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Why the flu shot cannot give you the flu (and why you should get one now)

Passepartout

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Went to get mine Thur. morning. they asked if I needed pneumonia too. I said no- I already got it. While waiting for the vaccine to warm, the pharmacist tracked me down and said there was no record of me getting it for 10 years. I asked if there was any risk in re-doing the (Prevnar 13) vax. He said it would just be a booster, so I said I'd go for it. Maybe I got it elsewhere- like at my checkup, but no harm and the worst that can happen is Medicare flags it and I have to pay for it.

Bottom line- I have two sore shoulders instead of just one. The peace-of-mind is worth it.

Jim
 

jtp1947

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Got mine plus second shingles shot, both at Costco.
 

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My 25yo DS became a licensed pharmacist this summer. I told him to take his brother at college for his flu shot....didn't realize he was going to actually GIVE him the flu shot. LOL
 

clifffaith

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Needle phobia coupled with memories of the whole family being sick after getting flu shots in the mid- 1960s, means no shot for me. I did manage to go over twice for the shingles shot, but until I'm forced to get a flu shot when we move to the old folks home, unless some doctor says "as long as you're here..." I won't make an effort to go find someone to immunize me. Reminds me that Cliff is still waiting to be called for his second shingles shot.
 

turkel

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Needle phobia or not please realize you risk your life by not taking the vaccine. As we age and when we are young your risk is much higher to die from the flu.
 

turkel

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My 25yo DS became a licensed pharmacist this summer. I told him to take his brother at college for his flu shot....didn't realize he was going to actually GIVE him the flu shot. LOL

Wow 25 you must be so proud! I know I would be.
 

clifffaith

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I made Cliff call to see if shingles#2 vaccine had arrived, so here we sit at Vons waiting to be poked. No flu for him because no over 65 vaccine available. Since they claim it is free and i’m here, i’m Getting under 65 shot. I expect to be sick all weekend!
 

Beachclubmum

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I made Cliff call to see if shingles#2 vaccine had arrived, so here we sit at Vons waiting to be poked. No flu for him because no over 65 vaccine available. Since they claim it is free and i’m here, i’m Getting under 65 shot. I expect to be sick all weekend!

Hope it's over for you, quick and easy. The started using much smaller needles in the flu shot a couple of years ago, making them almost painless. Wishing you the best. (Go celebrate and splurge with some Tillamook ice cream!)
 

Karen G

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I got my flu shot about a week ago and I get one every year. I did have a strange thing happen within about three hours of getting the shot. I suddenly came down with a bad bad cough. It was the kind of cough I sometimes get after I’ve had a bad cold and it has turned into bronchitis or pneumonia.

However I was able to get to sleep & the next day the cough was gone. In the printed pages they gave me after the shot which described possible side effects it did list sore throat & cough.

I don’t know for sure if that cough was from the flu shot but it was certainly a strange occurrence. It would not prevent me from getting the flu shot next time though.
 

schenriq

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Needle phobia and GBS https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/guillain-barre-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20362793 are the things that keep me from getting the annual flu shot. Granted GBS is rare but a risk is a risk for me. Co-worker's friend got it after a flu shot. Poor dude had to be off-work for a year. I kidded if that ever happened, God forbid, to me, I might have been better off dying with flu since at least I have life insurance. My current life situation is being below the half-century mark and being saddled with mortgage(s) so there is a good chance my opinion might change in the future.
 

easyrider

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Just received the email for the flu shot. Doctor told me to get the shingles shot last May. I called and found out it is two shots now. I should get the pneumonia shot too. I wonder if I should them all at once ? Probably not from what I read online. Maybe so from what I'm told. Not a fan of the shot unless its in a shot glass.

Bill
 

Passepartout

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Just received the email for the flu shot. Doctor told me to get the shingles shot last May. I called and found out it is two shots now. I should get the pneumonia shot too. I wonder if I should them all at once ? Probably not from what I read online. Maybe so from what I'm told. Not a fan of the shot unless its in a shot glass.
I'm not a pharmacist, but my experience last week was that you can get flu and pneumonia shots at the same time (see post 3). There is a time lag between the 2 shingles shots, so get one after the tenderness from the other two passes. I did find that it was wise to get the shingles shot from a pharmacy that does quite a few of them. I got my first one, then when it was time for the second shot, I checked several times and they were out of vaccine. So I went to my doc (at the hospital clinic) and they had it. Same stuff so it doesn't matter where you get it.

It gives you confidence to travel to places where immunizations are not as common as at home.

Jim
 

amycurl

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I got mine at Target a few weeks ago because, hey, that $5 gift card isn't going to spend itself, LOL! Last year, we got them from a congregational nurse at our Quaker meeting. In previous years, we've gotten them from the local health dept. My daughter now gets hers from her peds doctor, as her annual appointment is usually in the Oct-Dec time frame. I do try to make sure we're all vaccinated before my 74 year old mother arrives to spend most of the winter in NC.
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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You pays your money and makes your choice. . .

As an old microbiology major (Univ. of Texas 1979), I have never been sold on the flu vaccine, as it has existed over the last 50 years. It is not broad spectrum, and there is no guarantee the selected strains use for the year will match up with what is out there.

(As a cynical old geezer, I suspect the the flu vaccine acts as an anti-selection agent. I.E. it protect against the strains it was designed for, so the only strains getting passed around are the ones you <aren't> protected from.)
 

Passepartout

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You pays your money and makes your choice. . .

As an old microbiology major (Univ. of Texas 1979), I have never been sold on the flu vaccine, as it has existed over the last 50 years. It is not broad spectrum, and there is no guarantee the selected strains use for the year will match up with what is out there.

(As a cynical old geezer, I suspect the the flu vaccine acts as an anti-selection agent. I.E. it protect against the strains it was designed for, so the only strains getting passed around are the ones you <aren't> protected from.)
So, is your strategy to not get ANY flu vaccine, since you can't be assured that the vaccine offered might not be effective on the exact strain you might be exposed to? I'll take my chances that the epidemiologists who make the 'educated guess' on which strain to guard against in the annual batch, are more likely than I am to at least get close, and worst case, reduce the severity of whatever flu strain gets passed around.
 

clifffaith

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So the question this morning is: Did I get a third shingles shot, and did Cliff get a flu shot? I watched the pharmacist very carefully make sure to give him the vaccine in one tray, and me from the other, and double check what she was doing, but of course I didn't see her prepare the trays behind the closed door into the pharmacy. While playing cards last night in our 72 degree kitchen, he got up to get a jacket, but didn't say what he was doing. I had already delivered coffee to our friends, and sat back down because it was my turn, and asked Cliff to bring our cups when he came back to the kitchen. Big mistake! He left a trail of coffee from the counter to the table because his hands were shaking so badly! He spent the rest of the evening alternating 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off with severe chills and shaking. We took his temp and it was normal, so we finished our game. Don't know if he got the wrong vaccine, had a reaction to the right vaccine, or had a reaction between his still-not-healed-and-still-infected hand surgery (squamous cell carcinoma removed 4 weeks ago) and the introduction of a vaccine. He slept 12 hours and seems fine this morning.
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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Like I said - you pays your money and makes your choice. I have nothing against people getting flu shots. I don't, and I stated my reason why.

I know a broad spectrum flu vaccine is under development. I'll take that one, if it successfully comes out. (Monday I'll be taking a MMR. I check my Measles titre, and my immunity had disappeared.)
 

controller1

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So the question this morning is: Did I get a third shingles shot, and did Cliff get a flu shot? I watched the pharmacist very carefully make sure to give him the vaccine in one tray, and me from the other, and double check what she was doing, but of course I didn't see her prepare the trays behind the closed door into the pharmacy. While playing cards last night in our 72 degree kitchen, he got up to get a jacket, but didn't say what he was doing. I had already delivered coffee to our friends, and sat back down because it was my turn, and asked Cliff to bring our cups when he came back to the kitchen. Big mistake! He left a trail of coffee from the counter to the table because his hands were shaking so badly! He spent the rest of the evening alternating 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off with severe chills and shaking. We took his temp and it was normal, so we finished our game. Don't know if he got the wrong vaccine, had a reaction to the right vaccine, or had a reaction between his still-not-healed-and-still-infected hand surgery (squamous cell carcinoma removed 4 weeks ago) and the introduction of a vaccine. He slept 12 hours and seems fine this morning.

If Cliff has chills and perhaps a low-grade fever for a couple of days then he probably received the second Shingrx shot. That's what happened to me. Look up the side effects for Shingrx. They are not low probability.
 

clifffaith

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If Cliff has chills and perhaps a low-grade fever for a couple of days then he probably received the second Shingrx shot. That's what happened to me. Look up the side effects for Shingrx. They are not low probability.

I Googled and shared with Cliff -- thanks!
 

easyrider

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My wife and I both took the shingles vaccine today. I also took a flu shot in the other arm. I feel fine and my wife has a very sore back. Its odd because the shot was in her left upper arm but her back at the bottom of her shoulder is sore.

We will see how this goes. I think I'm not going to have any problem but I might be taking my wife to the ER if her pain gets worse.

Bill
 
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