Flu jabs

[scotty]

I'm ringing my doctors tomoroo to see when I'm getting one thanks everyone for the reminder I remember the first year I was diagonsed I was advised to get the jab ignored them thinking I be ok got the flu and thought I was going to die couldn't move out of bed for a week, and this all came on boxing day, I had the worst Xmas ever stuck in bed feeling sorry for my self, the next year had the flu jab and was fine

 

[FM001]

No it doesn't.

As there are so many varieties of influenza, the vaccine simply contains the marker for the strains of flu that are predicted to be the most widespread that particular winter. Lifethreatening doesn't come into it.

That means you can still get flu with a flu vaccine if you happen to encounter a different strain.

As for the whole bird flu/swine flu thing...both bird flu and swine flu are simply strains of the standard flu virus that also have the potential to infect organisms other than humans. There isn't anything particularly special about either from a vaccination perspective. I'm not criticising your choice but I would be interested to hear the rationale behind supporting getting a flu jab but not supporting one that protects against specific strains of the flu. Is there something specific about the vaccine for H1N1 and H3N2 that makes it different from other flu vaccines in terms of side effects etc?

Flu in the worst case can lead to pneumonia which in turn can be life threatening. Not against vaccines full stop, what made you think that or was it directed at someone else?

 

[Caroline]

There are lots of good arguments for and against having the flu jab done. I am seeing the DSN on October 9th so will discus with her then. I think it is a personal thing and we must do what is right for us as individuals.