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I guess I’m lucky, I’ve never had the flu in my life and I’ve only gotten a flu shot 3 times in my life, this year I did not. Funniest part is I work in pharmacy.
 
Instead of rebutting my previous opinions, you are dismissing me and my arguments by calling me ignorant and uninformed. A statement you make about me because I do not agree with you.

I have to assume you are not here in this thread for discussion, but rather affirmation. Since I won't give it to you, I am put in a category of irrelevance.

In any case, the flu shot is still optional and until the government finds a way to legally force people to take it I won't participate.
Your opinions warrant dismissal. You're welcome to wallow in your lack of knowledge on this issue. The problem is, there are other people here who probably read your posts about Apple or other subjects and trust you. For you to violate that trust and post markedly FALSE information is dangerous and a violation of that trust. It is important that someone point out that the foundation of your opinion is false in order to prevent you from causing real harm.
 
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I feel like there is a lot of misinformation spreading here. There’s a lot of poor medical information on the internet.

Drug companies make little money off of vaccines relatively speaking. Yes, their prices have gone up but so have just about every other drug on the market. Viruses, especially the flu virus, are extremely complex. The flu virus has an incredible ability to mutate making it difficult to make a 100% successful vaccine. And if they did make a near 100% successful vaccine, you could bet it would be a blockbuster that they could make tons of money on. That said, even a 36% reduction in flu cases is significant. The reduction in mortality and hospitalization is even more signficant. Healthy people, especially this season, are also succeptable to the flu.

And no, the risks of a vaccine do not outweigh the risks of the flu. That’s absolutely not true.

Besides, I’m sure everyone here has complained about their health insurance costs. Spending tens of thousands of dollars per head on preventable/minimizable disease is doing the system no favors.

And the Flu this year is that bad. Statistics show this. The media frequently blows things out of proportion- such as swine flu, but this is indeed a very bad flu season.

As a PharmD, if someone asked me if they should get a flu shot, I would say yes. And I work in a hospital, I have no incentive to tell people to get a flu shot.
 
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I don't get the flu vaccine because the success rate year to year has been bad, both in stopping a flu strain and in innoculating against the right one.

If by "bad:, you mean in comparison to smallpox and polio vaccines, then I agree with you. If by "bad" you mean it doesn't work, then you are flat wrong. This year's vaccine has the two predominate influenza A strains that are circulating, including the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus (a descendent of the Spanish flu virus) and the H3N2, which is killing at an extraordinary rate.

I refuse to take a risk of getting the flu, however small, that I am being innoculated against when it's not even the strain that is the problem that season.

You have NO CHANCE of getting the flu from the vaccine. It's completely inactivated and not infectious.

Only to get the flu again because that wasn't the strain they innoculated me against.

The unfortunate reality is that there are hundreds of strains of influenza viruses. The scale of production is such that the strains necessary for vaccine production have to be made nearly a year in advance. We have a global capacity of about 200 million flu vaccine doses per year using eggs (and even less than that using cell culture). If an avian influenza virus directly jumps, we will be in serious trouble because those viruses kill the eggs before they generate enough virus for vaccine production. In other words, there will be almost no intervention for preventing a global pandemic that would exceed the number of deaths from the 1918-1919 Spanish flu pandemic that killed 20 to 50 million people worldwide.

I'm well aware of the controversy out there but until I see some sort of success rate above 50/50 I will take my chances without the shot.

There's really no controversy among the scientists and medical personnel who work in influenza public health. Here's why you should get the vaccine, even if you still end up getting the flu despite vaccination:
  • It will likely reduce the severity of your disease, perhaps even saving your life
  • It will likely reduce the amount of virus you will shed, thus reduce the risk that you will transmit it to someone else
  • It will likely shorten the duration of your disease
That's just my take on it. Lastly, I do object to it being pushed on me. I won't be bullied or subjected to fear tactics on something that is optional and a personal choice.

Your position is selfish. You are taking advantage of those of us who vaccinate, thereby reducing the chance that you will contract it.
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But anybody who does a little bit of research will quickly realize that flu shots are a con and the risk to your immune system to injecting the shot (do you even know what's in that thing?) is many times worse than any minimal, alleged benefit.

Can you tell us where you do your "research" into flu vaccines?
 
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$116 for influenza meds? i see a problem right there.

Really? I'm not arguing over doctors and pediatricians. I'm saying the company selling them the vaccinations (pharma) is making the money.

(Sorry for resurrecting this post)

I think you'e post about doctors not making money is msiplaced. In the UK a flu shot would cost £5 which is $6,77 ish dollars at todays FX rate. (I suspect most people in the UK don't need to explicitly pay anyway, those deemed at risk get it free, a lot of businesses pay for employees).

So - who is taking that extra $110?
 
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Well, flu season is upon us once again and two recent reports are frustrating and encouraging.

First, the bad news is that last year's flu season killed a significantly larger number of Americans (80,000 vs the typical ~40,000) and this was principally due to people not getting vaccinated. The H3 flu virus that was the big killer is still circulating this year and the current vaccine is formulated with this strain. So, get your flu shots - it's not just about you, it's about interrupting transmission to those who have poor immunity (elderly, very young) and underlying medical conditions (e.g., heart disease, lung disease).

The good news is, a new drug has been approved by the FDA: Xofluza. This is a new class of antiviral the interfere's with the virus' ability to make its own proteins and prevents the virus from disrupting the cell's ability to make its proteins. What's remarkable is that it's a pill taken one time and knocks out the virus.
 
flue shot
there are different levels. at risk peeps can qualify for the upgrade
a pneumonia vaccination is available.

typically I was never to keen on the flu vaccinations but seems mid December last few years i have consistently had moderate winter lung infections. Last year was bad. I became sick just at the time when we were moving to the new house.

It got bad.
A neighbor gave me a xmas gift, even gift wrapped, (13) pills he stole from work targeted to my situation. I was done with the crud in 3 days. I love the technology.

the neighbor insisted I get the vaccinations this year
 
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Glad I don’t have these problems.

Haven’t got any shorts since I was a kid.
Don’t need it. I never get sick.
I hang with the right minded people.
Keep my mind and awareness sharp. Meditate daily.
Practice yoga regularly.
I live healthy, and cure myself when I go through stuff with natural herbs and such.
Stay away from all kinds of meds. Don’t like chemicals.

But I’m glad they exist for those who needs it.
I don’t now. Who knows when I get 100ish :D
 
Glad I don’t have these problems.

Haven’t got any shorts since I was a kid.
Don’t need it. I never get sick.
I hang with the right minded people.
Keep my mind and awareness sharp. Meditate daily.
Practice yoga regularly.
I live healthy, and cure myself when I go through stuff with natural herbs and such.
Stay away from all kinds of meds. Don’t like chemicals.

But I’m glad they exist for those who needs it.
I don’t now. Who knows when I get 100ish :D
Have you heard of herd immunity? Virus and bacteria don't have auras.
 
Herd immunity is great, and a reality, for sure. And no, I haven’t investigated if bacteria’s have auras.
Sorry if I came off a bit dismissive. I just got the impression your post was blaming people who got sick for a poor mental attitude. Fact is of course being in a depressed mood or under stress does make one more vulnerable and I certainly approve of sports like yoga and meditation (as well as nutrition) not remain healthy.

I was in a snarky mood this morning.
 
Sorry if I came off a bit dismissive. I just got the impression your post was blaming people who got sick for a poor mental attitude. Fact is of course being in a depressed mood or under stress does make one more vulnerable and I certainly approve of sports like yoga and meditation (as well as nutrition) not remain healthy.

I was in a snarky mood this morning.
It’s ok.
No, and I’m not blaming anyone. Free will is however given to us as a gift of life.
And I know for sure that stress or crises can get to us. Probably one of the reasons why I early took another path to understand my internals and how it’s connected to my well being and health very early in life.
Evolving our own consciousness is way more interesting then relying on other peope’s answers to our own questions, however.
 
I'm not an antivaxxer but I'm one who really doesn't want that shot, sadly I'm required to get it.
 
I'm not saying it should be a crime to not get the flu shot, but there should be repercussions for those that "choose" not get a flu shot. They shouldn't be allowed to attend public crowded events where little kids or elderly might be present unless they wear a face mask: no admittance to public events (high school basketball game, middle school play, etc.), no access to optional after school activities, no access to public transit, no access to the library or town hall. Also, people who don't get the flu shot without a valid medical reason not to should pay higher health insurance premiums for causing greater expense to the rest of us.
 
My mother is elderly, with advanced Alzheimer's and a compromised immune system.

I was away last year, waking abroad, but whenever I am home for any extended period of time - as I am just now - of course I get the jab, and have been advised to do so for the past decade or so.
 
Glad I don’t have these problems.

Haven’t got any shorts since I was a kid.
Don’t need it. I never get sick.
I hang with the right minded people.
Keep my mind and awareness sharp. Meditate daily.
Practice yoga regularly.
I live healthy, and cure myself when I go through stuff with natural herbs and such.
Stay away from all kinds of meds. Don’t like chemicals.

But I’m glad they exist for those who needs it.
I don’t now. Who knows when I get 100ish :D
Get the flu vaccine before it is too late. My wife's coworker always thought "I'll get the flu shot when I get the flu" and "I don't need the flu shot".

Guess what? He got the flu. Guess what else? It caused him to have heart failure.

The next time he gets the flu will likely kill him now. He gets the shot. Saddest part is his heart only runs at 20% now.
 
Get the flu vaccine before it is too late. My wife's coworker always thought "I'll get the flu shot when I get the flu" and "I don't need the flu shot".

Guess what? He got the flu. Guess what else? It caused him to have heart failure.

The next time he gets the flu will likely kill him now. He gets the shot. Saddest part is his heart only runs at 20% now.
Thanks for your concern, I’m sure you mean well.
Unfortuntate for your wife’s coworker.
But you don’t get me, I don’t get the flu. And I’m not your wife’s co-worker.

I also live in Sweden, and sure there’s some who take flu shots here too.
But I certainly haven’t heard of any epidemic.
So I will happily continue to enjoy my good health totally shamelessly :)
 
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That was last year, and elderly people.
I didn't see any warnings, headlines then. And certainly not this year.
Uhh, the flu season is just starting for this year. No one can predict the future, but what is clear is that a lot of people worldwide, including Sweden, are going to die from influenza, particularly the elderly and the very young and those with comorbidities. Getting the vaccine reduces the chance you'll get flu and then pass it on to someone else, whom it might then kill. You know, like your grandmother or some other elderly person you may or may not care about. The vaccine does no harm, but it certainly does some good. It's part of being a good citizen.
 
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Amazing that some have such problems that other people are healthy, and can't mind their own business o_O
 
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