Why You'd Have to be a Complete Idiot to Take a Flu Shot

originally posted by: Wildbob77
I guess I'm an idiot

I get my flu shot almost every year and basically I don't ever get sick.

I didn't get the flu shot for a few years in college but have gotten one ever since.

I don't get the flu.

I think that I'll keep doing what works for me and you should keep doing whatever you want. The big difference between us is I won't call you an idiot

I wouldn't call you an "idiot"! Just a person who exercises their right to choose! I think that is the main issue we ALL need to set straight with our government officials!

We all have a freedom to choose! Stop using politics to make one or the other look like bad guys for exercising their right to decide what they put into their body ?

I had a flu shot and a pneumonia shot last week, I felt like I lost all energy and just wanted to sleep forever.
It wasn't like being physically tired, more like being on valium (remember feeling from having an operation years ago)

Flu shots are just retarded. If I were a conspiracy theory whack job, I'd probably say that the "Powers that be" put mercury in the flu shot to turn you into a zombie sex slave for the reptilian aliens from the fourth dimension. Thank Allah I'm just a Republican.

I found an alternative to the flu shot that works for me.

Mind my wife and kids hate it but in the last five years I done this same thing and watched my wife and kids catch colds while I never seem to even have a sniffle.

About once every three months I go out and by a healthy glove of Garlic, and munch on it. I have had less sick days, yes I have to practically down a bottle of mouthwash if I want a kiss. But something in the Raw Garlic keeps the sickness away.

Makes me wonder if what was once thought of as victims of a vampire was more victims of a violent strain of flu...

CoBaZ

a reply to: Metallicus
When you add to the equation that it is not a vaccine with the present year's virus, but strains from last year or years past. If you came in contact with anyone that had the strains in the past, then you most likely have already developed a natural immunity to the strain. If that is true, then the shot could be totally useless and unnecessary.

But to each his own. I don't try to stop people from getting the shot if they want it. I just wish they would stop trying to force me to take it.

If they are afraid someone is going to give them a disease. It would make more sense for them to be more afraid of MRSA or C-diff than the flu.

a reply to: Metallicus

I agree about the flu shot - both from research into the subject and from personal experience (oddly enough, I seemed to get the flu more often when I was vaccinated regularly and haven't gotten it once since not getting vaccinated). It seems, though, there is a wider issue of not trusting vaccinations at all - and if I had to guess, I'd say a lot of this comes from the fear/dislike of the flu vaccine. On a wider scale, vaccines can be good - the problem is people tend to get too many vaccines at one time, rather than spacing it out (at least in the case of children).

That said, if you are eating a healthy, balanced diet, there should be little to no need for vaccines as the immune system is something amazing in its own right. I'd suggest for parents to do their own research, but in many cases letting your kids play outside and get a bit dirty will be much better for them than giving them a vaccine, as the immune system works against all kinds of antigens, whereas a vaccine is antigen-specific.

With the exception of a few. Everyone I know that gets a flu shot every year, gets sick every year. Those who never get one, seldom get the flu, but do get colds occasionally. I can't remember the last time I had the flu, and I'd like to keep it that way. They can keep their flu shots.

a reply to: stargatetravels

I have to get the Pneumococcal Vaccination shot tomorrow and I have no issues.

Influenza is nothing compared to invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) eg pneumonia/septicaemia/meningitis. I work in intensive care and have seen young previously fit individuals develop a sore throat and 24 hours later be attached to life support with septic shock and multi-organ-failure.

There is so much evidence for using Pneomovax, particularly if you have no spleen.

Saying that the WHO decides on 3 influenza viruses each season which they feel will be predominant. They do get it wrong sometimes. I have not had the flu injection in 5 years and not had flu in this time.

Never trust vaccines. Trust your immune system. Its ok to get sock it makes you stronger!

a reply to: texasyeti

I mispelled sick

Being in the military I was always forced to take a flu shot. Before that my crazy nurse aunt would make me and the rest of my family get one, but I also never had the flu. This was the first year that I can remember not getting a flu shot, and this past week I got socked with the flu.

As for me I am now a believer in them....

originally posted by: deliberator
a reply to: stargatetravels

I have to get the Pneumococcal Vaccination shot tomorrow and I have no issues.

Influenza is nothing compared to invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) eg pneumonia/septicaemia/meningitis. I work in intensive care and have seen young previously fit individuals develop a sore throat and 24 hours later be attached to life support with septic shock and multi-organ-failure.

There is so much evidence for using Pneomovax, particularly if you have no spleen.

Saying that the WHO decides on 3 influenza viruses each season which they feel will be predominant. They do get it wrong sometimes. I have not had the flu injection in 5 years and not had flu in this time.

How do you avoid getting the flu shot and work in intensive care? Are you not required to get the flu shot?

a reply to: luthier

Not worked for 2 years due to ill health. Prior to this it was optional. I used to have it but found it made no difference, I still caught influenza. I still keep my Hep B jabs up to date.

So, the fact I started getting the flu shot three years ago and have not the had the flu since is just pure coincidence?

After suffering through the flu on a yearly basis, I decided to try the flue shot. I have not battled the flu since.

CDC on flu shots

Is thimerosal still used in vaccines for children?

No. Thimerosal hasn’t been used in vaccines for children since 2001. However, thimerosal is still used in some flu vaccines. Yearly flu vaccines are recommended for all children. If you are worried about thimerosal, you can ask for a flu vaccine without it.

Why do some people worry about thimerosal in vaccines?

You may have heard that thimerosal has mercury in it. Not all types of mercury are the same. Some types of mercury, like mercury in some kinds of fish, stay in the human body and can make people sick. Thimerosal is a different kind of mercury. It doesn’t stay in the body, and is unlikely to make us sick.

6 Flu Vaccine Myths

I say if you don't want it don't get it but also say stop spreading your misinformed opinions like they are facts.

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck
a reply to: Metallicus
I trust my doctor implicitly. He wants me to get a flu shot, so I get a flu shot. As to being a complete idiot? I trust him more than I trust the University of YouTube. Who's the idiot?

Exactly.

I've been getting the 'flu shot the last few years (via work) and I haven't had the 'flu since.

I would say that 'Natural Health News' and 'Mike Adams' are the idiots, for spreading falsities and fear and irresponsibility...Jenna Jameson may be 'hot' in a porn star crack whore bimbo hyper-American way, but she is no health expert...(I mention her because she, too, is antivax, high-profile and idiots listen to her.)

originally posted by: Metallicus

On the other hand, people who show a strong immune response to a flu shot are the very same people with healthy, active immune systems that can easily handle influenza exposure without a vaccine!

Except the people who die from influenza are the young, whose immune systems go bat# from the infection and destroy their lungs with a cytokine storm, and the elderly, whose immune systems don't respond well and let the virus kill them.

So NN's supposition is wrong ab initio.

Flu shots contain Mercury and other harmful substances that I frankly don't want injected into me. I am careful about what I eat so why would I let someone inject me with stuff I know is bad for me.

Only the multi-dose vials.

a reply to: theonenonlyone
It is a crap shoot. The CDC says:

Vaccine Match Will this season's vaccine be a good match for circulating viruses? It's not possible to predict with certainty which flu viruses will predominate during a given season. Over the course of a flu season, CDC studies samples of flu viruses circulating during that season to evaluate how close a match there is between viruses used to make the vaccine and circulating viruses. Data are published in the weekly FluView. In addition, CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the vaccine protects against illness during that season. The results of these studies are typically published following the conclusion of the flu season and take into consideration all of the data collected during the season. Interim preliminary estimates of the vaccine’s benefits that season using data available at that time also may be provided. For more information, see Vaccine Effectiveness – How Well Does the Flu Vaccine Work? Flu viruses are constantly changing (called “antigenic drift”) – they can change from one season to the next or they can even change within the course of one flu season. Experts must pick which viruses to include in the vaccine many months in advance in order for vaccine to be produced and delivered on time. (For more information about the vaccine virus selection process visit Selecting the Viruses in the Influenza (Flu) Vaccine.) Because of these factors, there is always the possibility of a less than optimal match between circulating viruses and the viruses in the vaccine.

a reply to: Bedlam
And the CDC says:

How much thimerosal-free influenza vaccine is expected to be available for the 2015-16 season? For the 2015-16 season, manufacturers will produce influenza vaccines containing thimerosal and some vaccines that do not contain thimerosal. Approximately 116 to 118 million doses of thimerosal-free influenza vaccine will be produced for the 2015-2016 flu season.

The CDC says this:

Flu vaccines in multi-dose vials contain thimerosal to safeguard against contamination of the vial. Most single-dose vials and pre-filled syringes of flu shot and the nasal spray flu vaccine do not contain a preservative because they are intended to be only used once.

And CA.gov says this:

To address inadequate supply, a temporary exemption has been granted under California law to permit children younger than 3 years of age to receive influenza vaccine regardless of its preservative (thimerosal) content. The exemption is granted from October 9, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Information about the exemption is described in the following letters:

Don't trust these guys.

Never had a flu shot. Rarely get sick.

At the first sign of a cold or flu, usually a slight sore throat, I gargle with hot salt water and then regular Listerine (not the non-alcoholic type).

9 out of 10 times this stops the symptoms.

I also make it a practice not to rub my eyes which is one of the main ways a virus gets into your system, and I wash my hands after being out in public.

Did you know that it takes a fair dose of bacteria to cause a cold, but only one virus - just one - to cause the flu.

Only two mild colds in the past 5 years.