people who can get it, the less it spreads.
you need to decide if you want the flu vaccine (personal choice…unless it is work required)) I had the flu one time and I never want to do it again. it is not a cold, most people say they had the flu when they had a cold. the flu is aches,chills,sweating, burning feeling in your head. joints hurt…it is pure misery and some people get really really sick and end up in the hospital or worse. you are not immune there are many strains of the flu, you just have not gotten it yet. they guess which strains to put in the flu vaccine every year based on what they feel is most likely to spread this flu season. if they get it wrong which can happen you will not be protected. I like to play the odds in my favor and get the vaccine every year.
If you have never gotten the flu, it’s because you’ve never been exposed to it. Part of the reason you’ve never been exposed to it is because OTHER people have gotten the vaccine. So there is less flu virus circulating in the community overall. Maybe it’s time to pay it forward. Get vaccinated not only to protect yourself, but also to help reduce the amount of influenza in the community.
Just called my pharmacy–they’re only carrying the quad-valent form this year, since it provides more protection. Just spoke with the pharmacist and she’s running it to see how my insurer will cover it.
I have severe lung disease and can permanently lose lung function from infections. Since I don’t have much functioning lung, I need to protect what I have. I just attended a training where quite a few folks present were coughing and hacking. Fortunately, I didn’t get sick, but it made me very nervous for the two days of the training.
I contracted the influenza around the time I started a new job almost 17 years ago. But then I got pneumonia since my immune system was weakened from the flu and missed a total of 3 weeks of work. Even after recovering, I felt tired for months afterward.
You’d remember it if you’d ever had the flu.
I mean ik ive never had the flue, because I work in a hospital now at 19 years old I had to get it this past season, they told me it was to protect others for the most part, I just always found it odd, our immune systems are awesome for the most part. I always figured mine got better every year. I don’t recall anyone in my family getting the flue personally. I guess its just that so many people do it. Thanks for the replies, I mainly wanted to know everyones reasons, I jusr felt my body could handle it so I never got the vaccine as a kid. I hope I never get the flue in general.
I am by no means anti vaccines, but I do like reading into each one. So I just wanted to know everyones generals perception on it. Thanks.
Just to be clear, @raulhumber2, you get the flu vaccine yearly. The flu strain changes and morphs. A vaccine doesn’t protect you in subsequent years.
I also believe you are an international student? Perhaps the flu is less prevalent where you are raised. Maybe you are just a really good hand washer. 
Well I get it yearly now beause its mandatory at work. And yeah thats what I meant the strain changes yearly, so I always figured my bodys immune system would adapt to any new strain. The reason that it doesnt peotect you for upcoming years is the reason I never got it from 1-18 years old. I was always like ehh, ill handle it.
I am not an international student, but the flue vaccine was never mandatory for school, always got the other ones though. I guess it may be my hand washing I guess. Thats a cool way of looking at it. Avagard is what I use at the hospital, stuffs great and doesnt damage the skin.
The flu strains change and morph each year and usually that is far faster than our ability to ward them off. Our ideas about the flu have changed too - it used to be less common for people to get flu shots or to require flu shots but we have realized how helpful they are and how they prevent thousands of people of dying from the flu each year (still, every year many people die from the flu).
The flu is also a virus and viruses can do strange and unexpected things to your body. For example, I caught a typical 24-hour stomach bug but it left me with months of glomerular nephritis, a kind of kidney inflammation that shows up as blood in your urine.