Flu Vaccine

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It's that time of year again- can't have Christmas unless we get Flu Season too. Are you going to get a flu vaccine? Why/Why not?

Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

I don't get it. It hurts and I agree they don't know what flu strain will be this year. I won't be around the patient population this flu season as I am working mainly in informatics.

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Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
I worked at a county health department. We used vaccines with no mercury preservatives. To this day, there has still been no concrete evidence that vaccines cause or contribute to autism. THe benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the side effects until they do offer a scientifically proven link. Epidemiologists do not "know" what strain of flu will strike in a particular season, they are making educated guesses based on global data compiled over the year. The Swine Flu debacle was back in the day of live virus vaccines. Vaccines now (with the exception of FluMist) are produced from a dead virus. They will not give you the flu - I can't believe I still hear that one. If you happen to be sick or immune-comprimised when you receive the vaccine, you may get "flu-like" symptoms, but this is not the FLU. I had the Hong Kong Flu back in the late 60's and I thought I was going to die, even though I was young and healthy at the time. I cannot imagine what it would have done if I had been elderly or had a chronic disease. As a healthcare provider, I consider it a responsibility to get a flu shot, I don't want to risk getting it and spreading it to my patients.

And the live virus FluMist is what they are advocating for our school-aged children.

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Yes, I'll probably get it. I work with elderly folks with heart failure and pulmonary disease, and I don't want to expose them. By the time I realize I'm sick, I'm already infectious. I don't want to kill anyone.

Good point! It is possible to spread influenza without actually developing the disease yourself. I know I wouldn't want to be the one who spreads disease to high-risk patients.

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I got one last week....I'm in nursing school, and have an 18 month old son who just started daycare. He's getting one in a few weeks. I don't have the time or the money for either of us to be laid up with the flu.

Good for you- I think that is a wise decision. My two kids have always got a flu shot- the one year my daughter didn't (she was 2), she got dehydrated from the high fever and wasn't taking enough fluids and ended up with an IV. I've read the posts about vaccines being controversial, but I personnally think vaccines are the greatest medical advancement ever. My grandfather had polio- we can't even imagine any more what the world was like when children died by the thousands from diptheria, or crippled by polio, etc.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
And the live virus FluMist is what they are advocating for our school-aged children.

This is what they give our soldiers, too. :(

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This year Three strains have been replaced. It will be interesting to see what difference this makes.

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The flu-mist contains more probability of protection.

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Specializes in AGNP.

At our hospital all staff are required to get the flu shot or provide a letter from your physician stating why you can not get it. I got mine a few days ago. I usually always get one anyways because my sister is immunocompromised and her doctor recommends all family members to get one if the are going to be around her.

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i always get the flu shot because when i get the flu i get it really bad

i have never had any reaction except for a little surface redness at site

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Specializes in Operating Room.

Get one every year, and this one will be no exception. The one year I missed, I ended up in the ER with a nasty asthma exacerbation. First attack I'd ever had where I thought I might die..after that, I made sure I got my shot every season. It's served me well.

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg, critial care.

Got the flu shot once, years ago when I was a phlebotomist, and didn't get the flu. Haven't had a flu shot since and came down with the flu once, the same year I didn't work in a health care setting. Actually, I wasn't working at all that year.

Last year I missed it because I was tied up in a patient's room when the house supervisor came around to give them (night shift). This year I'm missing them because I'll still be on maternity leave when the employee health nurse goes floor to floor to administer them.

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