[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by suesiegel

First of all we will be getting a flu shot.

As we all know, flu is a virus so it rapidly changes. Invariably, after we take the shot they report OOPS, the current vaccine is only ///% effective. You should get a sheet as to what they delivered. I'm not certain if they all deliver the same shot or if you can look for a particular one.

If, I recall, it takes four weeks after the shot to develop as much immunity as you will get from the shot and then it does fall off-the reason why if you decide to get a flu shot you need to get it every year.

Today, we have far better medical car and we are not living in trenches BUT, more people died from the flu in WWI then died from all combat injuries.

First of all, getting a flu shot every year is great advice, especially for those over 50. And for the record, since this myth recurs every year, YOU CANNOT GET THE FLU FROM A FLU SHOT. PERIOD. NOT POSSIBLE. The worst thing you get from a flu shot is a sore arm for a day or two.

Second, the strain of influenza doesn't really "rapidly change", although it is different each year. The OOPS is a result of CDC missing a strain. Each spring they send out teams to SE Asia, Australia, China etc. to get nasal samples from the population, then they "predict" , usually 3 strains they expect to hit the US in the winter. Over the summer the vaccine manufacturer's produce this trivalent vaccine (sometimes it is quadravalent and even pentavalent) and then it is distributed in August. All our vaccine is manufactured in Europe, the last American pharmaceutical house to make the vaccine, Wyeth, stopped making it in 1997 having essentially been put out of the vaccine business by lawyers (and idiotic juries). This process is not 100% foolproof, hence the OOPS. The last OOPS, about 6 years ago, was a strain of swine flu that did not emerge until April in Mexico, so it was too late to include it in the mix. Other times they just "guess" wrong. Overall, they do the best job possible

Thirdly, millions died in the 1918-19 flu pandemic, but most of the deaths were due to secondary pneumonia in the pre-antibiotic era. The same epidemic today would have a far lower death toll.

[Bjeanj]

I thought Prevnar was for pneumonia; not a flu shot.

[champion6]

Originally Posted by red tail

let me rephrase the question. are there any known problems with getting the prevnar 13 shot twice within a 3 year period?

This drives me crazy. It's misleading and is potentially dangerous. We have a thread about the flu shot and someone asks about the pneumonia shot.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Anytime after mid August is fine.

Pardon me GE do you know if there is a Special Villages Blend of Vaccine that treats the flu, parking, rushing, etc, etc, etc.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

I thought Prevnar was for pneumonia; not a flu shot.

Prevnar is NOT a flu shot. It is specifically a vaccine against 13 common strains of pneumococcal pneumonia. The manufacturer recommends it after age 50, the insurance companies might not cover it until age 60, and Medicare generally covers it fully.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Nucky

Pardon me GE do you know if there is a Special Villages Blend of Vaccine that treats the flu, parking, rushing, etc, etc, etc.

I think that vaccine is supposed to cover exposure to dog poop, getting passed by a faster golf cart, immunity against those who save seats, slow golfers who don't care for the course, and anything else deemed to be the fault of "the developer". Sadly, it is currently in phase 1 drug trials and unlikely to be available until after January, 2092.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

I think that vaccine is supposed to cover exposure to dog poop, getting passed by a faster golf cart, immunity against those who save seats, slow golfers who don't care for the course, and anything else deemed to be the fault of "the developer". Sadly, it is currently in phase 1 drug trials and unlikely to be available until after January, 2092.

Just after BuildOut. Thank You!

[pklein9747]

Got mine at Publix last night! Get one every year and since I'll be traveling up north next month and then on a cruise, it made sense to get it ASAP.

[Railcruiser]

Same for us. Traveling over the next two months so we got ours before we left. We also donated a gift card to someone who needed them since we would be away. If we were going to be home I don't think we would be so generous

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Nucky

Just after BuildOut. Thank You!

Now THAT was funny.

[pqrstar]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

. . . The worst thing you get from a flu shot is a sore arm for a day or two. . . .

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vacc...llainbarre.htm

Guillain-Barré syndrome and Flu Vaccine

"On very rare occasions, they may develop GBS in the days or weeks after getting a vaccination."

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by pqrstar

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vacc...llainbarre.htm

Guillain-Barré syndrome and Flu Vaccine

"On very rare occasions, they may develop GBS in the days or weeks after getting a vaccination."

Highly, highly unlikely since influenza vaccine is a dead virus vaccine. There is a small risk of GBS with live attenuated viral vaccines

From the source you cited: "The link between GBS and flu vaccination in other years is unclear, and IF there is any risk for GBS after seasonal flu vaccines it is very small, about one in a million. *Studies suggest that it is more likely that a person will get GBS after getting the flu than after vaccination. It is important to keep in mind that severe illness and death are associated with influenza, and vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza infection and its complications."

[asianthree]

We are required to get flu shots at work. I am exempt do to severe reaction, so haven't had one in 12 years. I am exposed to 100 plus people a day in close quarters, and yet have never had the flu, knock on wood. Just lucky I guess, because everyone else has some type of flu strain the entire season.

[Fraugoofy]

...

[CFrance]

I hope you and asianthree never get it, fraugoofy. I never got the shot either, until I got the flu in 1996. I don't remember ever being that sick before in my life. It was three weeks before I could stand up for very long, much less get out of bed. Mostly moving from bed to couch. I never took a vitamin either. After that I started taking Super Nutrition Women's Calcium Blend and began getting a flu shot. I haven't had even a cold since, much less the flu. ( Knock on wood.)