Hey I know we all enjoy dunking on anti-vaxxers and shit, but that’s genuinely uncool, dude. Autistic folks are not in any way comparable with the dumbfucks spreading this nonsense.
And right on the heels of World Autism Awareness Day, too, @Timex :(
Like that giant green spiky ball is going to fit into that guy’s nose. More lies from the pro-vaccine death camps!
I’ve not had a flu shot since I was in medical school, but that I would take if it works out.
It’s funny, I can not remember my last flu shot nor my last case of the flu. OTOH there is a lot that I can’t remember. Why am I here? Who are you people?
You people that don’t get flu shots are assholes. You’re a young guy with a great immune system, you don’t care, so you could get a mild case of the flu, no big deal, right? But when you’re walking sick around immuno-compromised people you could kill them.
Besides, the flu sucks. If you got a bad strain you’d be extremely uncomfortable. Ten minutes of inconvenience for the shot is well worth it.
Seriously. If not for yourself, do it for those less fortunate around you. It’s not hard.
I don’t get the flu shot because it’s an absolute crap shoot as to whether it has any value or not on a given year, and frequently it doesn’t. I’ve also not gotten the flu as a result of not taking the shot. Not once. And the worst flu strains will never, ever be protected by it.
I am not an anti-vaxxer in any way. Give me a vaccine that will work regardless of strain and I will be happy to take it.
I am required to get one where I work, so I’ve gotten one every year for almost 10 years, and the shot itself is fine, my arm is a touch sore for half a day, no big deal. Occasionally I have a mild reaction that lasts until I eat something. It’s hardly a problem. The bigger issue is the last two or maybe three years they “guessed wrong” and the flu shots didn’t protect against the strains that were active, or something. This year even with the flu shot I got the worst flu I’ve ever had, it was awful, I thought I need to go to the ER at one point, and it lasted almost 3 full days. Just brutal.
But even so, get a flu shot - there is no compelling reason to at least take that precaution for yourself and your kids, imo.
Even if you are healthy, the flu sucks SO bad.
But it costs you nothing to get a flu shot, so the idea that it only prevents the flu half the time is still an improvement.
I think it’s been a while since Rich was a young guy with a great immune system.
The last time I didn’t get a flu shot was the year I got the flu.
It’s not common… most folks don’t get the flu.
I think that, in my mind, I thought “Oh, the flu is just like a bad cold. Whatever. Who cares. It’s not like polio!”
But I still remember when I got it years ago… It just got progressively worse over a few days. Started out like a cold. Then got fever, nausea, felt like very muscle in my body had been punched.
I remember eventually, after a few days, lying in bed in my appartment thinking, “Holy shit. I think I’m dying. I need to go to the doctor.”
Went to the doctor, and he was like, “Yep, you have the flu. Looks like I don’t have any record of you getting a flu shot?” then he just shrugged. And I was like, “So what now?” And he was like, “You already got it. You’ll probably be fine in a few more days. There’s not really anything you can do about it now. Just drink a lot of liquids. Get a flu shot next year.”
So now I get flu shots.
Yeah I ended up having to go to the emergency room when I caught H1N1, so I don’t pass up the flu shot anymore. That plus I have kids, so double reasons.
A lot of people think that, actually. Those people have never had it.
You can get a mild case of the flu. It does indeed feel like a bad cold.
Back around 2008-09, wife got the flu and then developed pneumonia. Was hospitalized for a few days to get things under control. I always got the shot for free from work, and we always immunized the kids, but she would typically skip every other year. She doesn’t skip anymore.
I would sign up for that study if it were available here.
Even if the flu shot does not stop someone from getting the flu, in some cases it can shorten the length and severity. Healthy adults can and do die from the flu… every year.
Every time I get the shot, my arm aches for almost 2 days, and I still get it. It’s certainly not free though for everyone, but the cost is pretty low. For several years, we keep running out too at the low cost locations.
Not at every location that gives them, but you should be able to get a free flu shot somewhere. It’s a public health thing.