^ 3/4 US flu shots ineffective

[Luddly Neddite]

More than three quarters of US flu shots ineffective: Report
5 Hours AgoReuters


Getty Images

Touro Medical School student Caitlin Harris administers a flu vaccine to a person in a car during a drive-thru flu shot clinic at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, Calif., Nov. 6, 2014.

More than three-quarters of Americans who got this season's flu shot could get the virus anyway, given a mismatch between the flu strains covered by the shot and those actually causing illness in people, U.S. officials said.


An interim CDC report found the shot was only 23 percent effective overall, a performance about in line with what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted last year, experts said. At the time, CDC warned that the predominant flu virus, influenza A (H3N2), had "drifted" or changed genetically since the shot was made.


Effectiveness varies widely by age, working best in young, healthy people and least well in the elderly, a pattern reflected in the report released Thursday.

More at the link.

I've never had either a flu or a pneumonia vaccine and not going to start now.

 

[Pogo]

Me neither. The whole thing smacks a bit of the chemical pesticide craze in the '50s.

 

[Toro]

I never had a flu shot until last year.

I haven't been sick since.

 

[Montrovant]

I think flu shots are more important for those particularly susceptible rather than your average healthy adult. But with the constant changes in the prevalent flu, deciding which to stockpile vaccine for seems like a bit of a crap shoot. I really don't know what method is used to figure out which strain is likely to be most common in a given year.

 

[Treeshepherd]

I have specific adapted resistance to local strains of the flu. The flu shot is imported from far.

My antibodies are better suited, having not been artificially stimulated to adapt to whatever strains the authorities chose. Also, because my antibodies have not been hyper-specialized by the shot, they're better suited to adapt to unforeseen strains.

If you have naturally developed anti-bodies, it's like as if you were a football team with a base defense, but game planned for the teams in your division. The flu shot is like a defense that looks at the entire league and designs a blitz package accordingly. It can backfire.

That's not 100% technically accurate, but a good analogy.

And the 25% protection docs are citing can be attributed to the placebo effect.

Not to mention, flu shots contain pig gelatin, preservatives and other nasty stuff.

Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness

 

[depotoo]

Yeah, it sucks when you get the flu after getting the shot. Husband got the shot, I didn't. We both have the flu. Worst flu I ever had was after getting the shot. Bad this time, but still worse that time.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Yeah, it sucks when you get the flu after getting the shot. Husband got the shot, I didn't. We both have the flu. Worst flu I ever had was after getting the shot. Bad this time, but still worse that time.

Ironically,
I had a day of aches, headaches and congestion, followed by a week of coughing. First time in 10 years I've been sick. Drank aloe water, had some herbal tinctures. Drank a lot of tea. Rested. One of my techniques is to wear heavy clothes to bed, drink tons of water and do a sweat purge. Absolutely no reason to visit a doctor and spread my germs in the germ-infested clinic.

If I'd had the flu shot, and I actually believed in it, I suppose I could have benefited from a placebo effect. The actual medicine wouldn't have helped.

 

[Roadrunner]

I never had a flu shot until last year.

I haven't been sick since.

Shingles is what got me in.

I saw those TV commercials, and having had extremely bad chicken pox, went in for the shingles shot.

Got the pneumonia shot, and flu shot too, while I was there.

I don't think I could handle the shingles; that commercial just freaked me out.

 

[Roadrunner]

I have specific adapted resistance to local strains of the flu. The flu shot is imported from far.

My antibodies are better suited, having not been artificially stimulated to adapt to whatever strains the authorities chose. Also, because my antibodies have not been hyper-specialized by the shot, they're better suited to adapt to unforeseen strains.

If you have naturally developed anti-bodies, it's like as if you were a football team with a base defense, but game planned for the teams in your division. The flu shot is like a defense that looks at the entire league and designs a blitz package accordingly. It can backfire.

That's not 100% technically accurate, but a good analogy.

And the 25% protection docs are citing can be attributed to the placebo effect.

Not to mention, flu shots contain pig gelatin, preservatives and other nasty stuff.

Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness

Best thing is avoid people.

I go to town about every 10 days for food, fuel, etc, and make it quick.

I try to go at odd times, to avoid lines and crowds.

Too many people run around sick, hacking and coughing like they want everyone to share their misery.

No vaccine can cover all of that crap.

 

[depotoo]

Yeah, lot's of hot tea with lime and honey and also coconut water here.

Yeah, it sucks when you get the flu after getting the shot. Husband got the shot, I didn't. We both have the flu. Worst flu I ever had was after getting the shot. Bad this time, but still worse that time.

Ironically,
I had a day of aches, headaches and congestion, followed by a week of coughing. First time in 10 years I've been sick. Drank aloe water, had some herbal tinctures. Drank a lot of tea. Rested. One of my techniques is to wear heavy clothes to bed, drink tons of water and do a sweat purge. Absolutely no reason to visit a doctor and spread my germs in the germ-infested clinic.

If I'd had the flu shot, and I actually believed in it, I suppose I could have benefited from a placebo effect. The actual medicine wouldn't have helped.

 

[depotoo]

Dear, sweet 3 yr old granddaughter gave it to us. Fortunately, she got over it fairly quickly. Her's started with a slight cough, then fever a couple of days later. The cough was enough to give it to us.

I have specific adapted resistance to local strains of the flu. The flu shot is imported from far.

My antibodies are better suited, having not been artificially stimulated to adapt to whatever strains the authorities chose. Also, because my antibodies have not been hyper-specialized by the shot, they're better suited to adapt to unforeseen strains.

If you have naturally developed anti-bodies, it's like as if you were a football team with a base defense, but game planned for the teams in your division. The flu shot is like a defense that looks at the entire league and designs a blitz package accordingly. It can backfire.

That's not 100% technically accurate, but a good analogy.

And the 25% protection docs are citing can be attributed to the placebo effect.

Not to mention, flu shots contain pig gelatin, preservatives and other nasty stuff.

Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness

Best thing is avoid people.

I go to town about every 10 days for food, fuel, etc, and make it quick.

I try to go at odd times, to avoid lines and crowds.

Too many people run around sick, hacking and coughing like they want everyone to share their misery.

No vaccine can cover all of that crap.

 

[Treeshepherd]

I never had a flu shot until last year.

I haven't been sick since.

Shingles is what got me in.

I saw those TV commercials, and having had extremely bad chicken pox, went in for the shingles shot.

Got the pneumonia shot, and flu shot too, while I was there.

I don't think I could handle the shingles; that commercial just freaked me out.

If you feel like you're especially susceptible to shingles, well, you gotta do what you think is best. That's really what I espouse~ people should be experts on their own selves and act accordingly. We live in an age where we have unprecedented access to information, and we automatically shouldn't act on the word of a doctor who sees you for 15 minutes, or a TV medical expert who is paid primarily via pharmaceutical ads.

They always show the most horrific cases in the chicken pox and shingles ads. The shingles vaccine is 51% effective, if the CDC is to be believed, and you need a booster every 3 years. But, the vaccine has only been out since @ 2007, so who really knows?


"What are the possible side effects of ZOSTAVAX (shingles vac.)?
The most common side effects that people in the clinical studies reported after receiving the vaccine
include:
redness, pain, itching, swelling, hard lump,
warmth, or bruising where the shot was given.
headache

The following additional side effects have been reported with ZOSTAVAX:
allergic reactions, which may be serious and may include difficulty in breathing or swallowing. If
you have an allergic reaction, call your doctor right away.
chickenpox
fever
hives at the injection site
joint pain
muscle pain
nausea
rash
rash at the injection site
shingles
swollen glands near the injection site (that may last a few days to a few weeks)"

 

[Roadrunner]

Dear, sweet 3 yr old granddaughter gave it to us. Fortunately, she got over it fairly quickly. Her's started with a slight cough, then fever a couple of days later. The cough was enough to give it to us.

I have specific adapted resistance to local strains of the flu. The flu shot is imported from far.

My antibodies are better suited, having not been artificially stimulated to adapt to whatever strains the authorities chose. Also, because my antibodies have not been hyper-specialized by the shot, they're better suited to adapt to unforeseen strains.

If you have naturally developed anti-bodies, it's like as if you were a football team with a base defense, but game planned for the teams in your division. The flu shot is like a defense that looks at the entire league and designs a blitz package accordingly. It can backfire.

That's not 100% technically accurate, but a good analogy.

And the 25% protection docs are citing can be attributed to the placebo effect.

Not to mention, flu shots contain pig gelatin, preservatives and other nasty stuff.

Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness

Best thing is avoid people.

I go to town about every 10 days for food, fuel, etc, and make it quick.

I try to go at odd times, to avoid lines and crowds.

Too many people run around sick, hacking and coughing like they want everyone to share their misery.

No vaccine can cover all of that crap.

I taught for years in a 3 year to eighth grade school.

Slimy little fuckers kept me sick for years.

Pink eye was the biggest pain, little high fivin' fuckers spread it like wildfire.

Thank God I never got ringworm, scabies or head lice.

Or AIDS, for that matter, I once got bit by two girls at once, but, that was in Alternative School.

 

[depotoo]

Yeah she has cousins she was with that go to daycare and her other grandma works with the school. They bring stuff to her quite often as they see each other several times a week.Anytime anyone over there is sick I dread what she is bringing over next.

Dear, sweet 3 yr old granddaughter gave it to us. Fortunately, she got over it fairly quickly. Her's started with a slight cough, then fever a couple of days later. The cough was enough to give it to us.

I have specific adapted resistance to local strains of the flu. The flu shot is imported from far.

My antibodies are better suited, having not been artificially stimulated to adapt to whatever strains the authorities chose. Also, because my antibodies have not been hyper-specialized by the shot, they're better suited to adapt to unforeseen strains.

If you have naturally developed anti-bodies, it's like as if you were a football team with a base defense, but game planned for the teams in your division. The flu shot is like a defense that looks at the entire league and designs a blitz package accordingly. It can backfire.

That's not 100% technically accurate, but a good analogy.

And the 25% protection docs are citing can be attributed to the placebo effect.

Not to mention, flu shots contain pig gelatin, preservatives and other nasty stuff.

Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness

Best thing is avoid people.

I go to town about every 10 days for food, fuel, etc, and make it quick.

I try to go at odd times, to avoid lines and crowds.

Too many people run around sick, hacking and coughing like they want everyone to share their misery.

No vaccine can cover all of that crap.

I taught for years in a 3 year to eighth grade school.

Slimy little fuckers kept me sick for years.

Pink eye was the biggest pain, little high fivin' fuckers spread it like wildfire.

Thank God I never got ringworm, scabies or head lice.

Or AIDS, for that matter, I once got bit by two girls at once, but, that was in Alternative School.

 

[KissMy]

I know many people who after receiving flu shots, came down with bad cases of the same flu strains contained in their flu shots. I have never & will never get a flu shot.

 

[Montrovant]

I know many people who after receiving flu shots, came down with bad cases of the same flu strains contained in their flu shots. I have never & will never get a flu shot.

I'm curious, how do you know which flu strain they came down with?

 

[KissMy]

I know many people who after receiving flu shots, came down with bad cases of the same flu strains contained in their flu shots. I have never & will never get a flu shot.

I'm curious, how do you know which flu strain they came down with?

They had Laboratory diagnostic testing done that proved they had the same flu strains contained in the shots they received.

 

[Montrovant]

I know many people who after receiving flu shots, came down with bad cases of the same flu strains contained in their flu shots. I have never & will never get a flu shot.

I'm curious, how do you know which flu strain they came down with?

They had Laboratory diagnostic testing done that proved they had the same flu strains contained in the shots they received.

I was under the impression that flu vaccines do not use live virus, but it's not like I pay a lot of attention to it.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Dr Atul Gawande gave an interview in which he said the vaccine is manufactured 5 months before the season starts and is based on last year's flu.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Dr Atul Gawande gave an interview in which he said the vaccine is manufactured 5 months before the season starts and is based on last year's flu.

Would you consider yourself to be a Luddite? Or does your screen name mean you're the opposite of a Luddite?

I consider myself to be a hypocritical Luddite.