This week I'll get my flu shot. For my nephew and others who have no immune system.

[s-cubed]

My nephew finished 3 hellish years of chemotherapy last spring for leukemia. He's doing well now, but there is always a chance of relapse. But, he has no immune system right now. To look at him you'd never know he'd been sick for that long. But someone who used one of those excuses Mineralman listed for why people here justify not getting a shot could land him in the hospital, potentially life threatening. And it's not just the flu, he has no immunity to all the illnesses that vaccines protect against.

And there are thousands of other people out there whose immune system is compromised who you are jeaprodizing if you don't get a flu shot. Please think of them this fall and add to the all important "herd immunity" that protects them from very serious, even fatal illness.

Thanks to everyone who gets a shot.

[yeoman6987]

1. I thank you for the exposure to this topic

I get one annually and always will. The anti flu vaccination on DU was shocking but we all have opinions. So glad your nephew is doing better.

[MineralMan]

2. Very important. We interact with people we don't

know all the time. Some of them are very vulnerable. A very good reason for immunization.

[dembotoz]

3. from harry potter....constant vigilance

first wife died from leukemia

they did chemo several time....each time the immune system is suppressed she was at advanced risk.

you just take precautions....no buffets, no salad bars, avoid crowds etc etc.

Friend had a double lung transplant ---she is doing great---but the restrictions still apply

funny at church they had communion yesterday and i declined....do not like the way the bread is handled....I am still aware and my wife has been dead some 30 years now....


get your damn shots...if not for you...get them for others

[dembotoz]

4. and while i am at it...don't think her oncologist would have trusted taco trucks either

even if they are on every corner

i actually remember a conversation about tacos....they were forbidden...the good doctor did not trust how the lettuce was washed

[Sherman A1]

5. Excellent!

I usually wait until October to get mine, but will most certainly do so.

[femmocrat]

6. K & R

Excellent advice.

[mcar]

7. K&R

Best to your nephew.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. related: this post...Don't get your flu shot high on your arm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028143276

[Dr Hobbitstein]

15. More like unrelated fear mongering.

Pretty sure all the "get your flu shot" posts are in retaliation of that post from one of DU's resident anti-vaxxers.

[Major Nikon]

21. Yeah, a bit of concern trolling that backfired brilliantly

[LWolf]

9. I don't need to, but I do anyway.

I have an above average immune system, a product of working in public schools and being constantly exposed to all kinds of things. Without a flu shot, I didn't get the flu. I started getting my flu shot when I hit my 50s. At some point in the next 6 weeks, my school district will have an after school clinic for all employees, and I'll be there.

[sarge43]

10. When we get those shots, we're paying it forward.

Good thoughts and vibes for your nephew.

[DesertRat]

11. k&r

[Hortensis]

12. Good post, s-cubed. "Herd immunity" just isn't

something I've been associating with flu vaccination since, of course, since so many don't vaccinate, the viruses are always mutating, new vaccination required each year, etc.

But of course.

[TonyPDX]

13. I put off getting an annual flu shot for ten years. Then I got the flu.

The result was an intense, terrible illness that lasted more than a month. I get my shot now, in October. I hope to never endure that particular sickness again.

[jumptheshadow]

14. My wife

My wife is going into her 5th year of Stage 4 cancer. She has been hospitalized twice in that time, both as a result of minor viral infections that have thrived in her immuno-suppressed body. You better believe that we both got a flu shot as soon as it was available this year.

[lunamagica]

16. K&R. I'll be getting mine soon.

[HockeyMom]

17. My One Year Old Grandson got 2 Flu shots

and still got the Flu, and spread it his parents. They vaccinate their children, but not themselves. Subject for another thread maybe?

I came up for Christmas from Florida to visit them. Everyone was sick. Ran myself ragged cooking, cleaning, and taking care of all of them. Grandma was the only person there who never got the the flu, despite no flu shot ever.

So explain to me why not with my over 65 waning immune system? At my age I need that special HIGH DOSE Flu Shot to protect me.

If somebody does not have the flu, they won't be spreading it around to anybody else. Can we agree on that? Do you think that everyone who does not get a Flu Shot WILL get the flu?

Anti-Vaxers include those who don't get their own Flu Shots? Well, then have of the US population are "Anti-Vaxxers". How about parents who get their children vaccinated but not their adult selves? Quasi Anti-Vaxers?

My daughter and SIL say "Flu Shots" don't work. Their Toddler Son getting 2 Flu Shots and still getting the Flu just reinforced their views that Flu Shots do not work, although they still vaccinate the kids but not themselves.

More difficult to refuse a Pediatrician, than an Adult GP.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

18. Those of us with compromised immune systems thank you

We didn't want to live a full life anyway...

Your ignorance is stunning.

[mrmpa]

23. Are you sure it .......

was the flu? Was it gastrointestinal i.e. stomach disturbances, diarrhea. If so, it wasn't the flu. I'm just asking, because so many people who have a stomach virus call it to the flu.

If indeed they had the flu, my apologies, I just needed to ask.

[HockeyMom]

24. When you are spending 24 hours on and over

the toilet bowl (been there, done that) that is not Influenza but a Norovirus. Influenza is fever, aches/chills, coughing, and sneezing; respiratory not intestinal. Grandson give that Norovirus also to everyone he came into contact with, unlike the Flu. Far more contagious. Yes, I also know that a Rotovirus vaccine in infancy does not protect against a Norovirus. Different gastrointestinal virus. Just as there a different flu strains, there are different "Stomach Flu" virus.

[B2G]

19. Getting mine for my 18 year old nephew

He's a quadriplegic due to a diving accident last year. I'm his backup caretaker and his lung function is compromised. He does NOT need the flu.

[smirkymonkey]

20. My company gives them on site. We have a health center and it's free.

However, I know a number of people working there who insist they don't need one and don't get it. It really pisses me off that they are that selfish. They only think of themselves.

[TexasProgresive]

22. I thought I'd join you

I'm at my doc's right now. They haven't received it yet.