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Influenza / Flu: Vaccine & Vaccination

I had a flu jab once.

Promptly came down with the flu and missed work for two weeks.
 
CarlosTheDJ said:
I had a flu jab once.

Promptly came down with the flu and missed work for two weeks.
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Correlation, not cause and effect. A few possibilities here :
1. you caught a strain of 'flu you weren't vaccinated against.
2. you were already infected before the jab.
3. you only had a 'flu like virus.
4. the vaccine gave you 'flu, which is a popular myth, but not possible as the vaccine does not contain any live viruses.
I pay for a jab every year, as having had 'flu inc. swine twice in ten years ( as the stats would predict ), four years ago I decided that I really wanted to minimise the chances of ever getting it again.
 
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I must be overdue a bout of the flu then. Last one I had was about 12 years ago, I was broken for maybe 3 days, even my finger nails hurt!
 
I've had what I'd call real 'flu (passing the £10 note test etc) twice in nearly 57 years. Was prostrate both times. These days I gladly cough up sic less than a tenner at Tesco or Asda for the jab.

Had pneumonia a couple of months ago. I think it was quite mild and it was caught in time and anyway I am super-healthy, so I was over it in a couple of weeks.

Was seen in hospital for it and sent home with antibiotics. Like the 'flu it knocked me flat but it wasn't as miserable. Just extreme weakness and tiredness; none of the aching, shivering, cold-hose-effect-on-the-back that you get with the 'flu. Give me pneumonia any day! ;)
 
Hmmm.

I don't think I've ever had the flu.
They have bullied me a few times at the doctor's, because I am in an 'at risk' category (diabetic) - so I gave in and had a few jabs. Worst side effect was my arm going red and hot after the jab, and I felt a little bit off (but hardly what you'd call flu).
 
I do wonder why they bully people to get the jab. It does raise my tinfoil hat alert status a bit.
 
I'm thinking I might give it a go this year. I had a really nasty bout of flu earlier in the year which I'm still not completely recovered from and also I'm pre-diabetic. I don't fancy a repeat next winter. I'll wear my tinfoil hat and I should be OK :)

I have to say I've been a bit shocked by the downturn in my health this year. I've nursed some health problems all my life, but they've never actually got me down or prevented me doing what I wanted to do - now I'm really feeling that a rock'n'roll lifestyle coupled with holding down a stressful job when not partying is beginning to catch up with me.
 
*nods* Yup, we're not 25 any more, as I was reminding Techy today. :(
 
I'm another who's not had flu. Nor have I responded to calls to get a Flu jab.

This could be an Age thing - IIRC, the survivors of the flu epidemic after WWI had immunity against it which was passed down to their offspring. I'm sure that somewhere on here there's a thread about this, but at this time of night I'm too tired and cross-eyed to look for it. :confused:
 
Had it once as a adult, had to crawl to the toilet. Horrible experience.

I'm ok with people having the jab, it's just the way you are made to feel when you've had a couple of days off work with a bad cold and people yell at you, 'you should have had the flu jab!"

There are two types of vaccine (from WHO),

There are three types of inactivated vaccines, the whole virus vaccines, split virus vaccines, and subunit vaccines. In split virus vaccines, the virus has been disrupted by a detergent. In subunit vaccines, HA and NA have been further purified by removal of other viral components. Some formulations include adjuvants and most multidose vials contain the preservative thiomersal. Live, attenuated influenza vaccines have been based on a temperature-sensitive variant vaccine virus strains that replicate well in the nasopharynx but poorly in the lower respiratory tract.
 
This may be what I was thinking of:

Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients; in contrast the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young adults. Modern research, using virus taken from the bodies of frozen victims, has concluded that the virus kills through a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system). The strong immune reactions of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults resulted in fewer deaths among those groups.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic

But the inability of the MB Search function to handle 3-letter words makes it difficult to search for flu and age in other posts here. :rolleyes:
 
The first time I had the flu jab years ago I came out in an itchy rash which the doctor said was German measles although I had already had it.
The next time I had one years later I came out in the rash again so I'm probably allergic to the eggs they use.
So whenever the doctor asks if I want one I decline now.
 
You can get German measles twice, if you only had it mildly the first time round. I once had my arm swell up in response to a tetanus jab, was really hot and painful, but still had the booster done.
 
I have only ever had flu once, it was bloody awful. I was of work for two weeks then off for another week with a secondary infection of bronchitis. I have a cousin who is a doctor and he always said that if you have flu and there was a million pounds at the bottom of the garden you would not have the energy to go and get it. it is so true. A bugbear of mine is peeps at work who have been off sick for three days who say "I've had flu". No you haven't darling, you have had a bad cold.
 
I always take the flu shot if I can get it. I've been extra fearful of catching it since the terrible year I caught two different strains of it while travelling. I didn't even know that could happen until then. Like Cochise said upthread about his experience, it was months before I was fully recovered. Whole chunks of memory from that time are missing, but I do recall having a vivid, fever-induced hallucination that I'd been shrunk to miniature size and was trapped in a circuit board. :eek:

It was a horrible experience and I'm not eager to repeat it any time soon.
 
Spudrick68 said:
I have only ever had flu once, it was bloody awful. I was of work for two weeks then off for another week with a secondary infection of bronchitis. I have a cousin who is a doctor and he always said that if you have flu and there was a million pounds at the bottom of the garden you would not have the energy to go and get it. it is so true. A bugbear of mine is peeps at work who have been off sick for three days who say "I've had flu". No you haven't darling, you have had a bad cold.
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Quite. I've had 'flu twice in the last 15 years, the first time myself and my wife had to give the children to the in-laws for Christmas we were so completely wiped out - I spent the next year always with a cough or cold or something.
 
Just when things couldn’t get worse.

The University of Pennsylvania claims this year’s flu shot formula is a a mismatch.

H3N2 has mutated to something called 2a2 and is spreading in the world.
 
charliebrown said:
Just when things couldn’t get worse.

The University of Pennsylvania claims this year’s flu shot formula is a a mismatch.

H3N2 has mutated to something called 2a2 and is spreading in the world.
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The trouble is that most flu vaccines are put together from data obtained from the Southern Hemisphere, but with Covid restrictions this year there was very little flu around, and so the pharmaceutical companies were running blind. Best guess doesn't always work. IIRC, a couple of years ago they used the predominant Southern Hemisphere strain to make the vaccine but the one that hit hard up top was different and the vaccine wasn't particularly effective.
 
I’ve had flu three times. First when I was ten, so around 75, I think. My god I was ill. In bed for two weeks, and for months after, walking to school I would get hit by the same feeling I had when going down with it. Aches, shivering, tiredness, which I assume was post viral syndrome. It would fade away within an hour or two but was horrible.



Had it when I was about 20 and was quite ill for a few days, and in my 30’s which lead to post viral syndrome again, so when I was offered the flu jab I jumped on it. About 15 years back the nurse also offered me the pneumonia vaccine, and I took it.



One thing with the flu jab I’ve noticed is that I don’t get full blown colds for some reason. I’d get at least pig of a cold once a year but now, although I recognise the signs of getting one, it doesn’t develop, so that’s a definite bonus even if every ten years is when one gets flu.
 
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Kondoru said:
Yes, when you have the flu you really know it.
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Wow, yes you do. It’s not a cold, it’s not ‘Oh I had flu for a couple of days last week and wasn‘t too good.’ Enough people do die of flu and I’m not surprised. I remember my nan getting it when I was quite young and she was a real tough woman. She was so ill and she isolated herself up in the top bedroom, bless her.
 
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