Flu Shot Questions

shiccy · Oct 6, 2010

I have few questions on flu shots:
1) Does the flu shot protect a person 100% from the specific strains? Is it impossible to get the H1n1, flu, etc after receiving the flu shot, or are their symptoms just less if they do get the flu?

The reason why we haven't literally gotten rid of the flu altogether is due to its ability to adapt and mutate fairly quickly. The reason H1N1 (and related ?H2N3?) are dangerous is that if they were to mutate just slightly to be able to be passed person-to-person, it could account for the new "Spanish Flu" pandemic or similar. It hasn't made that jump yet. The hopes are that if the person that comes in contact after that jump is made and they are immunized, the symptoms in that person against H1N1 will be minimal. This is in contrast with a person NOT immunized that may have the worst happen to them (review the numbers of those that died in the Spanish flu epidemic and how it changed everyone's lives). You are NEVER 100% immune to anything. The only thing you can do is try to build immunity as much as possible.

2) Do you recommend to rub the injection site after receiving the vaccination? I've heard some nurses say yes and others say no.

I don't because of one thing. Instead of distributing the med slowly, you're essentially spreading the medicine like you would butter on bread. I don't suggest it, doubly so in a person getting a narcotic. I wasn't taught to do so in school, and I refuse to do so now. "Let it absorb over time and on its own" is what I was taught. Every person is different, though, as is every school of nursing. Techniques even vary slightly from person to person. That said, take this answer with a grain of salt!

3) Does the person still get the full benefits of the flu injection if it's given subcutaneous accidentally?

There are varying reports on this, and I don't think anybody really knows the answer. I do know that most if not all meds given IM won't necessarily HARM, but just get absorbed at a different rate. IIRC fat doesn't have as good a circulatory ability as something like muscle, so it'd probably be a slower absorption. If you think about it, though, it's still in your body, so you'll still have absorption at some point in time. Whether its this flu season or not is debatable.

Finally as an observation, it AMAZES me people, including healthcare workers, don't get immunized. Doubly so for the childhood immunizations. Nothing like spreading mumps, or rubella through a school system as a wakeup call that that's not a good thing.

Also, it begs to be asked: Why are children that do NOT have updated immunizations able to go to school? I thought that was a mandatory thing?

NightNurse876 · Oct 6, 2010

Maybe the kids dont have it bc they have a waiver...I do not intend on getting the flu vaccine...never have gotten a flu shot. MAy horror stories for vaccines created in a few months having ill effects so I would rather not take a vaccine like that and the flu shot, with all it H1N1 goodness is one of them.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Oct 6, 2010

you can get answers to these and more questions at the CDC website. They have a section called flu facts

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Oct 6, 2010

Maybe the kids dont have it bc they have a waiver...I do not intend on getting the flu vaccine...never have gotten a flu shot. MAy horror stories for vaccines created in a few months having ill effects so I would rather not take a vaccine like that and the flu shot, with all it H1N1 goodness is one of them.

If you look at statistics over anecdotal stories, your odds of something horrible happening from the flu virus are exponentially higher than anything bad happening from the vaccine. I don't get what the point of a "waiver" is unless you're truly allergic to some ingredient in a vaccine, don't have a competent enough immune system to mount a response to the vaccine, or have a solid history of belong to a religion that clearly opposes it. I'm so sick of people randomly saying "Oh, here's a waiver, I don't believe in vaccines." Uhm, do you not believe in viruses, either?

Sharon7RN · Jun 30, 2011

I do agree with you blondy2061h. In my case I am Jewish and had just recently found out about substances used in vaccines that come from what would be considered in the Jewish community to be "unclean". For instance; cells derived from swine, monkey, and other animals are used in the formulating of flu and H1N1 vaccines. For me, a big concern, but for many others not a concern at all. Luckily I found out from the Dean of Nursing at my school that if I really need to I can sign a waiver...phew! He said that the hospitals in my area push for atleast 80-90% inoculation. I do agree however that besides allergic reaction or strong religious conviction, we would all be in serious trouble if all were to forgo being vaccinated! I hate feeling like I'm an exception to the rule:aln:, but am just glad that a waiver at least where I live is a possibility!

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jun 30, 2011

flu vaccines are manufactured up to a year or more in advance of flu season, based on a best guess as to what the prevalent strain will be then. sometimes they're right-- and sometimes, they're not. it takes so long to make a vaccine for a given strain that they can't, say, look at the reported numbers of unexpected or novel strain xyz123 coming into offices and urgent care in november and whip up a big batch to give everyone by christmas. or st. patrick's day, even. not gonna happen.

there's a good reason why you have an immune system. get the flu, recover from it, and you'll have good immunity to that strain (and its close relatives) when it comes around again. i had a great-great aunt who, at 93, got the big flu that was killing people half her age, and did not die. turned out later, when they were able to really type the strains from old stored samples, that the 1917-18 pandemic that she survived was almost the same as the one she survived again in 1964. people who are more at risk for death are people who are already sick with something else (copd, heart disease, etc), or are immunoincompetent for whatever reason (including--ta-da-- old age, when your immune system starts to be unable to mount a response to make an immunization work).

i wait to see if i get the flu now, and always have, and never take the vaccine. if i get sick, i stay home, rest, do symptomatic treatment (including coughing and deep breathing every two hours and prn, as we teach all nurses), and i get over it. i'm 60 now and have only been really sick with a flu two or three times in my life, probably because i get the wild types and made my immunities freely. i figure i'm in better shape for when i'm 80 than if i hadn't given my immune system such a good workout. honest to god, it's not the end of the world if you get sick sometimes.

note that i am not referring to walking into a ward full of people (who got sick enough overnight from a bizarre variant to go on ventilators) without precautions and a hit of any vaccine that's been developed for that strain. i had a dear friend working in toronto when that flu came through and killed a lot of people, and it was not fun. i'm talking normal, seasonal influenza.

Sharon7RN · Jul 1, 2011

I completely agree with you on this! Sometimes I wonder why flu shots are pushed soooo much? I guess I have some of my own ideas on that one :icon_roll. Thanks for the post!

GM2RN · Jul 1, 2011

I have few questions on flu shots:
1) Does the flu shot protect a person 100% from the specific strains? Is it impossible to get the H1n1, flu, etc after receiving the flu shot, or are their symptoms just less if they do get the flu?
Thank you!!!

You want straight forward answers? Here they are:

No. The flu shot does NOT protect a person 100% from the specific strains.

No. It is NOT impossible to get the H1N1, flu, etc. after receiving the flu shot.

If you do get the flu after getting the shot, sometimes the symptoms are less, sometimes not, but it's impossible to know if it's a result of getting the shot when the symptoms are less.