Did you get a flu shot? Has it worked?

[Yo_Mama]

72. Yes, I got it, no it didn't prevent the flu

I got the flu from the same doctor who gave me the flu shot. He and all his staff had the shot, and every one of them got sick. I had even forgotten I had gotten the darned thing in November.

He said most of the patients he is seeing have the flu and that he gave the flu shot to at least half of them HIMSELF (and others would have gotten it elsewhere), and that flu shot this year is providing basically no protection against the strain locally circulating. His estimate is that the best possible protection it provided in his area this year was under 20%, and he thinks that is too high.

Maybe nationally it's different.

My husband got the shot, and got sick after being exposed to me. My brother's family (small kids) all got the shot, and they all got sick. They got the flu from my sister-in-law's father, who got the flu shot and got sick.

The effectiveness of the flu shot will vary from year to year. Maybe this year's is a dud in some areas, but that doesn't mean that it is every year. A lot of years you are much less likely to get the flu if you do get the shot.

The problem is that there are always numerous strains of flu circulating, and if a whole lot of people get vaccinated, there's always another strain which then starts spreading. That doesn't mean that the flu shot isn't protecting you from some strains, but maybe not the one currently circulating. Also the circulating strain may mutate just enough to make the antibodies generated from the flu shot less effective - natural selection does play a role here.

If you're not going to have a bad reaction, getting the shot is always safer than not getting it. "The flu" is not one virus - it's literally hundreds, and each year they test the spring before to see what's circulating and try to put the three most common in a vaccination to be given the next fall. There will always be changes in circulating virus strains ten months later.

The bitch of it is that the flu shot doesn't even seem to be producing more moderate cases this year in his practice. He thinks it is a completely different strain now circulating.