Did the flu shot in 2019 make you sick?

I also had the flu shot and the first shot of the shingles vaccine on the same day and felt flu-y the next day. I've never had a reaction to a flu shot, but they warned me the shingles vaccine could make me feel under the weather for a day or two.
 
I caught the flu before I got the shot. I plan on getting the shot in another week.
 
I’ve gotten a flu shot every December and I’ve never had a reaction. A little sore at the injection point for a day or two, but that’s it.
 
I got the flu shot arm in one arm and the Pneumonia shot in the other. No ill effects from either shot. I think you erroneously associated two rare events simply because they occurred about the same space and time.
 
GenXguy said:
But there can still be a connection. There is no direct physical interaction between the virus and the bacteria, but a viral infection can make one or more host cell types more susceptible to bacterial colonization.
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+1, you are correct about that. And there are also other problems with the flu shot, the biggest one (for me) being that it is simply not very effective at preventing the flu. I haven't had a flu shot for years, and have no plans to get one in the future. I try to support my immune system in other ways.
 
RAE said:
+1, you are correct about that. And there are also other problems with the flu shot, the biggest one (for me) being that it is simply not very effective at preventing the flu. I haven't had a flu shot for years, and have no plans to get one in the future. I try to support my immune system in other ways.
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How do you know they are not very effective? If you are not getting the flu then it is effective. If you still did get the flu then it may have been one of the rarer strains of the flu that was not included in the flu shot but the flu shot still protected you from the strains included in the shot.

You do realize that you cannot support your immune system against a newly muted virus strain that you nor anyone else has had exposure to. I am pretty sure if you do not get any vaccines and hang around people with chickenpox or the measles, and have never had them before, you will get the chickenpox and measles.
 
Blueskies123 said:
How do you know they are not very effective? If you are not getting the flu then it is effective. If you still did get the flu then it may have been one of the rarer strains of the flu that was not included in the flu shot but the flu shot still protected you from the strains included in the shot.
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It's common knowledge that the way they produce the current flu virus (strains grown in eggs) is not very effective, and probably never will be. That's why they are working on a new method of growing the vaccine to increase its effectiveness, but it's going to take at least a few years before they will have anything better. Lots of articles online about this, here are a couple:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/why-next-year-s-flu-vaccine-will-be-lousy-too-n850641

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/why-flu-vaccines-so-often-fail

If you get the flu shot and then don't get the flu, it's very possible (I would say even likely) that your not getting the flu had nothing to do with your flu shot, based on how ineffective the current vaccine is.

By the way, I am not an anti-vaccine person in general..........I just don't think the current flu vaccine is a vaccine worth getting (for me, anyway......YMMV).
 
Last year experienced slight flu like symptoms after flu shot. Went away quickly. I had a flu shot 2 weeks ago. Pharmacist said no thimerosal in the shot. I broke out into a body rash a couple of days ago. I don't think it's from the flu shot but can't be sure. Feels like a thousand mosquito bites and it's hard to sleep. This reaction could be from new detergent OxiClean. Dr. could not be sure but gave me steroid cream.
 
I get most vaccines but don’t feel the flu shot is very effective. I wish I could get the shingles vaccine but am allergic to one of the ingredients.
 
I’ve been getting the flu shot every year since 1993. A couple of times I had a sore arm. One year I felt malaise-kind of achy, a tiny touch of fever. I figured it was my robust immune system reacting.

I use to get sinus infections a lot. Once I started avoiding antibiotics for them, I stopped getting them.

Fall is a common time to get sinus infections. It is a time when cold virus seem to increase, add robust allergens such as ragweed pollens, and the kids are back in school, sharing their viruses with each other and their parents, who then spread them everywhere, handling money, opening doors, on grocery carts, etc.

Sinus infections may be viral or bacterial, often a combination. Many do not require antibiotics. There is no direct connection between a sinus infection and the flu vaccine.
 
Last year I was sore for about 5 days. Kind of surprised. I don't get the shot usually until sometime in Oct.
 
RAE said:
I just don't think the current flu vaccine is a vaccine worth getting (for me, anyway......YMMV).
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Interesting opinion. Why not worth getting?

Because of the cost?
Because of the potential side effects?
Because of the time it takes?
 
joeea said:
Interesting opinion. Why not worth getting?

Because of the cost?
Because of the potential side effects?
Because of the time it takes?
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I've always got the flu shot. Never had a problem with it other than slight tenderness at the injection site. It's free and so easy to get at so many locations. While it may not prevent you from getting the flu in every case, the odds are good that even if you do get the flu, it won't be full-blown. And really, isn't that the main thing i.e. to reduce the severity of the flu which can be deadly to older folks. A CDC study concluded https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/2017-2018/vaccine-reduces-risk-severe-illness.htm :

  • Flu vaccination among adults reduced the risk of being admitted to the hospital with flu and placed in a general ward bed by 37 percent.
  • Flu vaccination was even more effective in preventing the most severe forms of flu and reduced the risk of being admitted to an ICU with flu by 82 percent.
  • Among adults who were admitted to the hospital with flu, vaccinated adults were 59 percent less likely to have very severe illness resulting in ICU admission than those who had not been vaccinated.
  • Among adults in the ICU with flu, vaccinated patients on average spent 4 fewer days in the hospital than those who were not vaccinated previously.
 
DH and I always get the flu shot. But I wish they could figure out a way for the shot to match the flu strain better. DH got a terrible case of the flu last year (had the shot but got the flu anyway). He had to be hospitalized and has some permanent loss of hearing caused by the flu. I caught the flu from DH (I had the flu shot too). I was not as sick as DH, did not have to be hospitalized but I was very sick for a month. Come on scientists figure out a better flu vaccine!
 
Got a shot on Saturday and had sore arm at injection spot for a day, otherwise, A-OK.
 
harllee said:
But I wish they could figure out a way for the shot to match the flu strain better.
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Yup, that's a big problem when there are multiple strong strains coming around. Tough problem, not yet solved.
 
I had a flu shot two weeks ago with no reaction. I’m prone to bronchitis and pneumonia, so I always get vaccinations that may help.
 
We had no reaction other than the knot in the muscle at the injection site. Gone in 2 days.
 
joeea said:
Interesting opinion. Why not worth getting?

Because of the cost?
Because of the potential side effects?
Because of the time it takes?
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For anyone with insurance it is free. It takes maybe 15min out of a day to potentially save you days of discomfort. If you don’t get it, for no specific reason, it means you have a distorted view of the “ no good reason/ benefit ratio”. Its one of those “you think you are right til you aren’t” decisions. Boosting your immunity other ways is nonsense. Unless you are a bubble boy, in which case, then it makes sense. Severity reduction alone is worth the 15 min.
 
Perryinva said:
For anyone with insurance it is free. It takes maybe 15min out of a day to potentially save you days of discomfort. If you don’t get it, for no specific reason, it means you have a distorted view of the “ no good reason/ benefit ratio”. Its one of those “you think you are right til you aren’t” decisions. Boosting your immunity other ways is nonsense. Unless you are a bubble boy, in which case, then it makes sense. Severity reduction alone is worth the 15 min.
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I agree. That's why I was hoping RAE would shed some light on the decision.

Some folks are just afraid of needles.
 
No reaction at all this year...not even a sore arm, which I almost always get. That makes me wonder if it is provoking any immune reaction at all. But I did my part to protect myself...and here is the part those who do not get the flu shot seem to forget:
TO PROTECT OTHERS AS WELL!

When we reduce the chance of the flu infecting us - even by just 50%- we reduce the chance of us spreading the flu to others. Other people might die because YOU decided it wasn't "worth it to you". Some people -very young children, or elderly folks, or people on chemotherapy, will almost certainly die because they were exposed to flu virus that they might not otherwise have been exposed to if more people got vaccinated.

No man is an island. The decisions we make affect others.
 
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