…I should get a flu shot. She works in public health, so she oughta know. However—and I don’t usually go in for theories of conspiracy—a very small part of me thinks flu shots are a government plot to inject the citizenry with nano tracking devices or microbes that beam thoughts into your head or, you know, syphilis. Also there are all those people who say they never get them and the one time they did, they got a terrible flu anyway. Also Lindy West says she’s definitely not. What to do?

72 replies on “Mom Says”

  1. Influenza is a serious problem in the very young, those with a suppressed immune system, or the elderly.

    If you don’t fit in one of those categories, don’t waste your time.

  2. I have always refused the flu shot tyranny. My mom does *not* work in Public Health, but is a worrier and despite my adult age of 24, calls me every fall to harangue me. I’ve taken to lying and saying I did just to get her to stop.

    I disagree with flu shots.

  3. If you’ve never had the flu, and you get a flu shot, it may actually give you the flu. I’ve gotten a shot every year for the last 6 years and I haven’t had the flu, or even a cold, during that time. I swear by them!

  4. @1 is right. Though, I would add people who are around kids all the time (e.g., teachers) and health care workers to that list.

  5. Don’t do it!! I want to hear you bitch when you come down with a nasty case of the flu and end up in the hospital. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

  7. I don’t get ’em, and I don’t think I’ve had the flu recently. Even if I have, who cares? Getting sick every now and then isn’t so bad, if you’re otherwise healthy.

    I’m no conspiracy theorist, but the increasing mania for these shots over the past couple of years is kind of weird.

  9. A flu shot protects not just you from the flu but also the people around you from catching something from you. So you should get one. However, I’ve never gotten one so I’m a total hypocrite – but at least I’m honest. Okay, I’ll get one this year.

    You might get sick right after the shot because of something else – it happens. But the viruses in a flu shot are dead/inactive so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot: http://www.cdc.gov/FLU/protect/keyfacts.htm

  10. Agree with @1…. my doc says flu shots are for old people, young children, people with compromised immune systems, and people who work closely with any of those 3 categories.

  13. A coworker asked me this morning if I was getting one (the company pays for them). I didn’t even have to consider: nope! I never get them, and I am a-ok with that. Aside from my general avoidance of medicine, I also think flu shots seem fishy. I’d rather bolster my immune system with nutrition and common sense than rely on a shot to keep me healthy.

  14. Egads!

    Of course you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. The virus, grown in eggs, is treated with detergent. It’s totally defunct. Repeat after me: You. Cannot. Get. Flu. From. The. Injectable. Vaccine.

    This year might be a good year to get it, given there has been a significant shift in all four antigens. I.e. you have a better chance of not having immunity. For herd immunity alone, it’s a decent thing to do for your fellow citizens, who might be immunocompromised.

  15. Get the shot.
    It not only protects you, it protects the people you might infect if you do happen to get the flu. History has shown the effectiveness of vaccines against diseases such as smallpox and polio. If people had refused smallpox vaccines we’d still be paying the price today.

  17. I haven’t had the flu since I had little kids in kindergarten a decade ago — isn’t the flu shot last year’s flu vaccine, like a prevention from whatever flu was going around the previous year?

    Weirdly, I’ve never gotten a flu shot but there suddenly seems to be more hype/worry about it this year.

  20. How about starting with not making medical decisions based on anecdata.

    Do you want to reduce your chance of getting the flu? Then get the shot. If you don’t then don’t. This is not a major life decision.

  22. I’m a nurse, so yes, duh, you should get a flu shot.
    @1 – If you *ever* come into contact with these vulnerable populations, you could pass influenza on to them. Plus, the flu isn’t just a cold, it can and does kill, even healthy adults. Per the CDC, flu kills 36,000 annually in the US.
    @2 – Also see above.
    @3 – Getting the flu from a flu shot is a myth, I concur with other posts here that say the same thing.
    @6 – See my response to 1.
    @7 – You too. Plus I think it’s just the CDC and the media doing a better job of informing the public.

    I get a flu shot every year, no problems. My advice: Please get one, too.

  23. Thanks Jonathan.

    It was only in, well, a long time ago, when vaccines used live viruses. Now, they’re dead and CANNOT do anything to you. These corpses protect you from their living brothers and sisters.

    Thus ends my extraordinarily scientific explanation.

    Long live the virus corpse!

  29. I got a flu several years ago that landed me in the hospital and lost me a job offer. Since then, I’ve gotten a flu shot every year. It helps that my employer pays for it.

  30. People who don’t flu shots out of fear of some ulterior motive are nuts. Those that don’t get them so they can feel alive are crazy!

  31. I hate shots in general, so no flu shot for me.

    Besides, I hardly ever get the flu, but when I do, it’s like a free vacation!*

    (*accompanied by nausea, headaches, congestion, occasional vomiting, and spending several days in bed. **)

    (** As I said – just like a vacation!)

  32. Myth: the flu shot can give you the flu.
    Fact: the shot contains killed virus, so it’s simply not possible to contract the flu from the shot. When millions of people get the flu shot, of course some of them are going to come down with a cold the next week and blame it on the shot. People get colds all the time, with or without flu shots.

    Myth: the flu is no big deal.
    Fact: “the flu hospitalizes 200,000 people in the U.S. each year. It kills about 36,000. That’s close to the number of women killed by breast cancer each year, and more than twice the number of people killed by AIDS.” (more flu myths)

    It’s really a no-brainer. Get the shot. Protect yourself and your community.

    By the way, all those “immunity-boosting” supplements are also mythical.

  35. I’m self-employed and I always get a flu shot (or the mist up the nose). It’s easy, there are no side effects that I’ve ever noticed, and I have been lucky to not get the flu. I can’t really afford to be out of work for two weeks.

  36. I suppose you or your parents could reject polio shots and various childhood immunizations against measles, chicken pox, whooping cough for the same lame ass reasons. And, like certain religious sects, just say it’s God’s will if you get sick or die…or worse, infect your companions.

    No research has been done on whether avoidance of such immunizations reduces your propensity for retention of critical thinking.

  38. I’m too lazy to go get one, but the more of you people who get a flu shot, the less likely it is that you’ll give me the flu. Thx.

  39. If my memory of microbio from an age ago is correct, the flu virus is capable of hopping around between people, pigs and poultry (chicken? ducks? both? I forget). You get multiple strains in one animal and they get a chance to mix up and create a new strain. This most often happens in parts of rural asia, so the CDC monitors flu strains that appear there, and based on what shows up most often, make their predictions for what will be the dominant strains that will spread to the rest of the world that year. The flu vaccines are made based on these predictions, but they do have to set those decisions well in advance of when the flu season starts, so they aren’t always right. I think last year what ended up being one of the more common strains was missing from the vaccine.

    Golob, I think this would be a great topic for the next “Ask Science”.

  41. I think not getting one because you’re afraid of some conspiracy is stupid, but I also don’t see it as a “must do” for me. I haven’t gotten one in 8-9 years.

    It’s not that I don’t think the flu is serious (though, that 36,000 deaths number is a little misleading for this audience, since 90% of people who die from the flu are over 65). But, I am not in a high risk group, and I rarely spend any time around kids or seniors. So, it’s not a high priority for me…

  42. Myth:
    The flu shot is ineffective, doesn’t apply to you, can give you the flu, injects nanobots, doesn’t target the right viruses, and contains mysterious “synthetics” which should make you afraid.

    Fact:
    Going to a drug store and standing in line to get poked with a needle is annoying, and it’s much easier to visualize something more immediately gratifying to do with $25. It’s also more fun to cite luck/fate/karma if you don’t get it and stay in bed watching DVDs of Lost with sympathetic friends bringing you soup if you do.

  45. i’ve worked with the homeless, mentally ill and elderly for 10 years. I’ve never had a flu shot and never had the flu. Don’t do it.

  46. You’ve been watching “The Last Enemy” on PBS and taking it too seriously.

    This year’s flu season injection rate is being being monitored by the CDC to provide baseline information for planning the public health response to a possible flu pandemic. Univ of Wa Med Ctr and Harborview both conducted a 24 hour flu shot marathon to see how close to 100% vaccination rate they could get with scheduled staff on a voluntary basis.

  48. @39 nailed it. I’d second the request to anyone who comes into contact with other people to get them – I’ve had two flus develop into pneumonia, and it’s permanently screwed up my lungs. It’s not like it’s a big deal – and up in BC, they pay for shots for anyone in or working with a high risk group.

  49. Totally pro shot. Not going to argue with science, statistics, or common sense. Here’s to hoping those of you with needle anxiety keep your lungs free of fluid all Winter long.

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