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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,540
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I have a serious autoimmune disorder and my specialist, bosrdccertified doctor recommends flu shots for all of his patients. Our immune systems need the boost.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,892
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

@ALRATIBA wrote:

I've been getting email reminders to get a flu shot - and this morning it occurred to me:

 

Why?  We are wearing masks and social distancing.  Why do we need a flu shot?

 

Last year, I was feeling awful for two weeks after the shot - and I've been putting off getting the shot. 

 

There have been a couple of years I got both the flu shot and the (diagnosed by doctor) flu, and the flu didn't last as long as the side-effects of last year's shot.

 

 

 

 

 


Tend to agree about the precautions being taken and the flu this year.  Everyone has to make that choice based on their own situation.  Don't let people bully you into something you are not comfortable with.

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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,801
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@Snowpuppy 

 

Know your facts; the heavy duty shot is not new this year.  It is for those 65 and older and in my opinion everyone should get it unlesss they have a medical reason not to.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,217
Registered: ‎03-09-2010


@Snowpuppy 

"What's new this year is the appearance of a new heavy duty flu shot for those over 65. The marketing is well, more is better!"

-----

Snowpuppy, There has been a special flu shot for folks 65 and over since I turned 65-- maybe before that. I have been getting that shot for 8 years.  


 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,801
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@kaydee50 

 

I would say you have been very lucky.  Ask your doctor; I bet he will say you should definately get it.  The flu can be serious for anyone, especially seniors.  

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,120
Registered: ‎03-29-2019

@ALRATIBA wrote:

I've been getting email reminders to get a flu shot - and this morning it occurred to me:

 

Why?  We are wearing masks and social distancing.  Why do we need a flu shot?

 

Last year, I was feeling awful for two weeks after the shot - and I've been putting off getting the shot. 

 

There have been a couple of years I got both the flu shot and the (diagnosed by doctor) flu, and the flu didn't last as long as the side-effects of last year's shot.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

@ALRATIBA 

 

 

 

 

Precisely because not everybody is wearing a mask, washing hands, and social distancing.

 

 

 

If everybody was, do you think that we would have such a large wave of newly reported Covid cases, and hospitalizations?

 

 

Stop and think about it.

 

 

And if Covid cases are increasing, what makes you think that flu cases won't?

 

 

 

Use common sense.

 

 

 

If you wear a mask, wash hands, and socially distance, getting a flu shot is just one more step in protecting yourself from those who don't  wear a mask, wash hands, and socially distance.

The Sky looks different when you have someone you love up there.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,736
Registered: ‎02-19-2014

Also. Rural hospitals are filling up now due to Covid outbreaks. So if you got the flu and needed to be hospitalized due to pneumonia, there may not be a bed available. Once the hospitals are full, they have to triage and send people home to cope alone, just like what happened in NYC at the height of their outbreak.

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"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,296
Registered: ‎09-18-2010

 

I got the flu shot, I just think its a good idea. What I have been told, is that you can still get the flu with the flu shot, it just won't be as bad.

We have no clue what this winter will bring. I'm taking all the precautions I can. 

 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,458
Registered: ‎06-10-2015

@SilleeMee wrote:

@Wsmom wrote:

 


@Snowpuppy , I am in the same boat so my doctor told me to always be sure it is not the live vaccine (inactivated).

ETA:  Mine is not an autoimmune disorder but medication that makes me have  little immune system.


 

 

 

Flu vaccines do not contain live virus. 


You are correct about the shots, but there is a live attenuated flu vaccine offered in nasal spray form.

 

I should not take live vaccines because of MS (autoimmune disorder), but tolerate the dead stuff very well.

 

I have to wonder about doctors advising people with autoimmune disorders to avoid a flu shot, which was mentioned by another poster. Here's the CDC's guidance: 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult-conditions.html

 

See Table 2. The first line is influenza vaccine. It's apparently recommended for many people with very serious medical problems. Perhaps the doctor's info is out of date.

 

IMO, if you can get the flu, you can get COVID, and vice versa. Protecting yourself from a double whammy only makes sense this year, but that's how it works in my head. If you come to another conclusion, you certainly aren't stupid.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 783
Registered: ‎06-02-2010

The high dose vaccine has been approved for use in the United States since 2009. The adjuvanted flu vaccine is made with an additive that can create a stronger immune response to vaccination.