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Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,984
Registered: ‎10-04-2015
pitdakota wrote:

@Mom2Dogs wrote:

DH and I were just discussing this....why is this virus causing so much panic.    I read a lot of news and have not seen this addressed...and to blame those in charge is just ridiculous in my opninon.


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I don't necessarily agree with that statement.  One can google for articles published back in 2018 in which the CDC was having to cut back on its epidemic prevention programs drastically due to lack of funding.  We had epidemic prevention programs operating in close to 50 countries.  China being one of those countries.

 

There were multiple calls by public health experts at the time trying to highlight the potential impact to the health of Americans that could occur due to cutting these programs.  They were published at the time in Time, Wall Street Journal, etc.  So it is well documented what they were saying at the time.

 

Turns out much of what they were saying is being evidenced now. 

 

 

 This says something different
I had to edit it, for obvious reasons. You'll need to find the article yourself. One of several..
 
AP FACT CHECK:  distorting coronavirus readiness

 

  ....It is wrong to say the agencies have seen their money cut and unprepared for the virus because of “reckless cuts” to the CDC. It did not happen. Budgets had proposed cuts to public health, only to be overruled by Congress, where there’s strong bipartisan support for agencies such as the CDC and NIH. Instead, financing has increased.

 

Indeed, the money that government disease detectives first tapped to fight the latest outbreak was a congressional fund created for health emergencies.

 

Some public health experts say a bigger concern than WH budgets is the steady erosion of a CDC grant program for state and local public health emergency preparedness — the front lines in detecting and battling new disease. But that decline was set in motion by a congressional budget measure that predates the current administration.

 

The broader point about there being “nobody here” to coordinate the response sells short what’s in place to handle an outbreak. The public health system has a playbook to follow for pandemic preparation — regardless of who’s president or whether specific instructions are coming from the WH. Those plans were put into place in anticipation of another flu pandemic, but are designed to work for any respiratory-borne disease.

 

Among the health authorities overseeing the work are Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC’s principal deputy director and a veteran of previous outbreaks, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH’s infectious disease chief who has advised six presidents.

 

“The CDC’s response has been excellent, as it has been in the past,” ...

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,596
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

@happycat wrote:

@on the bay wrote:

@happycat -

He sounds just like my mother!

But she amazingly got over that viral thing faster than any of us! I think she has a strong immune system or something.

I hope your parents stay well!


I am so glad she got over the virus quickly! She must have a strong imune system. My dad says if he stops going, thats when he will really start to go down hill. They got a treadmill and I was hoping that might help with this business of having to run around all the time. Not. 

 

Thank you, I hope your family is done with illnesses also. 


@happycat 

How old is your dad?  He sounds like me - I’d go nuts if I had to stick around the house all day. 

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." Jimmy Buffett
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,296
Registered: ‎09-18-2010

@shoesnbags wrote:

@happycat wrote:

@on the bay wrote:

@happycat -

He sounds just like my mother!

But she amazingly got over that viral thing faster than any of us! I think she has a strong immune system or something.

I hope your parents stay well!


I am so glad she got over the virus quickly! She must have a strong imune system. My dad says if he stops going, thats when he will really start to go down hill. They got a treadmill and I was hoping that might help with this business of having to run around all the time. Not. 

 

Thank you, I hope your family is done with illnesses also. 


@happycat 

How old is your dad?  He sounds like me - I’d go nuts if I had to stick around the house all day. 


@shoesnbags, he is 83. And we are blessed to still have him.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 531
Registered: ‎07-02-2011

I have not read all of the posts so this may be redundant!  But I was just on a task force on coronavirus and I guess I will get on my soapbox. <Eyeroll.>

 

Just a couple of points about the flu shot and the rationale for not getting one "because you can still catch the flu".  I was speaking to an infectious disease physician the other day.  The point is not that getting a flu shot will totally protect you from the flu.  We all know it does not. The point is that if you DO get the flu your chance of dying from it and its complications is drastically reduced. And yes you should get one, if not for you then for others you might infect. Hate me, whatever.  Any ID doc will agree.

 

And again, nobody should be in a panic about coronavirus but people should respect it and follow CDC advice. The fact that so many do not take the flu seriously is one reason why the markets may be skittish as the thought is that many will also blow off precautions for coronavirus.  And yes coronavirus has a lower death rate (won't matter if it is you though) BUT it is very contagious AND the rate of needing intensive care with intubation/respirators etc is relatively high.  It really would not take many people our age sick with it and/or complications from the flu to overwhelm your local hospitals and limited ICU beds. And if you have coronavirus with pneumonia you will be in serious trouble if your hospital does not have an intensive care bed for you.  

 

For those of you on chronic medications please see if you can get a 3-month supply or at least fill your prescriptions as soon as your refill window opens up.  The FDA is looking into medication disruptions as certain drug components in the supply chain are sourced from China.  My husband and made our trips to the pharmacy yesterday.

 

So I understand the overabundance of caution on this issue. Better safe than sorry.  I hope it is overblown and the virus mutates to a less virulent form/goes away but these things are unpredictable.  Best to prepare and then be pleasantly surprised.  

 

Having said that I am planning to visit NYC this week to visit friends and family.  But I will be bringing sanitizer and washing my hands a lot!!! So I do not live in fear but I will be very careful and will probably reduce travel and large events for a while. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,402
Registered: ‎08-31-2019

@haddon9 I'm sorry to hear your husband's struggles with an autoimmune disease. It's not unusual to restrict certain vaccines for these folks. I am glad you shared that we needn't judge those who object to the flu vaccine, without knowledge of their personal issues.  

 

You're right.  No medications, or immunizations are 100% safe.  I know I saw cases of Guillain-Barre in the mid seventies linked to that particular flu preparation, that has left me a bit nervous every year since. Although less likely now, it can still happen not only with flu immunizations. And, like with anything else, there can be serious allergies. 

 

Wherever immunizations are provided, prior history should be required.  I know mine is rather lengthy about health history and current status.  If you identify a possible problem, you will not be getting your shot. Those who are immunosuppressed need to receive their immunizations only from their PCP, not their local grocery store pharmacy. It's serious business.

 

I had an example of the negative effects of immunizations with my beloved 130 lb., Shiloh Shepherd.  I took him in for routine annual coverage.  Within one week he began to appear ill.  Long story, short, he developed Immune Mediated Helolytic Anemia from the immunizations.  This is not uncommon, AND, can happen with people, too. The injects caused his immune system to begin to destroy his blood cells and their ability to carry oxygen. It was horrible. I was told I could transfuse, but it would only be temporary, as those cells would be destroyed, too. I lost my beautiful dog from trying to make sure he was protected from illness.  I never would have imagined I was killing him, with kindness.  I still have such guilt, when it wasn't my fault. 

 

So, yeah, anything we ingest, inject, inhale, etc., other than what is optimally natural and healthy for us, can be perceived as a toxin, throwing our sensitive immune system into high drive, if not chaos. We just have to weigh the pros and cons individually.  We're surrounded by risks daily.  Some are worth taking, some not.  

 

Very best to you and yours.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,305
Registered: ‎06-08-2016

The stock market is reacting to the reactions.

Quarantine entire towns, no one goes to work, factories don't run, etc.

 

Getting the flu vaccine does not guarantee you won't get the flu but if you do, it should be a mild case, in other words one you can survive.

 

Like another poster mentioned, since I started getting a flu shot about 10 years ago.  I had never had the flu, still haven't had it & my colds, if I get any are mild.

 

I didn't read any links to statistics on people who die from the flu but I assume it's mostly the elderly and well yeah they are going to die soon anyway, so what.   I think we've become desensitized to the idea that there will be many deaths from the flu every year.  We assume they didn't get their shot, oh well.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 767
Registered: ‎08-30-2010

I have gotten the flu shot for quite a number of years now. 

last year I got the flu shot and then developed thyroiditis as a result of the shot.

I was nervous about getting it this year but I got the shot.

Better to have some protection than none.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,168
Registered: ‎03-14-2010
I had to spend two weeks in the hospital years ago with a horrible case of the flu...never knew it could be that severe....have had the flu shot every year since then.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,844
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@BlueFinch   I am so sorry to hear about your dog!  I know how heartbreaking it is to lose a beloved pet before its time.  My own Kayli got sick when she was seven years old and suddenly passed away.  To make matters worse you were only trying to do what you thought was the best thing.

 

I only want people to understand that some decide not to vaccinate not because they are "anti-vaxxers" but are concerned like everyone else about good health. 

 

One needs to make informed decisions for personal health choices and weigh the pros and cons for each individual.  All medications (including vaccines) can have detrimental side effects along with the good.

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,488
Registered: ‎04-18-2013

@tansy wrote:

 


@sidsmom wrote:

Things that make you go hummmm:

 

I heard a medical commentator say any number of our Flu deaths

this year could have been COVID-19 but we didn't have a test for it.

There's so much we don't know about it up until now.

Anything is possible.


I hadn't thought of that but it's certainly plausible.


@tansy 

 

Except that if these deaths were counted as deaths from the flu then those people would have been tested for the flu and confirmed as having the flu.

 

If they were from another virus (COVID-19 being one) then they wouldn't have been counted as flu deaths.  Deaths, sure, but not flu deaths.