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Do you get your flu shot?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Andrew99, Jan 14, 2020.

  1. Andrew99

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    Do you usually get your flu shot every year?
     
  2. Destin

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    No. It's actually really pointless and doesn't help much, if at all. There are hundreds of types of flu, which change every year, and the shot is only for one of them that they decided was most popular that year. So even with the shot there's still 100+ other flu strains you could catch floating around.
     
  3. Benway

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    I got mine way back in October, yeah. October 11th, I think, actually. I get one every year around early to mid October.
     
  4. Andrew99

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    That’s cool that you got it on national coming out day. Do you remember dates really well? Like what you did on certain days?
     
  5. BothWaysSecret

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    Yep. I get mine every year.

    That is interesting actually, I did not know this.
     
  6. Benway

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    I had no idea October 11th was "National Coming Out Day." And yes, I remember dates particularly well. I remember March 23rd, 2000 when my middle school principal humiliated me which lead to me hating his guts to this very day. I remember June 26th, 2010, a date I'd very much like to forget. I remember losing my virginity on June 21st, 2013 to a girl I'd just met. I remember a lot. I often wish I didn't.
     
  7. Andrew99

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    Interesting. I can remember a lot of dates as well.
     
  8. Really

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    Do you have medical expertise to be be claiming this? Having the flu can really knock you out and even if you’re healthy enough otherwise to withstand it, if you’re contagious and happen to pass it on to someone more vulnerable than you, it can be extremely bad for them. I had a really bad flu one year and do not want a repeat of that experience so I get it every year to minimize my chances of getting the, as you say, most “popular” strains.
     
  9. Mirko

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    Do you have any proof to back up your claim? Your claim that it is pointless and doesn't help much flies against all public health awareness campaigns and medical expert advice. There is some research looking into the effects of repeated vaccinations in regards to its impact on the immune system, but medical researchers looking into the studies have still concluded that it is still better to get the flu shot.

    The virus can and will at times mutate, even during the same season, but it does not necessarily mean that the flu shot is pointless. Generalizing things as much as you have, is not helpful as there is a large segment of the population for whom flu shots can make a difference on how severe an infection might be - according to health officials.
     
  10. Kyrielles

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    Nope. But I do work with an older lady who had gotten a flu shot and still ended up getting the flu to the point of hospitalization.
     
  11. Dreamsexul

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    Nope. Never had it.
     
  12. Austin

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    Working in the health field, I am required to get it every year. But, prior to that, I never got it, probably because my family just never gets it. To be honest, I felt kind of crappy for 3-4 days after getting it this year. Before I starting getting shots, I got the flu only once in my life, so about 1 in 25 years. Not sure it’s worth the 3-4 crappy days every year to prevent a 4% chance of getting the flu. But, according to people who actually get the flu, it is. Because, it fucking sucks — that is, if you’re young and healthy enough to not potentially die from it.
     
    #12 Austin, Jan 15, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2020
  13. Austin

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    In the worlds of Donald Trump: “Wrong.”
     
  14. Regaen

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    It's true flu shots only protect against a few strains, but that's because those are the strains common in the area in the given year; it won't catch everything, but it would be kind of pointless to be vaccinated against a flu strain endemic to rural China in the us... It would also be prohibitively expensive. Flu is a virus, viruses are tricky buggers and can mutate quickly, but flu shots do work most of the time, by priming the immune system if nothing else.

    That being said, I haven't had one yet. I'm 29, my body does well enough fighting off common viruses and bacteria, though I intend to get one next fall.
     
  15. musicteach

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    Negative. Almost killed me last time I got one — spent 8 days in the hospital hooked up to a breathing machine.
     
  16. DecentOne

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    I get the shot if my doctor has it. Some years my doctor’s office ran out before my checkup, so I didn’t bother to go elsewhere.
     
  17. Batman

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    I always get the flu shot. My partner has a ton of really young nieces and nephews, one of which is a newborn. Don't want to
    carry the virus to them, or any other vulnerable people in my life.

    My roommate doesn't believe in the flu shot because she's never had the flu before and she hasn't been vaccinated in years. I don't think I'll ever understand people who are cocky about their immune system. Many people die from the virus every year.
     
  18. Destin

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    I've been accepted to medical school, and my dad is a physician and board certified immunologist specializing in infectious disease, as well as doing stem cell research to find new cures for diseases. He's literally the one doing the research used to make these vaccines. So yes, in this case I do have the expertise on it.

    Directly from the CDC, and I underlined the main parts in red.

    Untitled.png Untitled1.png Untitled2.png

    TLDR; flu vaccines only work 40% of the time, against like half of the potential infection sources at any given time, and nearly every strain genetically changes every year. So even if we had the perfect cure for it this year, it'll probably be much less useful next year. This is why there's no cure for a common cold too, there's just too many hundreds of types of it and they change way too fast to even attempt making a cure.
     
    #18 Destin, Jan 15, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2020
  19. TJ

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    I do get the flu shot every year. I work in healthcare, so it's required, but aside from that I think it's pretty clear that it's recommended by physicians. The point of the shot isn't to protect myself, but to protect elderly and immunocompromised people who should not be exposed to the influenza virus.

    You are indeed correct. The CDC attempts to "guess" which strains will be active each year, and which ones to include in the shot. They make the best decision they can, given what evidence they have.
    That being said, while the flu shot is not 100% effective, physicians still recommend that everyone get the shot in order to protect immunocompromised and elderly people. I think it's only responsible and respectful of others to do so.
     
  20. Destin

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    To add to the above, in case anyone wants to claim the type the CDC says the vaccine doesn't work against very well is rare:


    Untitled4.png

    TLDR; the type it doesn't work against much is the most common type. Yes I know it's Wikipedia but I don't have time to find a better source before class.
     
    #20 Destin, Jan 15, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2020