Flu shots = getting sick?

[localoid]

Since I got my flu shot the days seems to be getting shorter and shorter, by about 1 minute a day!

Anyone else notice this hideous side effect?

 

[Huntn]

Since I got my flu shot the days seems to be getting shorter and shorter, by about 1 minute a day!

Anyone else notice this hideous side effect?

Me too! Maybe it will wear off in about 2weeks and start reversing the effect.

 

[nebo1ss]

I get a flu shot every year. Not just to reduce my chances of contracting the flu, but to decrease its spread to those who cannot get vaccinated.

That, and getting a free flu shot is a lot cheaper than missing 7+ days of work. The flu shot isn't 100% effective, but the cost-benifit analysis is clear nonetheless.


Bingo. Correlation does not equal causation. Individuals typically opt to receive the flu vaccine at the beginning of flu season, yet it takes two weeks for the vaccine to take effect. In the interim, some people contract influenza and improperly blame it on the vaccine.

When you compare populations of individuals who received the flu vaccine versus a population who received no vaccine, the flu vaccine's efficacy is undeniable.

Maybe you should do a little research on the matter. The term "It takes two weeks for the Vaccine to take effect" is very misleading. The Flu shot is live but weakened or deactivated flu cells and the process requires the body to react to those cells and develop immunity to them. Obviously that takes some time but meanwhile you are likely to develop some symptoms of flu, the extent of which depends on the individual. There is definitely a causation element.

 

[elipses]

My opinion - the flu is just a flu. You get it, you're out for a few days, you recover and back to normal you go. It's not a pandemic, or something that will ruin society. I don't understand why an informed person would get the flu shot annually.

Public health here. While you're right, getting the flu isn't a big deal for the majority of people, to some it is: the young, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. Some recent strains have even been particularly harmful to healthy adults. While its your own choice not to get the flu vaccine, please do not discourage your grandparents, or people from vaccinating their children.

The flu virus cannot get you sick since it is an inactivated (aka "dead") virus.

One reason it seems the flu vaccine gets you sick is that you get it during flu season. It'll take weeks for your body to develop antibodies after the vaccine, so if you come in contact with the virus shortly before or after getting it its onset will make it appear as though the vaccine caused it. Another likely culprit is that it could be a bad cold, since cold viruses are also very prevalent during flu season. In addition, while normally limited to a sore arm, sometimes just the immune response caused by the vaccine is rough enough to be interpreted as a sickness.

 

[AustinIllini]

Maybe you should do a little research on the matter. The term "It takes two weeks for the Vaccine to take effect" is very misleading. The Flu shot is live but weakened or deactivated flu cells and the process requires the body to react to those cells and develop immunity to them. Obviously that takes some time but meanwhile you are likely to develop some symptoms of flu, the extent of which depends on the individual. There is definitely a causation element.

If you get the shot, the flu is NOT live. The nasal spray is live.

 

[yg17]

Wait, you guys don't get paid after calling in sick? 😱

Welcome to America.

No flu shot for me. I've never had the flu so I'll continue taking my chances.

 

[AllergyDoc]

No flu shot for me. I've never had the flu so I'll continue taking my chances.

I had a patient, a man in his late-70s, who claimed he'd never had the flu in his life. He let some friends talk him into getting a flu shot and was sick in bed with the flu for two weeks, weak and listless for another four.

I told him his body already had the flu figured out, why mess with it?

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Wait, you guys don't get paid after calling in sick? 😱

Some do, some don't. Depends on your status at work. Staff workers get sick days, freelancers usually don't.

 

[BenTrovato]

Public health here. While you're right, getting the flu isn't a big deal for the majority of people, to some it is: the young, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. Some recent strains have even been particularly harmful to healthy adults. While its your own choice not to get the flu vaccine, please do not discourage your grandparents, or people from vaccinating their children.

The flu virus cannot get you sick since it is an inactivated (aka "dead") virus.

One reason it seems the flu vaccine gets you sick is that you get it during flu season. It'll take weeks for your body to develop antibodies after the vaccine, so if you come in contact with the virus shortly before or after getting it its onset will make it appear as though the vaccine caused it. Another likely culprit is that it could be a bad cold, since cold viruses are also very prevalent during flu season. In addition, while normally limited to a sore arm, sometimes just the immune response caused by the vaccine is rough enough to be interpreted as a sickness.

Hi Public health! How many flu strains are known and of those how many strains will the flu vaccine protect against?