The Flu Shot

[Ally]

We get the flu shot every year. The one year I didn't, I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.


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[aja8888]

I got the pneumonia shot last year, preventive, of course.

I don't get flu shots anymore. The last one I got in the 1980's got me really sick for a couple of weeks.

Since not getting the flu shot, I have not gotten the flu, or anything more than some allergy irritations.

Maybe I am crazy, or lucky, or just one who does not get bitten by the flu bug.

[Telly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu .....Anyway, we got our flu shots for free yesterday... medicare... and in this morning's mail... an offer from CVS for free shots... PLUS a $5 coupon towards anything in the store. Hmmm... just when ya think you have it all figgered out...

We got a CVS advert in the mail, I think it was ~$20 for the flu shot, and then get a $5 coupon towards anything in the store... quite a bit different then yours!

I got my first flu shot ever when I was in the hospital in great pain after near-emergency surgery. They were going room to room hawking the flu shot and a pneumonia shot. I said OK for the flu shot. Hospital billed it for $200, ins. co. got it down to ~$50, IIRC.

Last year $35 at CVS. For this year, I hope to do it in Dr. office to get well-health ins. coverage on it, and also get the Shingles shot (that one has been weighing on my mind to get, before it's too late). And probably a Tetanus shot TDAP or whatever. DW has been after me for years to get one. I am assuming I can call and set something up where I go in and a nurse gives them to me, and I don't see Dr. and do not get billed for a whole office visit thing.
Plan on doing this in October, I don't know if there is a wear-off effect over time on the flu shot, don't want to get it too early. Or maybe it doesn't matter, I really don't know.

[Ronnieboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 I don't get flu shots anymore. The last one I got in the 1980's got me really sick for a couple of weeks. Since not getting the flu shot, I have not gotten the flu, or anything more than some allergy irritations. Maybe I am crazy, or lucky, or just one who does not get bitten by the flu bug.

You can't get the flu from the flu shot, even the live virus can't give you the flu.

You can still get the flu even after getting the flu shot, there are about 40 types of flu and the shot protects you against 3 (or 4 if you get the quadravalent shot). Hopefully, if you still get the flu it will be less severe than the flu blown flu. i.e. 10 days of feeling like death warmed over....

[Ronnieboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telly Last year $35 at CVS. For this year, I hope to do it in Dr. office to get well-health ins. coverage on it, and also get the Shingles shot (that one has been weighing on my mind to get, before it's too late). And probably a Tetanus shot TDAP or whatever. DW has been after me for years to get one. I am assuming I can call and set something up where I go in and a nurse gives them to me, and I don't see Dr. and do not get billed for a whole office visit thing. Plan on doing this in October, I don't know if there is a wear-off effect over time on the flu shot, don't want to get it too early. Or maybe it doesn't matter, I really don't know.

The shot is considered as lasting a 'year'. Or realistically through flu season. The earliest I have seen the shot come out is mid August, it is believed to be effective for 9+ months so easily thru May. I would get it as soon as possible, avoid the crowds, and while supplies are plentiful. Most places run out starting around January.

[EastWest Gal]

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Originally Posted by Gotadimple Yes they were billed, but they didn't pay $40. Probably they paid $5-$6 (the cost of the drug and it's administration). Rita

It's actually more expensive than that. Vaccines are not huge money makers. If they were, pediatricians would make as much as surgeons. We've had to fight with insurance companies to get them to pay enough to even cover the cost of the vaccines. The CDC quotes the price per dose as $11.30-19.13, depending on the brand, and weather it is preservative free, etc. Needles, alcohol swabs add to the cost. And those administering the vaccine aren't being paid minimum wage.

Also, the American billing system is weird. You always bill about 40% more than the insurance company pays, just to get what it pays.


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[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronnieboy You can't get the flu from the flu shot, even the live virus can't give you the flu. You can still get the flu even after getting the flu shot, there are about 40 types of flu and the shot protects you against 3 (or 4 if you get the quadravalent shot). Hopefully, if you still get the flu it will be less severe than the flu blown flu. i.e. 10 days of feeling like death warmed over....

I understand the variables and will take my chances without the shot. Maybe I have been lucky for the last 30 + years by not getting a flu shot.

DW just got her flu shot yesterday. She seems to get sick at the drop of a hat though.

[Rustic23]

We are all in the risk business. Some of us take financial risk we shouldn't and some of us ride motor cycles. The flu shot is no different. It is a risk. However, if you look at the 1918 flu, which went pandemic, https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/ killed between 20,000,000 to 40,000,000 people! Not a risk I am willing to take.

[M Paquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 I understand the variables and will take my chances without the shot. Maybe I have been lucky for the last 30 + years by not getting a flu shot. DW just got her flu shot yesterday. She seems to get sick at the drop of a hat though.

Your approach works well as long as those you come in daily contact with are resistant or immunized. Hurrah for herd immunity!

We have some school districts where 20-30% of students are not immunized, well below the 'herd immunity' target of 5% or less not immunized. There's a push starting here to move all students that file 'personal belief' exemption papers and are not immunized to one school in the district to preserve the herd immunity benefits for the other students, what I think of as the 'designated plague school'.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Your approach works well as long as those you come in daily contact with are resistant or immunized. Hurrah for herd immunity! We have some school districts where 20-30% of students are not immunized, well below the 'herd immunity' target of 5% or less not immunized. There's a push starting here to move all students that file 'personal belief' exemption papers and are not immunized to one school in the district to preserve the herd immunity benefits for the other students, what I think of as the 'designated plague school'.

Good info, thanks for the link. I really need to get my shingles shot though. My annual physical is coming up and I plan to have that included. It's also time for a colonoscopy too.

[EastWest Gal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Your approach works well as long as those you come in daily contact with are resistant or immunized. Hurrah for herd immunity! We have some school districts where 20-30% of students are not immunized, well below the 'herd immunity' target of 5% or less not immunized. There's a push starting here to move all students that file 'personal belief' exemption papers and are not immunized to one school in the district to preserve the herd immunity benefits for the other students, what I think of as the 'designated plague school'.

I like it. Vaccines are the #1 preventive medicine of all time. Millions if not billions of lives have and will be saved by vaccination. If we would educate our citizenry on health history the way we do on "world history" and U.S. history" we would have far fewer vaccine naysayers. Let the parents who are fools stick together, and I feel sorry for their kids, but what can we do?

My kid with childhood asthma got every vaccine available and appropriate. I only delayed one vaccine--the chicken pox vaccine came out in May 1995 and we were scheduled to travel in June so I planned to wait until after our trip. Dang if he didn't get chickenpox 4 days before the trip and he and I had to delay our flight until he was no longer contagious. Not a disaster but expensive.

Please, if you don't choose to vaccinate, reconsider.

[travelover]

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Originally Posted by EastWest Gal .......... Vaccines are the #1 preventive medicine of all time. .......

Oh sure, but what about all the kids that were vaccinated and are now artistic?

[aja8888]

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Originally Posted by travelover Oh sure, but what about all the kids that were vaccinated and are now artistic?

My vaccinated daughter ended up showing Quarter horses. Being artistic would have been less expensive.

[travelover]

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Originally Posted by aja8888 My vaccinated daughter ended up showing Quarter horses. Being artistic would have been less expensive.

Sorry to hear that. Maybe you can talk her into a hobby that is a lot cheaper, like owning her own plane.

[Ronnieboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Your approach works well as long as those you come in daily contact with are resistant or immunized. Hurrah for herd immunity! We have some school districts where 20-30% of students are not immunized, well below the 'herd immunity' target of 5% or less not immunized. There's a push starting here to move all students that file 'personal belief' exemption papers and are not immunized to one school in the district to preserve the herd immunity benefits for the other students, what I think of as the 'designated plague school'.

The above situation has helped whooping cough start to come back, hopefully there won't be other preventable diseases doing the same

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustic23 We are all in the risk business. Some of us take financial risk we shouldn't and some of us ride motor cycles. The flu shot is no different. It is a risk. However, if you look at the 1918 flu, which went pandemic, https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/ killed between 20,000,000 to 40,000,000 people! Not a risk I am willing to take.

Both DF GP died of flu. Not 1918. There were many regional flus, His GP died in 1893 and 1895. My orphaned GF was raised by his GPs.

Pretty simple decision for me.


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[EastWest Gal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Oh sure, but what about all the kids that were vaccinated and are now artistic?

I guess you mean autistic. What a scam that was. You are referring to the MMR vaccine, not any other vaccine. A researcher named Andrew Wakefield in Britain published his findings linking MMR vaccine to autism in Lancet in 1998. The article was later retracted. Dr. Wakefield was paid ~$400K by some lawyers to put forth his research. Dr. Wakefield faked his data. After court proceedings he lost his medical license.

The vaccine naysayers then attacked thimerosal, a stable mercury compound used as a preservative. The problem here is that it was blamed for autism years after it was removed from childhood vaccines.

There is no factual basis for linking autism and vaccines. Autism is not due to vaccination. Period. And this has nothing to do with flu vaccine so I'm done going off topic. Sorry.


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[Rustic23]

Thanks eastwestfal. I knew it had been debunked but did not know the history.


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[EastWest Gal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Sorry to hear that. Maybe you can talk her into a hobby that is a lot cheaper, like owning her own plane.

Thanks for making me laugh.


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[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Sorry to hear that. Maybe you can talk her into a hobby that is a lot cheaper, like owning her own plane.

I'm not so sure a plane would have been cheaper.....