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I have never received the flu shot and I have never had the flu. When I started at Loyola years back they made me get a TB shot before I could start classes. I know I did not get TB but I was the sickest I have ever been after that shot for 2 weeks.

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The frank stupidity on this board sometimes is just unreal. That TB shot they gave you was just to make sure you didn't have TB. They don't want you giving TB to other students. It was not a vaccine.



Do you even know what that is? Do you know why that the disease that killed between 300 and 500 million people in the 20th century alone is now no longer a threat?

The above are pictures of smallpox, and yes, it killed between 20 and 60% of the people infected, year after year after year. You think ebola is bad, and it is, it causes no where near the deaths that smallpox did.

Do you fear being paralyzed anymore from an unseen virus? Nope. Because of the polio vaccine.

One of the greatest public health advances was the development of vaccines. Measles, mumps, polio, smallpox, heck even chickenpox all are being handled now with vaccines.

Over the course of your life you will get subjected to millions of antigens. You get exposed to hundreds if not thousands a day. So, how many different antigens are there in all the vaccines that children get? Heck, back in the 1980s they got vaccinated against a lot less things it seemed...

Well, that would be untrue. Back in the 80s, the vaccines were not as good as they are now...

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While children are receiving more immunizations by the age of two, they are actually receiving less antigens, or bits of the vaccine that would challenge the immune system. Overall numbers of antigens have fallen from about 3,041 in 1980 to approximately 153 today.

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So, for the idiots who say that vaccines are overloading the immune system, well that is total crap. The total amount of antigens from all the vaccines is but pissing in an ocean of antigens that your body gets exposed to. The number of antigens in the vaccines has gone down.

So please, please, please stop with that stupid sort of thing.

As for the flu vaccine, yes it is effective. Is it totally effective? No. No vaccine is totally effective. Secondly, everybody has different strength immune system. It peaks in young adulthood and goes down from there. So actually the younger people often have the best immune response to vaccines.

Also, as has been said the WHO guesses which of the three strains of the virus are most likely to cause disease the upcoming year and prepares vaccines for those. So, it doesn't protect against all the different kinds, only the three most common types for the year.

Now, suffice it to say this is a flu vaccine. I bet you everyone understands that the flu vaccine does not prevent you from getting herpes or HIV. Well, why then do people get upset when they catch a cold? There are over 100 different viruses that cause the common cold. None of these are covered by the flu vaccine, just as the flu vaccine does not protect you from HPV, HIV, etc. It only protects against the flu.

Well how about the idiots who say they have a healthy immune system and don't want to mess with it. Great, if you have a robust immune system, get the flu virus. You are made to receive vaccines.

Did you realize that the wise man can learn from the mistakes of others? Well that also pertains to vaccines. Why wait to get the virus when you can get the antigens and form a response before getting the virus? It is like learning from others mistakes.

Oh, I know, the virus has formaldehyde in it. That is what they put in dead people and is poison. I don't want that...

Well, you my friend are a moron. That poison you say is a normal product in human metabolism. The amount of formaldehyde in the body is not high. However, concentration of formaldehyde in the body is higher in the human body than in the vaccine. So, there is less formaldehyde per unit volume in the vaccine than in a unit volume of the human. In other words, the concentration of formaldehyde in your body goes down if you get a flu shot.

Many people confuse the flu with a bad cold. But the reality is they are very different. The flu is something that will knock you down hard, not a cold or even a bad cold.

I have read people saying they have never gotten the flu so they don't need to get the flu shot. Well, I have not been in a bad accident, but I still wear a seatbelt. My pants have never fallen down, but I still wear a belt. What kind of stupid statement is that?

And as far as eating well and washing your hands, great. But you can still get the flu. The flu is airborne and therefore washing your hands is of limited help.

And finally, don't be such a freaking dick. If you are young and healthy, there is a good chance you will survive the flu. Does every young healthy person survive? No. But the odds are in your favor. However, one day you will be old as well. And you will want not only yourself but everyone else you know to have the flu shot to decrease the likelihood that you will get it.

So stop being a dick. If you don't do it for yourself, because well you are young, dumb and full of... stupidity, do it for your parents, grandparents, children, etc. You are not only making things easier on yourself and potentially saving your life, but you are also perhaps saving your parents life.

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I've done a lot of research into this and the results are all over the place. CDC like to cherry pick studies for their website. The ironic part is the vaccine appears to be least effective for the people they recommend to get it, the very you and very old. Even the CDC admits this. From what I have read, their is no good reason to get a flu shot as a healthy adult.

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I'm so glad you have done lots of research on the matter. I suppose you have held large epidemiological studies and found out the answers. Great for you.

Interesting about your last statement. Young adults tend to have the best immune response from the vaccine. And yes, your immune response drops as you get older.

However, this statement ...

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their is no good reason to get a flu shot as a healthy adult.

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Frankly is to stooooopid. Yes, I know it is too stupid, just like I know the difference between there and their.

But aside from the grammer (yes, I know it is grammar) error, there is every reason for a young, super in shape, robust immune system person who will likely survive the flu to get the vaccine.

First of all, young people die from the flu. That means even young, healthy adults can die from the flu. It is not likely, but it is possible.

The second reason, unless you are a total, absolute, dick, you should get a flu shot. Do you love your parents? Your children? Your pregnant wife? How about older friends?

I mean if you are able to get a stronger immune response from this shot, then that is one less dumbass dick that your parents don't need to be concerned about catching the flu from.

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He gets sick the next day every time, twice with getting only the flu shot. Is that a coincidence?

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It's not a coincidence. It's expected. He doesn't have the flu. His body is fighting the flu vaccine, which is an already dead virus. Because the body fights it, it learns to defend against the live virus as well in preparation for future defense. This is the principle behind all vaccination. If he feels cruddy for a day or two, he is feeling his body's reaction to the killed virus. If he were to get the virus in the future without having received the vaccine, his reaction would be worse (his body's reaction + the effects of the live virus). It's risk/benefit where benefit > risk if you can afford to have a sore arm or mild cold-like symptoms for a day or two.

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They say a mother who vaccinates yearly usually passes along some immunities to her kids.

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Who says this? If they're not talking about through breast milk, I don't think I would agree.

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Then, in my mid 20s I got the flu. After 6 days of not being Abe to even get off the couch (except to go to the bathroom, and that was an ordeal) I swore I would get the flu shot every year after that.

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Based on what I am reading about actually having Influenza, I must conclude that I have never contracted Influenza.

But, I intend to get my annual flu shot and be brave about it . . . and not cry . . . like I did last week.

Even passing by you could pass on the flu. It is an airborne virus.

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Based on what I am reading about actually having Influenza, I must conclude that I have never contracted Influenza.

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There was a bad local epidemic when I was a freshman in high school. I felt bad one morning, kind of sweaty. My room was in the back of my house that didn't have central air. I had an electric radiator heater and figured I had it set too high. When I stood up, I immediately found myself on my hands and knees from muscle weakness and a little bit of feeling dizzy. I called for my mother when I heard her in the next room. She helped me back to bed. I remained in bed drinking large amounts of water (she told me it would help to break my fever) and listening to one particular cd on repeat for probably 3 or 4 days. I only got up to pee, which didn't happen often. I don't know that I had a bowel movement or ate anything during that time. Mom would come check on me and refill my (very large) water cup every couple of hours.
The following week, there was >100 people absent from school each day (I believe the enrollment was around 600 students), and we essentially did nothing all week because of the number of absences/amount of work that needed to be made up.

Although never tested, I'm putting my nickel down on that being widespread influenza among, at least, 14-18 year olds.

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thetempleowl

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You sho is mad.

In reality doctors secretly hope you don't get vaccinated so they can line their pockets by overprescribing you antibiotics which is a much greater threat to society than any known pathogen like smallpox these days.

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What do you think the kickback on generic antibiotics is?

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$5000

per pill