Can we get the flu shot?

Only the nasal mist has the live virus, the shots are not live. And yes, it is especially important for anyone that is immuno-compromised to get the flu shot. But you will get varying opinions on this. I get my flu shot every year now because I had the flu several years ago and I thought I was dying! It was horrible! The flu shot doesn't bother me at all besides giving me a sore arm.

Several years ago when I was on Remicade I was told not to get the flu shot one week before or after an infusion. Any other time was ok and actually recommended. Ask you doctor or infusion nurse.

Nope I myself would never and have never gotten a flu shot. Please read the ingredients and side effects first. Also try and find proof of flu vaccines actually preventing a flu, since flu virus mutates so often I find it all a scam myself. There has been linkage between vaccines and auto-immune activity as well.

I got the swine flu shot last year when it was in high demand, because having UC fell under the category of people recommended to receive it.  I haven't had the flu in at least 20 years, but I didn't want to take my chances.  My younger sister is pregnant with her first child...due Oct. 23, and she asked all of her immediate family members to get both the current flu shot and the whooping cough vaccine (which is actually imbedded in the tetnus shot).  I got both about a month ago.  Fortunately the only unpleasant side effect I have had on any of these shots has been the horrible pain in my arm from the tetnus shot.

I don't know how much the flu shot will effect me, but any protection from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and the like is good enough for me.

Omg yes the tetanus shot hurt!

I get the flu shot every year. I will not risk getting the flu, missing school and ending up flaring because of it. I've never had a reaction from one either. I would say though that if you are on imuran, 6mp, remi, or even pred to get it, but NOT the nasal mist.

I got the flu shot on Friday and it has not affected my health in any way, except to protect me from other people's germs. Ever since I moved to SF in 1995 and began using public transportation, I have considered myself at risk for flu given how inconsiderate others are with their sneezes and coughs and so forth. In the 15 years that I've been getting the shot, I had the flu once and that was an extremely mild case of a virulent flu that kept others out of the office for a week. I flew to LA and back over the weekend and once again I was exposed to coughing children and sneezing adults. I take normal precaustions of washing my hands frequently, but in an airplane the recirculated air just spreads germs further.

The flu is no joke. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the burden of influenza is currently estimated to be 25-50 million cases per year (~ 20% of the population) in the USA alone, leading to 150,00-200,00 hospitalizations and 30,000-40,000 deaths.

Here's a link to a terrific short article by Malcolm Gladwell, our great social observer, on the freak out over anthrax in 2001 compared to the lassitude and misinformation and indifference to the flu. http://www.gladwell.com/pdf/anthrax.pdf


Anyone who is looking for "evidence" that the flu shot is effective need look no further than google. There's one hell of a lot of misinformation on the internet, so of course you can also find conspiracy theorists and other goofballs who want you to believe that the flu shot is another Tuskeegee experiment, but it's really not that hard to figure out which sources are reputable. For example, the World Health Organization says this about the flu shot:

The currently available influenza vaccines are made from either inactivated, detergent-split or whole virion influenza virus or live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) propagated in the allantoic cavity of 9-12 days embryonated chicken eggs from certified farms under strict veterinary control [106] . They include two currently circulating influenza A virus strains and one influenza B virus strain. These trivalent vaccines, which have been used for decades in industrialized countries to prevent seasonal influenza infection, provide a high benefit/cost ratio in terms of preventing hospitalizations and deaths, as shown in numerous studies on vaccination of the elderly and of individuals at high risk for severe outcomes of influenza [40] . Recommended recipients of influenza vaccines are people at high risk of influenza-related complications, namely adults and children with chronic health conditions such as cardiac or pulmonary disorders, asthma, cancer, immunodeficiency or immunosuppression, people who are residents of nursing homes and other chronic care facilities, people over 65 years of age, healthy children aged 6-23 months [107] [108] and pregnant women. Household contacts of individuals at high-risk, as well as providers of health care in facility or community settings who are potentially capable of transmitting the virus to vulnerable populations should also be vaccinated, as well as those providing regular child care to children under 24 months of age.

further reading: http://www.who.int/vaccine_research/diseases/ari/en/index1.html


Recommendations: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/201002_RecommendationFAQ.pdf

Information on vaccine safety:
http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/topics/influenza/en/index.html

I used to get the flu shot, but not any more. After researching, I feel the risks outweigh the benefits. There are common sense measures you can take to avoid getting the flu. I haven't had a case in several years.