walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Oct 8, 2015 11:46:29 GMT -8
Both the 1918 epidemic and the much more recent H1N1 virus seemed to prefer taking down the young and healthy Regarding H1N1... leading theory is that the "more seasoned" among us had partial immunity due to exposure of a different, but similar strain. Which is another reason to consider getting the flu vaccine every year.
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Oct 8, 2015 11:58:45 GMT -8
You can only get the Shingles shot once according to my doctor, it lasts about 10 years and then is no longer effective and he recommends waiting till you are at least 50, if not 60 years old before getting it.
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beef
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Post by beef on Oct 8, 2015 12:03:02 GMT -8
That the feeble and whatnot are the ones most likely to die, and, therefore the loss is not significant...this is a very dangerous line of thinking.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 13:22:55 GMT -8
I'd guess that if somebody is not up on their flu shots they don't think about the other things (immunizations, blood pressure,sugar levels, seat belts, etc.) that really are 'good' for us - maybe not just for you. I don't think that is quite the case generally and certainly not with me. The fact is that not all those have been given equal emphasis — even by my own doctor and the clinic I visit. I check by blood pressure every week (regularly right around 100/70), never drive without my seatbelt on, have my sugar level tested with every physical exam, and recently discussed immunizations with my doctor. But while the CDC may now recommend flu shots for everyone ( see schedule), in some years, that has not even been possible in my area because of lack of availability. And it certainly hasn't received the same emphasis as such things as blood pressure and seat belts. So it is really not accurate to suppose that someone who hasn't been getting flu shots (for whatever reason) has also been neglectful of those other things. Some of the flu deaths reported annually in my own state were among those who had gotten the flu shots. To some extent that may be true because flu strains "drift" after the vaccines are made.
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mk
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North Texas
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Post by mk on Oct 8, 2015 13:35:11 GMT -8
people generally mean stomach flu when they just say flu. Of course, that's not what the flu vaccine prevents. Often, when people say that they haven't had the flu, they're mistaken. I think the same thing. Everyone I know who's actually had influenza gets the shot -- they don't ever want to be that sick again, if they can help it. I never used to get the vaccine, but I have for the last several years and will again this year. Just don't want to be hit by something that could possibly be prevented, or at least lessened in severity.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Oct 8, 2015 13:49:48 GMT -8
Just don't get it the day the Chemtrails are out!
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Oct 8, 2015 17:04:28 GMT -8
That the feeble and whatnot are the ones most likely to die, and, therefore the loss is not significant...this is a very dangerous line of thinking. It certainly is. I'm glad nobody in this thread has suggested anything like that. My post clearly made the point that because they're old and/or feeble, they're the ones who might most need the shot.
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Oct 8, 2015 17:11:50 GMT -8
I also agree with Travis--you can't lump all those things together. I got all my vaxxes, got my kids all theirs, get a regular physical, wear my seat belts, and let them carve "suspicious" chunks out of my skin when they want to. But I see the flu shots as particularly ineffective. And since any medical intervention carries (often unknown) risks, I'm not a flu shot fan.
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beef
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Post by beef on Oct 9, 2015 22:35:51 GMT -8
The old and feeble, though, they're the ones who will most benefit from others getting vaccinated. I don't think you were directly going down the line of thinking I stated. I reduced the argument, but not to the point of absurdity, and it's a common enough idea that it merits pointing out.
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Admin
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Post by Admin on Oct 10, 2015 5:29:18 GMT -8
I happened to see this TED talk last night, explaining flu shots and vaccines. It should be interesting to those who dismiss the importance of the flu shot. Fifteen minutes of Flu Vaccine Strategy Yes, I get one, no, I don't get sick.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2015 7:30:46 GMT -8
I'm sure the Wyoming Department of Health means well. It makes available a map of Wyoming counties where there are clinics offering the 2015-16 flu shots. So I clicked on each county within about 200 driving miles of my location. The answer I got repeatedly was, "None at this time." But I know of one person who has gotten a flu shot recently, so I'll ask her where she got it. Perhaps there is an underground flu-shot clinic in my area.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Oct 10, 2015 7:37:26 GMT -8
I'm sure the Wyoming Department of Health means well. It makes available a map of Wyoming counties where there are clinics offering the 2015-16 flu shots. So I clicked on each county within about 200 driving miles of my location. The answer I got repeatedly was, "None at this time." But I know of one person who has gotten a flu shot recently, so I'll ask her where she got it. Perhaps there is an underground flu-shot clinic in my area. Most every drugstore and grocery around me has banners out offering flu shots.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2015 7:39:43 GMT -8
Perhaps the reason is explained by the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper: “When you apply our local flu patterns over the last – well, I’ve been here 23 years – it doesn’t make sense to start giving flu shots this early. [i.e. September] At Wyoming Medical Center, we are recommending that we start flu shots on Oct. 1 and not earlier,” he said.
Wyoming’s flu season doesn’t generally start until December or January. Often it starts as late as February, March or April. The flu shot is good for four to six months, but its effectiveness decreases over time. Therefore, people who have already gotten their flu shot will probably not have the strongest immunity by the time Wyoming’s flu season rolls around.
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Oct 10, 2015 13:41:29 GMT -8
Twenty years ago I bet you could have found a TED talk on the certainty that we should cut all the fat out of our diets (if only there'd been TED back then). All I can say is, look at the data, not the rah-rah health ads. I'm speaking from memory here, but this stuff ain't hard to google up. Actually, it is hard to find in the CDC's and others' "consumer info" pages--they acknowledge variations in effectiveness but almost never give you the numbers (I wonder why). Anyway... "Herd immunity" sounds good, but it hardly seems worth much unless the herd is actually immune. Flu shot effectiveness ranges from about 10% to 60% depending on the dominant strains each year. Last year it was something like 20% IIRC. What that means: if your risk of getting the flu without a shot was 10%, last year's shot would have lowered that risk to 8%. In a good vaccine year it would have lowered it to 4%. A raw 10% risk would be a really bad flu year--it's often down around 2% without a shot (probably 3% to 4% is common?). Don't trust my numbers, but I've got the right number of digits. Then there's viral shedding. Everyone who gets the shot "sheds" the virus (whatever form they got in the shot) in their body fluids (blood, sweat, snot, whatever) for some number of days. Some shots have live but weakened viruses (usualy the nasal ones) that the CDC swears "cannot" give you the flu. It doesn't take much imagination to see one of those weakened viruses going rogue...then it's not 2% or 10% of the population with a flu virus to spread, but every person who got the shot. (Mind you, that's one of the "unknown" risks I worry about, not based on any professional's warning.) Most countries outside the U.S. and Canada don't encourage everyone to get flu shots. I think they cite inadequate proof of effectiveness vs the cost. All that said, I'm not trying to talk anyone out of getting a shot--we're all trying to figure out the best thing to do. But the numbers don't work for me, and I get nervous when the rhetoric starts bordering on mandating a medical intervention on anyone. We're seeing that with other vaccinations, though admittedly it's for ones that are more effective than for the flu.
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whistlepunk
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Post by whistlepunk on Oct 10, 2015 14:32:32 GMT -8
Since they are free from my insurance, as well as an annual physical, I get one every year.
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