Originally posted by wdcav1952
I know the vaccines aren't perfect, but it is a damn fine idea to get your yearly flu vaccine. Health care workers, teachers, the elderly and others who come in contact with large numbers of people are high on the list of those who really, really should get the vaccine.
So very true!! Sadly the guys who compound the vaccine guessed wrong this year and the vaccine is only about 40% effective this year. I think I read that they hit on only two of the seven flu types that they anticipated??
An awful lot of folks underestimate the seriousness of the flu. The CDC estimates the flu and related problems kill about 36,000 people, yearly, most of whom are very young or very old, although to be fair, there some folks who believe the CDC figures are significantly overstated.
As a young buck, I was healthy as a horse and if I even contracted it at all, it only put me down for a day or two. As the years piled on, I got the flu more frequently and it was usually a week long or more of total misery!! I finally decided to start taking a flu shot and have hadn't gotten it since. People are different, of course, so others may not have the same experience; but i am 100% sold on the value of getting the annual shot even if it isn't perfect.
One of the more common complications of the flu is pneumonia. I just learned recently that there is a shot for it as well. It is 2-3 times the cost of the flu shot; but is good for 10 years!! I got one of those too.
Al: You have my sympathy. Once you have the flu, one only effective shots are the ones Darley suggested! Hope you are feeling better soon.