No re: the internet. Especially when you surf it with selective perception and confirmation bias to deny the danger of smoking tobacco.

Saying the vaccine is not 100% effective is not the same as saying it causes the flu.

Paranoia? They have no cure for the flu nor the common cold... what makes you think a vaccine is 100% effective and works right all the time? You must have read that on the internet.....everything you read on the internet is right. right?

Lose the paranoia is right. There is nothing religious in my reasoning to not get a flu vaccine. Nor is there any paranoia. If it drives you to find safety in the vial, so be it. I've actually done the science and the research rather than let some talking head or AP wire news story drive my decisions based on fear.

The years I got the flu shot, I got the flu. The years I didn't get the flu shot, I didn't get it. No more shots for me.

People who choose to not be vaccinated are not the source of all evil. People who do not wash their hands, who do not stay home when they are ill, who do not cough or sneeze into their elbow, and who are not vigilant about germ control are a "reservoir for pathogens" to a much greater extent. Even if you assume the risks of getting vaccinated, it is only 70 to 90% effective anyway. So, that 10% to 30% of vaccinated people who think they are protected in some sort of flu-free bubble are not protected at all. http://www.webmd.com/vaccines/how-effect...

Here is the VIS for the intranasal (live) flu vaccine: (please read, especially #3 and #4)

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/dow...

I got mine today at Walgreens. I waited longer than normal but ,after the word of this nasty one I am glad I did ,hope it's not to late ! People wash your hands,cough into your arm and,if your sick stay the hell home.

This anti-flu vaccine paranoia is a long lingering remnant of primitive superstition. The demons of religion still lurk within the containers that deliver the vaccine.

"Those of you who say that you will never get the shot are part of the problem." Absolutely. Nonimmunized persons form a vital reservoir for the pathogen, as in typhoid Marys.

It is impossible for anyone to get the flu as a result of someone else getting the vaccine. Absolutely impossible.

Last time I had influenza, which turned into pneumonia and caused a trip to the ER, was about 1995. I've gotten the flu shot every year since and have NOT had the flu since.
.
It seems, despite years of education to dispel the confusion, too many people still use the term "flu" for illnesses other than actual influenza, which perpetuates the confusion.
.
sigma, the symptoms you describe sound very much like a stomach virus of some sort...NOT the flu. I had the same thing a few years ago after getting exposed to contaminated water.

No one ever got the flu from the flu vaccine -spray included. No one.

And the people who don't get the vaccine and don't get the flu could still be carriers.

Get the vaccine. Lose the paranoia.

The years I got the flu shot, I got the flu. The years I didn't get the flu shot, I didn't get it. No more shots for me.

JoyM - since you believe every strain is a constant and they are all the same... why dont you eliminate them? Duh... its a constantly evolving virus. I was sick laying down for 10 hours and felt like a knife in my stomach and puked my brains out while laying there sweating. After 10 hours I was 90% better. I dont know if it was the strain it put on me from not sleeping or what but I was pretty dead tired and slept the next 12...didnt eat much so that didnt help me. I was fully better 3 days later but mostly due to lack of sleep and lack of food. But it came on fast and left fast. The recovery took longer.

I never got a flu shot. Lots of people I work with though. All the people that were sick with the flu within a week were people that DID NOT get the shot. Kind of ironic..So my guess the strain does grow inside you long enough for you to develope an imunity to it.....but is it contageous during this time?

i'm saying 20 years ago, about 20% of the medicare eligible seniors got a flu shot, today those rates are above 70% close to 80% of medicare aged seniors getting a flu shot. No matter how you want to try and discredit it, the numbers stand for themselves. and they should speak rather loudly. That huge increase in the absolute numbers of people and the percentages of that "at risk" population, and what is there to show for it? The same in terms of mortality and hospitalization rates for that age group.

moving - absolutely agree. Also include in the at risk population infants who, even if on schedule for their shots, can't get flu shots if they are not at least, what is it, 6 months old? And as for other diseases, they may not have all of their shots yet as some take 2 or 3 doses. So people who do not get shots are not putting just themselves at risk - they are risking the well-being of others.

zdog - do you mean an increase in the percentage of seniors being vaccinated (IE 50 percent used to, now 75 percent do, so 50% increase in percentage) or do you mean 50 percent more against absolute numbers (IE 100,000 used to but now 150,000 do, so 50% increase in absolute numbers)? Because over the last 20 years we have a more rapidly-growing senior population as well as a more-long-lived one, so there are more people in absolute numbers to get the shot, but the rates of which you speak are percentages. Apples and oranges.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...

moving, you should consider your own ignorance for a while. In the past 20 years over 50% more seniors are vaccinated than before and in that time, mortality and hospitalization rates have stayed the SAME. If you want to believe it offers protection, feel free. The data says otherwise.
-
Touched the unlucky doorknob? Influenza is carried on air currents as well. I work around sick people all the time and I breathe the same air. I don't depend on a shot to keep me healthy.
-
GI stress? more ignorance? Yes it is a respiratory illness and yes it can still cause GI stress, especially in children with Type B infections. In adults it's usually an 2ndary opportunistic infection, but none the less, GI distress all the same.

Janesvillian HOW DO YOU say he is spreading a false statement are you an authority or medical Doctor that can prove he is false on this? Every time I received the shot I was infected with the flu So call my statement false as NO ONE AROUND ME HAD IT. Wislady False as to virus in shot.. Flu vaccines (the flu shot and the nasal-spray flu vaccine (LAIV)) cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are in the vaccine. The seasonal flu vaccine protects against three influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Three kinds of influenza viruses commonly circulate among people today: influenza B viruses, influenza A (H1N1) viruses, and influenza A (H3N2) viruses. Each year, one flu virus of each kind is used to produce seasonal influenza vaccine.

I am a firm believer in getting the flu vaccine as long as you're not allergic to it. Not only did my kids and I get the flu 10 years back from not being immunized, we also got the swine flu in 2009 (and we were immunized but not for the H1N1). My husband did not get either one and he had not been immunized either. You just never know when/if you'll get it. With people losing their lives from this flu, I find it a simple thing to do for me and my family to get immunized against it!

There are some folks that cannot get the flu shot due to allergies. Those of you who say that you will never get the shot are part of the problem. This is why serious diseases come back into play (people who fear immunizations)
You can put yourself at risk due to ignorance however my seniors that I care for (some who can't get the shot) are targets because of you. The next argument from you is "Well I never get the flu" I am sure. That is because you just haven't touched that unlucky doorknob yet. And yes...the comment about GI distress-more ignorance. Influenza is a respiratory issue...not related to the trots/vomiting. Its important to educate ourselves so that we can protect those who cannot protect themself.

Can the nasal spray vaccine give you the flu?
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/nasalspr...
Unlike the flu shot, the nasal spray flu vaccine does contain live viruses. However, the viruses are attenuated (weakened) and cannot cause flu illness.
.
Sigma40, please stop spreading this FALSE ANECDOTE. You have no way of knowing what caused the flu outbreak. The VASTLY MORE LIKELY source was someone being infected at home through their own family members. You are just causing some people to question getting the flu shot, which like the nasal spray, CANNONT GIVE YOU THE FLU. It just can't.
.
By repeatedly telling this story you are CAUSING MORE PEOPLE TO GET SICK.

The "nasal spray" method of the flu shot has ACTIVE virus.

The injection form of the flu shot is INACTIVE virus.

10 hours of being sick is not influenza. True influenza lasts for a few to several days. It includes usually respiratory issues and possibly muscle aches and pains with some fever, and usually not vomiting. If you thought it was food poisoning, then presumably you had intestinal distress, which is usually a different kind of bug. Did you have a potluck at work? Was there someone else at work who came to work sick when they should have stayed home and shared the love with all who worked around them? For that matter, one of the people who came in to administer the shots could have been sick and shared.

Sigma--- Interesting. Sounds like the 'active virus' in the shot got you all sick. There is no way I will get this shot, nor will my children. There are far too many cases of exactly what you describe. Glad you got better!

Quite a few people including myself got sick within a week of them coming in to give flu shots...this flu came on in in like 30 min and lasted about 10 hours. I thought it was food poisoning till I went back to work and several others had it too.