Each year my employer offers free flu shots. I've never taken it. This year, those who don't take it must sign a declination form and give reason for not taking it. What's your take on the flu shot?
Having had pneumonia twice... both times starting with the flu... I'll be getting that flu shot. I've had them some years, and not had them other years. To tell the truth - I seem to get sick at about the same rate regardless. But maybe it just isn't the flu after the shot. No matter - sick is sick no matter what you call it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AuntBee @ Oct 24 2007, 10:05 PM) [snapback]530092[/snapback]</div> Wow - if you don't mind me asking what type of industry do you work in? I have no objection to flu shots (and hey - free is good) but this policy seems a bit intrusive. Why would one need to inform their employer on why they declined a flu shot (unless they're in a specific position where contracting the flu would have a more than normal impact on their work or would directly affect the employer somehow).
I get the shot at work paid for by the department, why wouldn't you get it? I often get colds every year but since the flu shots I haven't been sick with a cold. I see some of my work mates suffering with the flu and I have no sympathy if they haven't had the injection. After all they can have it paid for and in work time, what more would they want? Maybe a lollypop? Come to think of it they even give you a lollypop when you have the injection!
I also am not adverse to getting a yearly flu shot, but I don't . . . yet. I can't remember the last time I had flu or cold symptoms - but then, I am not a teacher, hospital worker, or work in any other profession which exposes me to large numbers of the unwashed masses. My personal feelings are that if you are a normally healthy adult - somewhere between a child and an elderly person - it is more important to regularly wash your hands often and avoid being near people who look like they may be sick or sneezing.
As the ER doc who has to take care of all the folks who decided not to get their flu shot I always get it! A relatively small number of people actually get the true Influenza virus every year. Most everyone who does get it for the first time is completely amazed at just how bad it really is. Almost universally they'll say something like "I've had the flu before but I never felt like I wished I would die like this." Most people have had a bad cold with some cough and low grade fever, chills and aches and 'thought' they had the flu. But when you get the real deal it brings the toughest of the tough to their knees, normally healthy or not. Those with chronic disease, elderly and infants can literally die from it. It's hard to describe just how miserable and sick those who get the full-blown influenza actually feel, but you can see it in their eyes the second you walk into the exam room. So, if you choose NOT to get the shot you better stock up on Tylenol, motrin and gatoraid now...you may well be too sick to go out and get it later! And, I agree that the employer has absolutely no business asking why you chose not to take the shot. I think you should answer "I decline to answer" and encourage your fellow employees to do the same. Perhaps add a second line that says something like "Have you checked with the attorney's about the legality of asking us this question?"
I got my flu shot last weekend. I've been getting them for a few years now. I do not know if I've ever had the flu, but maybe the "cold" that turned into pneumonia some 15-odd years ago was flu. Regardless, if there is a vaccination against a nasty disease, I'll get the vaccination. Every little bit helps. And as long as you are not allergic to eggs, the chances of a bad reaction to the shot are far less than the odds of getting the disease. And I didn't even feel the shot itself. Either the nurse was very skilled, or maybe needles are getting smaller and smaller. My shoulder was sore, but less so than after a hard weight workout, and only for a few hours. They did not give me a lollipop.
i've never had a flu shot that i can remember. i have had the real flu exactly once, while i was in college, and it was horrible. we went to the pharmacy to get tamiflu, and every time that old car hit a bump on the road i thought my very bones were going to fall apart. but i have developed this extreme aversion to needles, and to the student health center here... so even though it's free, i can't bring myself to do it.
Let me add that most people who get the "real" flu miss from 7-14 days of work/school due to both being too ill to go and that they're contagious for much of that time.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 25 2007, 10:18 AM) [snapback]530227[/snapback]</div> yeah, i nearly lost my job at the time over the flu. my boss was PISSED, like it was my fault. i think i was out for 8 days even with the tamiflu.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 25 2007, 07:36 AM) [snapback]530169[/snapback]</div> As a nurse I wholeheartedly second everything Evan just said. Get your flu shot!
When I worked in a nursing home, I got the flu shots. Now that I don't, I don't. I am opposed to the mercury that is used to preserve the shots. I think that the yearly flu shots are mass experimentation... the formula is always different, as the flu morphs each year into yet another resistant strain. The best prevention is washing your hands. Clean the doorknobs. Wash your hands. Basic sanitation, surface cleaning, and handwashing.
Never any flu shots for me. Probably never will. I know it may sound nuts but I have an aversion to taking any kind of medicine. It's not that I never have taken medicine, but I usually use medicine as a last resort. Don't a significant number of people die from prescription drugs each year? I know this can be attributed, in part, from misuse from the patient and mis treatment by the physician but sometimes our enzymes don't metabolize the drugs correctly, etc....correct? Is there a doctor in the house? My aversion to the flu shot was exacerbated when a prior co worker received a flu shot and got a case of the crazies. I never did get the full story but recall that it had something to do with an allergic reaction to the shot. She was out of work for a loooong time. When she came back, she was a different person. Maybe there were other underlying causes of which I was not made aware???
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rae Vynn @ Oct 25 2007, 10:49 AM) [snapback]530274[/snapback]</div> You can request preservative free flu shots, and you should for children in particular. Also the new nasal flu vaccine contains no mercury (AFAIK). Having a child with autism I'm very very acutely aware of the potential risks of thimerisol (the preservative that contains ethyl mercury), but there's no clear evidence that the ethyl mercury is as dangerous as methyl mercury and even if all of the mercury in the thimerisol were absorbed (it's not) the amounts in adults is of no clinical significance. Totally different matter in infants and small children and I fully agree that no children should have thimerisol containing flu vaccine. My wife is a pediatrician and their clinic is completely thimerisol free now and medicaid, in Missouri, will pay for the thimerisol free vaccines for children. To a degree you're right, but it's an educated guess knowing that the virus acts in somewhat predictible patterns. Even when they are not 100% right at guessing the strain it offers at least partial immunity. Undoubtedly that's correct, but the airborn stuff you're exposed to in line at the grocery store, on an airplane or from a kiss from your child who's in the prodromic phase but without overt symptoms is gonna get you even if you wash your hands 1000 times a day.
My wife is basically required to get a flu shot since she is diabetic, launching your lunch and insulin is a bad thing! So as she gets it, I do as well, why take a chance... An inside tip for those with an aversion to needles, relax your arm and you'll hardly feel the shot and be spared any pain afterwards.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Oct 25 2007, 12:01 PM) [snapback]530302[/snapback]</div> Well, you better stop eating too...you might die from e-coli or have an unrealized allergy from something you eat. And you'd better not get in a car, completely unpredictible, you could have a blow out and die without notice...I know someone that happened to..a friend's mom. What you're describing is annecdotes. While very much true that those things can happen it's very clear that your risks of severe morbitiy or mortality from catching the flu outweigh the risks from getting the shot itself. There will be people who get sick and you'll hear all about those, but the same can happen from anything. Only carefully done studies that look at the risks and benefits over a large population can determine the best course of action. Now, if you're otherwise healthy and not elderly or a young child and you're mentally capable of making informed decisions it's definately your choice to accept the slight risk of the flu shot vs the slightly higher risk of getting the flu. But I think it's important that you understand that a story or two about someone who had a bad experience isn't the same as scientific research/evidence. The medical community is not out to get you, we work pretty hard to try to find the best solutions for the ills of our world and we try to do so in as scientific manner as possible.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Oct 25 2007, 07:12 AM) [snapback]530220[/snapback]</div> Galaxee, I didn't even feel the shot. Very small needle, I think. If the student center bothers you, there may be a public health place offering the shots for free. I am so terrified of needles, that I cannot watch, even though my curiosity is immense. But as I said, I felt nothing but the very minor soreness afterwards, which lasted a few hours, and which was not even on a level with a weight workout. Buck up and get the shot! (Just my opinion.) If you have substantive reasons for not getting it, fine. You are a scientist and can weigh the evidence and come to a conclusion. But fear of needles is not a valid reason. You know that. You're smarter than most of the folks here.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Oct 25 2007, 01:16 PM) [snapback]530313[/snapback]</div> unfortunately it's a conditioned fear, not an irrational fear. at any rate, i'm confident that i won't get the flu. if i do, then i pay the consequences for my choice. i'll accept that.
I have always got a flu shot when it has been available and have never got the flu. I've had cold's that last 3-5 days but that is nothing close to the flu. I've seen my father and father-in-law with the flu and it is a completely miserable experience that lasted 1.5 to 2 weeks. On the topic of companies, I completely understand why a company would want to know why an employee doesn't get the shot. It can help them provide information to counteract a lot of the misinformation that is out there. An example I here a lot from people is that they don't get the flu shot because it gives you the flu. My wife's employer is very strict about coming to work when sick. It is not tolerated at all. When she started she had to sign an agreement that she would not come to work showing any symptoms of illness with the possibility of termination if you violate the agreement. They really don't want you coming in and infecting the rest of the office because you want to use your sick days to play golf.
Lots of interesting things in this thread. I'm surprised that a company would ask an employee to indicate on a form why they elected to not get the flu shot. As some have indicated, true influenza can be pretty nasty. A flu shot does provide a good bit (not 100%) protection against influenza. It does not, however, provide protection against influenza-like illnesses, such as rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, parainfluenza viruses, etc. Those least likely to be able to fight off the flu are the elderly, the young, and those with weakened immune systems. That said, society as a whole benefits from the vaccination of those outside the high-risk zone, in that it reduces the number of carriers of the flu, and thus reduces of illnesses/deaths in the high risk populations. galaxee, you should look into FluMist. It doesn't involve a needle (a health professional squirts it into each of your nostrils). I actually prefer FluMist to the shot, as I often get body aches and a fever for a day or two after receiving the shot. Unfortunately, while the flu shot is offered for free in many locations, FluMist is rarely offered for free -- you'd have to check with your doctor about getting it. Influenza doesn't morph each year into a resistant strain. There are actually quite a few strains of influenza. Each flu shot contains three different influenza viruses (one influenza B and two influenza A strains; kind of technical what the B and A varieties designate). The formula for each year's shot is determined the previous spring, based upon the strains that have been most active in the Southern Hemisphere (primarily Australia and China). In some cases the B strain or the A strains that are in the shot are not the specific strains that cause problems in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the strains in the shot often do provide protection against the specific strains that break out in the North. Lastly, the mercury issue has not yet been shown to be a valid issue. Minute amounts of thimerosal are used as a preservative in most flu shots. Thimerosal is about 59% mercury. There have been a few studies that have shown some correspondence between the number of shots received, and either autism in kids or Alzheimer's in the elderly. However, no direct link between thimerosal and these afflictions has been established. (On a more technical note, thimerosal is an ethyl mercury, a type of mercury which is not readily absorbed by the body. Most of the problems people associate with mercury have to do with methyl mercury.) I'll be getting a flu shot next week.
