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Don’t Let These Myths Scare You Away From a Flu Shot

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What do you expect from gamers? Anything less than 85% is not worth getting.

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We wish we could get to 70%

And yeah, pretty random

This is dumb logic to me. It's like saying "There's no guarantee wearing a seatbelt will save my life!"

But it can. And the detriment to wearing one is nearly null. So why wouldn't you want an extra layer of protection just incase?
 
The "it's just a coin flip" argument is poorly thought out. Let's say efficacy is 30%. That means 30 out of 100 people who would have otherwise gotten the flu don't get it. Whereas 100 out of 100 people who didn't get the shot and are infected will get sick.

To put it in gamer terms: let's say you're playing a video game and all you have is one-handed weapons. Your choices are to wear a shield that deflects 30% of incoming hits, or to wear nothing at all and do nothing with that hand. Do you wear the shield or not?
 

taybul

Member
I've been working out regularly for some time and I notice I've been getting sick less throughout the year. Not sure if they're correlated but I skipped out on a shot last year and didn't get the flu, especially with living and commuting in NYC.

What do you expect from gamers? Anything less than 85% is not worth getting.

Except if you're a certain tactic turn-based shooter with that as your accuracy and your next 3 shots still miss but I digress...
 
I got them when I was helping take care of my grandparents, because I didn't want to get the flu and give it to one of them, but now that I live alone, I'm not worried about it. It would suck getting the flu, but im not concerned about dying as a 34-year old man.
 

Famassu

Member
No, and I never do.

50% isn't great odds, I haven't caught the flu in many years anyway, and the shot can have some adverse side effects (muscle stiffness and cold-like symptoms).

You'd be better off just washing your hands more frequently.
If you won't get it for yourself, get it for others in risk groups that might come to harm because of your lazy ass.
 

Copenap

Member
That is not how vaccines work.
https://youtu.be/wnBMwPcRbVE
On mobile and so on...

What do you mean, could you please elaborate without a video?

Edit: Since this thread took a weird turn, I am 100% pro vaccine, I'm just not getting flu shots every year because the hassle of doing this is not worth it to me as I never was affectec much by the flu (as I said, once in 30 years). It's not about the shot not beeing 100%, it's about not getting the flu without shot anyways.
 

DJ_Lae

Member
I don't have the exact stats offhand but there's a lot of planning that goes into the rollout of a flu vaccine, even outside of picking the strains.

I believe Alberta spent $4 million in the past year buying vaccines, and I think immunization rates were up - over a thousand people ended up in hospital from the flu. 50 people died from it (only a couple of those had been immunized). It's been higher in previous years, so I'd say that's $4m well spent.

The part that baffles me the most is that the immunization target in healthcare is only 80%. Granted, there are some who do not deal directly with patients but I know there are still doctors and nurses and other front care staff who are not getting the flu vaccine and even if they don't think it will help themselves, they're potentially harming their patients.
 

Spyware

Member
Yeah I'll get it for the fourth time. After having to go to the ER three years in a row at new years because I couldn't breathe I decided enough was enough and I rather live :p
I still get the flu pretty much every year but I've never been nearly as sick as I was before I started getting the vaccination.
My SO gets it to keep me safer too. Probably gonna ask my brother to get it too if he's gonna visit during the flu season this year. He usually gets it when travelling here and I seem get it from him.
It's cheap as heck here in Sweden and a simple way to keep a bunch of people from dying.
 

Suikoguy

I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
I wonder if getting the flu shot yearly can help train your immune system to be better prepared for epidemics like the bird or other flu?
 

Izayoi

Banned
Anti-vaxxers make me sick... Literally. They make everyone more sick.

Vaccines should not be optional unless you are immunocompromised.

Absolutely disgusting behavior. Working healthcare in a wealthy area and having kids come in for diseases that should have been eradicated decades ago is infuriating, to say the least.

Get your fucking flu shot. You are risking the lives of others by abstaining.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
working with Influenza A requires biosafety level 3 because of aerosol transmission

washing your hands alone will not prevent you from getting it.

Get outa here with your science Ryuukan.

Healing crystals don't fail me now!
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
I normally want to get one, but forget, or when i don't forget I don't have time to go. It's been few years since I got one.

So I usually end up not breathing around people that cough - that doesn't work so bad for me actually.
 

Jay Sosa

Member
I wonder if getting the flu shot yearly can help train your immune system to be better prepared for epidemics like the bird or other flu?

I think it's rather the opposite I'm not against vaccination but flu shots? Yeah, no.

I mean it's the fucking flu, you stay in bed for a few days and that's it. It's not like it's some deadly disease or anything.
 
Y'all people still believe in dem myths, huh? I do like the disclaimer of you not being anti-vaxxer but when it comes to the flu shot, "I'll take my chances".
I haven't had good experiences with flu shots. I get sick when I get the shot, and then I get sick again a few weeks later anyways. But it seems like I got them when they were less effective?

No, and I never do.

50% isn't great odds, I haven't caught the flu in many years anyway, and the shot can have some adverse side effects (muscle stiffness and cold-like symptoms).

You'd be better off just washing your hands more frequently.

I can't seem to catch to flu. Even kissed a girl with the flu and still couldn't catch it. So I never saw the point of getting a flu shot.

Nope. I'm apparently one of the few that's allergic to them according to my doctor. But I haven't had the flu since I was a kid.

I don't, I rarely get sick. Maybe once a year at most, if not for every three years.

Never gotten one. Mostly because Myth number 2. I am invincible it seems.

In 30 years I had the flu once so it's just not worth it to me.

[KoRp]Jazzman;218407190 said:
Never gone for one, but I also haven't been sick in about 3 years, and I think i have only had the flu maybe twice in my life (usually just minor cold symptoms).

Kids and the elderly should for sure though as it can definitely cause complications.

I never got flu shots until 2 years ago when work would bring someone in to give everyone free shots. Got the shots. Got sick. I'm not getting the shots again.

No, last time I had one I was probably in high school which was years ago. The only time I get sick is when my wife is and it's weird. Anyone else can be sick and I can be around them but when my wife gets sick I will eventually catch it.

I'll usually take my chances. I'm no anti vaxxer but the effectiveness seems so random.

Haven't had a flu shot since my freshman year of college, which was way back in 2000.

The last time I actually had the flu? You guessed it: 2000.

Haven't had either since.

I have never had the flu shot (well since I was in college in 2009).

...and I've never had the flu.

So...yeah.

I got them when I was helping take care of my grandparents, because I didn't want to get the flu and give it to one of them, but now that I live alone, I'm not worried about it. It would suck getting the flu, but im not concerned about dying as a 34-year old man.

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Maybe time to read the article? :p
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
I think it's rather the opposite I'm not against vaccination but flu shots? Yeah, no.

I mean it's the fucking flu, you stay in bed for a few days and that's it. It's not like it's some deadly disease or anything.

Bro........
 

Joni

Member
I don't come into contact with young or old people so I tend to skip this one. But I don't usually get hit hard even when I have the flu. Last one was Mexican and that was two days fever.
 
I got my first flu shot since I was a child this year since my wife and I are expecting twins in late December/early January. Normally I wouldn't, as the only time I had the flu was in 2009 when I got the swine flu, which left me with an improved immunity. I've also got a genetic boost, neither my father or grandfather have ever had the flu and have never been vaccinated and my great grandfather for the Spanish Flu in 1918 as a young child but recovered rapidly.
 
Guys, don't let anyone in this thread try to bully you into taking the shot. I work in a very busy emergency room. I don't get the flu shot and I haven't gotten the flu since 2009 when I was forced to take the flu shot. It's personal preference.
 

KrellRell

Member
Pretty much this.

Never the shot, never had the flu. Never saw the point.

People are telling you the point. It's to protect others who are at risk, like seniors and infants. You can carry it, pass it along without ever getting sick.
 

ced

Member
Guys, don't let anyone in this thread try to bully you into taking the shot. I work in a very busy emergency room. I don't get the flu shot and I haven't gotten the flu since 2009 when I was forced to take the flu shot. It's personal preference.

There is so much wrong with this I'm not sure where to begin.
 

witness

Member
I work in credentialing for healthcare professionals. The number that give us pushback and don't want to get the flu vaccine yearly is shocking. These are fucking nurses working in big hospital all over the country that don't want to get one (we make them anyway as part of our corporate policy). It really blows my mind ever year.
 
Guys, don't let anyone in this thread try to bully you into taking the shot. I work in a very busy emergency room. I don't get the flu shot and I haven't gotten the flu since 2009 when I was forced to take the flu shot. It's personal preference.

I work in credentialing for healthcare professionals. The number that give us pushback and don't want to get the flu vaccine yearly is shocking. These are fucking nurses working in big hospital all over the country that don't want to get one (we make them anyway as part of our corporate policy). It really blows my mind ever year.

Ha

Thisisneohealthcare.gif
 
Y'all people still believe in dem myths, huh? I do like the disclaimer of you not being anti-vaxxer but when it comes to the flu shot, "I'll take my chances".

HVCM6rW.gif


Maybe time to read the article? :p

None of those myths have anything to do with my situation, so not sure why you felt the need to include me in that.
 
I am 100 percent in favor of vaccines. For whatever reason, at 34, I've never had a flu shot. I got my first one this year. I think I heard the myth of the shot itself getting you sick, so maybe that scared me. I finally got the shot a few weeks ago. Took it like a champ. Will get them from now on.
 

styl3s

Member
I think it's rather the opposite I'm not against vaccination but flu shots? Yeah, no.

I mean it's the fucking flu, you stay in bed for a few days and that's it. It's not like it's some deadly disease or anything.
Except for the fact people die, someone i know died and i almost died last year. Yes, it's not a fucking pandemic but to write off the flu as a simple cold is absolutely uninformed garbage.

For the longest time i would never get a flu shot because i was one of the assholes who always said "BUT I NEVER GET THE FLU" even said it on GAF until it almost literally fucking killed me last year i ended up in the hospital for almost 2 weeks and that was after about 5 grueling days at home.
 

entremet

Member
None of those myths have anything to do with my situation, so not sure why you felt the need to include me in that.

From the article:

There’s another important reason to get a flu shot, even if you’re healthy. Every person who is susceptible to the flu is a stepping stone the virus can use to reach the elderly and sick. Those people are the most vulnerable to flu complications like pneumonia—and the most likely to die from flu.

Do you live on a solitary island lol.
 
What people often call "the flu" is usually just a harsher than usual cold. Actual flu can be fatal.
Yes, it is a serious thing that can be fatal. But it's mainly very young children, the elderly, and people with other health issues that are at risk of dying from the flu. This CDC page on the flu is in the article OP posted:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/high_risk.htm

"Most people who get the flu will have mild illness, will not need medical care or antiviral drugs, and will recover in less than two weeks."
 

marrec

Banned
I am not getting the flu shot as I am allergic to eggs and the hospitals near me don't offer the tobacco grown vaccine.

So other people please get your flu shot.
 

Syncytia

Member
Some people need to read the article or learn a bit more about the vaccine and how it works.

First, I think we need to start off by acknowledging that efficacy of the vaccine doesn't mean the same thing as the effectiveness of the vaccine. Efficacy is a measure of how well the vaccine protects a population from disease when they are exposed to a pathogen. On an individual level, efficacy varies from person to person depending on their health and other factors. Measuring this with the flu is a little more complicated due to the way the flu vaccine is formulated.

The WHO has a surveillance program that identifies the most common virus strains that are circulating. They select two Influenza A and one Influenza B strain to vaccinate against. Sometimes the surveillance program misses the mark. In other words, there are strains of the influenza virus that the vaccine does not target, therefore the vaccine does not and cannot impart immunity against those strains. This is the reason we see effectiveness sometimes drop into the 20-30% range. Generally effectiveness is in the 50-70% range. This varies (often increased compared to the general population) when looking at certain demographics; elderly, young, HIV+ and other chronic diseases, etc.

As for getting the flu after getting vaccinated... you can but you probably won't. Symptoms of the flu are very general and common in other diseases. Many symptoms of disease are actually mechanisms that our body uses to help fight an infection: increased temperature in an attempt to make a hostile environment for the pathogen, congestion to help expel pathogens from our respiratory pathways, fatigue and soreness are usually symptoms of the immune system at work. You probably were "sick" as your immune system recognized the vaccine antigens and got to work to create antibodies and the cells required for immunological memory.

If you really did get the flu after the shot, you were infected before you got the shot and were going to get sick anyway or you were infected with a strain that the vaccine did not protect against.

I am not getting the flu shot as I am allergic to eggs and the hospitals near me don't offer the tobacco grown vaccine.

So other people please get your flu shot.

And this so much. There are people that can't get vaccinated for a variety of health reasons. My cousin had leukemia and has to get IgG injections every month because he essentially has no immune system left. He can't get vaccinated.
 

WedgeX

Banned
Guys, don't let anyone in this thread try to bully you into taking the shot. I work in a very busy emergency room. I don't get the flu shot and I haven't gotten the flu since 2009 when I was forced to take the flu shot. It's personal preference.

Alright, Influenza Masta.
 
From the article:

There’s another important reason to get a flu shot, even if you’re healthy. Every person who is susceptible to the flu is a stepping stone the virus can use to reach the elderly and sick. Those people are the most vulnerable to flu complications like pneumonia—and the most likely to die from flu.

Do you live on a solitary island lol.

I'm allergic to the shot, so I can't get it. Not one, but two doctors have confirmed this with me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
 

Iorv3th

Member
No, and I never do.

50% isn't great odds, I haven't caught the flu in many years anyway, and the shot can have some adverse side effects (muscle stiffness and cold-like symptoms).

You'd be better off just washing your hands more frequently.

Y'all people still believe in dem myths, huh? I do like the disclaimer of you not being anti-vaxxer but when it comes to the flu shot, "I'll take my chances".

Maybe time to read the article? :p

I am not anti vaccine but don't get the flu shot because I had previously had an allergic reaction to them when I was younger.

However I have never gotten the flu. I don't think i'm at a high risk of getting it as I live in a more rural area and don't really have a dense population of people around me or close to me during the day.
 

Syncytia

Member
I work in credentialing for healthcare professionals. The number that give us pushback and don't want to get the flu vaccine yearly is shocking. These are fucking nurses working in big hospital all over the country that don't want to get one (we make them anyway as part of our corporate policy). It really blows my mind ever year.

There was an outbreak of some antibiotic resistant bacteria in a hospital a few years ago where basically healthcare professionals help to facilitate the spread. All but one person (nurses and doctors) in the unit refused to get tested for this specific bacteria so they could get treatment in case they were infected. It blew my fucking mind. How can you be a healthcare professional and refuse to take action against something you are potentially doing to spread disease among your patients?

Even just thinking about this again I'm getting worked up.
 
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