^^^And you will feel good knowing that you are protecting others as well!
Funny thing is S1 - who had swine flu the first week of freshman year and was miserably sick - refuses to get a flu shot. You would think that experience would convince him to be first in line.
I have pictured flu shots as being more for the young, the elderly, those with chronic health conditions, etc. But I guess there is no downside to getting one.
The more people who get flu shots, the less flu virus will be circulating in the community. @rockvillemom You will be protecting the young, the elderly, and those with chronic health conditions–in addition to protecting yourself.
@brantly, we have also had a flu death in our community for a previously healthy active teenager. This boy was a close friend of my son from the same website you linked https://www.familiesfightingflu.org/member-families/the-mcgowan-family/. We never miss our flu shots.
@Knitkneelionmom I am so sorry to hear that. How tragic. This is why it infuriates me when people say that their “immune system can handle it” or “I’d rather get sick than get the vaccine.”
@rockvillemom YAY! I’m glad the collective CC community accomplished this. round of applause, everyone 
I know someone whose 2 year old grandson died from flu complications last winter.
Kid got sick at overnight soccer camp. H drove out to get her and was told by the “nurse” that she “clearly has the flu”. When my husband questioned the diagnosis the person insisted it was the flu and said she has “all the classic symptoms”. She had a 100.6 temp, headache and nausea-only the same symptoms of about a million viruses as well as strep, heat exhaustion…
What an idiot.
Luckily her temp disappeared the next day and she was well by evening. It was still the right choice to pick her up-no point in leaving a sick kid at camp or potentially infecting her entire team with an unknown bug, but the camp never even contacted us, despite her “flu”. This is a kid with asthma, for whom the real flu could have been very dangerous.
The camp health center screwed up a number of other things as well, such as not bothering to take her temp or segregate her from her bunkmates until she threw up despite an earlier visit to the health center, so I wrote a “Mama Bear” email to the camp director, whose response was wholly unsatisfying. Very sad.
Just confirmed with my lung doc that it’s best for H, me, and my folks to proceed and get out flu shots as scheduled on Friday–as early as possible. He didn’t mention anything about protection waning and I will be in crowds in a few weeks and in October when we go on a tour out of country.
Like several posters I rarely got sick and I didn’t feel like I needed to get a flu shot. When the swine H1N1 came through I must have picked it up on a flight back from a winter holiday. I had never felt so sick. I ended up with pneumonia after the flu. I couldn’t walk to my mailbox. I ended up missing almost 4 months of that year.
I now get a flu shot every year.
My internist has recommended the Shingles vaccine but my insurance doesn’t cover it at my age. Still debating whether I’ll get that one. I’ve put it off for a few years but I hate to push my luck as I’ve heard Shingles is miserable.
Re: shingles vaccine
The currently available shingles vaccine is called Zostavax.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vacc-need-know.htm
https://www.merckvaccines.com/Products/Zostavax/Pages/home
There is also a competitor in development that has had phase 3 clinical trials, currently called HZ/su. Its manufacturer claims a very high level efficacy in the clinical trials, but it is not been approved yet.
http://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/2015/gsk-candidate-vaccine-for-the-prevention-of-shingles-demonstrates-overall-efficacy-of-972-which-does-not-diminish-in-the-age-groups-studied/
I just got the quad- valent today. My doctor said it was not too early…and I was there anyway. His nurse did my shot…(I was the first patient of the year) and then did the doc.
Last year, I got my shot at Target. I had Cigna private insurance…some swanky plan through my husband’s work. They would not cover the quad-valent. This year, I’m on Medicare…and it was covered at the doctors office.
I guess it’s recommended for those over 65.
Oh gosh. Son stayed North to take GREs. Flew home sick. Had him at my doctor’s office next day. Got him every flavored Gatorade, but he wouldn’t drink. My best friend, also my MD, dropped by, and son spit up bright red blood. She called ahead, and we spent 12/31 in the ER. He absolutely had to be at new job for orientation following Monday. I upgraded flight, so could have extra space, and paid for hotel first two nights. No way could he move into a new apt or crash with friends. As sick as he was, he has so much gRit. He made it thru that first day and collapsed.
I get my flu shot, even when I have to pay for it. Finally, I’m on Medicare. I see patients at hospitals, rehab, and ALFs, so I’m clearly exposed.
I never understand this reasoning. It’s like magical thinking.
brantly same logic as… I drive everyday and have never been in a bad car accident…so i do not wear a seat belt. or I have never been shot so when I saw the guy pointing a gun at at me I was not concerned.
^That is not much of logic if I may say so. There are safer drivers. Not saying they shouldn’t wear a seatbelt. Just pointing our the flaws of logic. Insurance companies take that into account. It’s not all or nothing. Should you get an earthquake kit if not living in San Fransisco? Likewise, some people have a stronger immune system. Their natural inmmune system may even be stronger than any protection you get from a flu shot. If you have a stronger immune system, your chance of getting others infected is low since developing the disease to an infectious stage is not highly likely. I know you can transmit before you get sick. You still need high counts of virus, not sickly high but high enough to transmit. Added benefit of the stronger immune system is they will be protected from all viruses not just ones in the shot. Again not saying they won’t ever get sick but chances are low. It’s an individual decision weighing what risk there is.
The sad thing about the people with amazing immune systems, DH, is that when they do get sick, once a decade, they feel so betrayed by their bodies and are lousy patients as they have no idea what to do to feel better in 100 little ways & are the people who want to push through the pain and ignore it. I am working on DH to get all the vaccines when I do. I catch everything, and am rather obsessive (in my mind, not yet to the point of wearing a mask, but tempted) when traveling, I hand wash constantly and sanitize and am really careful what I touch, use a cloth etc when I can, to avoid picking up other people’s germs,
The flu shot was 59% effective for the 2015-2016 flu season. So it’s not a magic bullet. The Flu Mist was bupkus in terms of effectiveness (and unusuable for those who’ve had bronchitis or other lung issues). I’m not saying don’t get this vaccine (because I’m strongly in favor of vaccines and your own body’s immune system in general), but don’t get too excited about it. We’ve known 2 people who’ve had very bad immune reactions to the shot (Guillain-Barre), so you need to weigh the risks.
As for shingles, according to the CDC 33% of adult americans will present with shingles symptoms sometime in their lifetime. Of that 33%, less than 1/3 will have severe symptoms. I haven’t done a lot of reading about the shingles vaccine, so I don’t know what the efficacy percentage is for it, but again, weigh the risks v. rewards.
Here’s a fairly good article:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Should_you_get_the_shingles_vaccine
looks like the efficacy is about 50%.
My doc recommended waiting on the shingles vax because I’m 50 and it isn’t likely to last the rest of my lifetime if I do it now.
My kids have both had chicken pox vax and apparently that makes them less likely to get shingles later in life. Shingles may go away with chicken pox in a couple more generations.
I frequently wash my hands and dry with paper towels. I remind my family members daily to wash hands too when they are in the kitchen preparing food. Hello - you just played with the neighbor’s dog or got home from work at the hospital and you don’t think you should wash your hands before eating?!
Several winters ago they all (4 people) got the stomach flu (not influenza), one by one over the course of a week. Sounds of retching filled the air, followed by splatters, along with Christmas carols on the radio. What about me? No stomach flu! I chalked it up to hand washing and my immune system.