General Discussion

PoindexterOglethorpe

(28,493 posts)

72. I don't get the flu shot.

Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:44 AM

Nov 2017

I'm 69 years old and in excellent health, and more to the point, I got the flu a bunch of times in my childhood. So I'm pretty confident in my immunity. I'm sure it's at least as good as the variable and uncertain immunity of the flu shot.

About 8 years ago during a particularly hysterical "EVERYONE MUST GET THE FLU SHOT IMMEDIATELY!!" outbreaks, I was working in a hospital. I politely declined the flu shot pointing out that I was in the category of people who needed to be last on the list (I was over 60), since the vaccine supply was limited.

Periodically here on DU during these annual EVERYONE MUST GET THE FLU SHOT diatribes, I get accused of being a non-symptomatic carrier of flu. Ummm, that's simply not a thing. There is simply no evidence at all of non-symptomatic carriers of flu. Luckily for everyone's peace of mind, I am no longer in the workforce at all.

Oh, and my job at the hospital did not involve direct patient contact.

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Essentia Health fires 69 employees over refusal to get flu shots [View all] Thor_MN Nov 2017 OP

This happens every year mcar Nov 2017 #1

We lost a PRN in our dept for failure to get his flu shot. ileus Nov 2017 #2

Just a conpiracy by Big Flu... brooklynite Nov 2017 #52

Good Calculating Nov 2017 #3

That is exactly the reason still_one Nov 2017 #4

Not Getting A Flu Shot RobinA Nov 2017 #91

Or stupid if you work in a hospital Drahthaardogs Nov 2017 #94

I have a needle phobia. Codeine Nov 2017 #5

Barely felt mine Retrograde Nov 2017 #11

I look away too. Every time. I have no idea as to the length of the needle. gristy Nov 2017 #12

I took one a couple of months ago and didn't even know the pharmacist had done it as it was so... brush Nov 2017 #15

Some years, they have the nasal spray vaccine. Ilsa Nov 2017 #16

The 2017-2018 nasal vaccine isn't recommended per CDC. moriah Nov 2017 #49

If you work acute care, that isn't an option Horse with no Name Nov 2017 #114

Science wins again! +1000! n/t USALiberal Nov 2017 #6

Reminds me...need to get mine. GulfCoast66 Nov 2017 #7

Good! hatrack Nov 2017 #8

I got my first flu shot a couple of months ago. A lot of you talked me int it. Doreen Nov 2017 #9

Sorry, no sympathy. TomSlick Nov 2017 #10

sorry but bluestarone Nov 2017 #13

Get real. The flu can kill. Hospital workers should not subject patients to possibly getting the... brush Nov 2017 #17

should they forceyou bluestarone Nov 2017 #22

Absolutely. Why would anyone who works in a hospital want to take a chance of passing on the flu... brush Nov 2017 #23

because although slight bluestarone Nov 2017 #25

Understood, but those people, unfortunately because of the risk of contagion should not work in... brush Nov 2017 #29

except they wouldn't know until bluestarone Nov 2017 #32

baloney.....nurses, HCA, CNA, MA etc already had the shots during their training and externiships BoneyardDem Nov 2017 #108

they have a medical and religious exception process CreekDog Nov 2017 #33

you don't get it bluestarone Nov 2017 #36

everyone who workds in medical situations KT2000 Nov 2017 #41

Not to mention that they cannot enroll in school unless they have it Horse with no Name Nov 2017 #116

YOU HAVE BROUGHT NO KNOWLEDGE, STUDY, EXPERTISE OR RESEARCH TO THIS TOPIC CreekDog Nov 2017 #42

this bluestarone Nov 2017 #45

105 died from the flu shot? CreekDog Nov 2017 #47

hey i'm just saying bluestarone Nov 2017 #51

Nothing is perfect, tell us which is closer? *YOU* OR SCIENCE CreekDog Nov 2017 #54

tell you the truth i'm not bluestarone Nov 2017 #58

so you read one article about one study and think that makes you more informed CreekDog Nov 2017 #60

i'm 70 and get my shot every year bluestarone Nov 2017 #61

Depends On Kind of Job, No? ProfessorGAC Nov 2017 #85

Hard as it may sound, protecting the hundreds of people in a hospital is more important than one... brush Nov 2017 #68

Who really knows what the long-term impact of all these vaccines has on our immune systems. Doodley Nov 2017 #82

Actually, SERVA (shoulder injury from vaccines is increasing) womanofthehills Nov 2017 #69

Even medical consensus can get it wrong. We may not know the true effect of over-medication Doodley Nov 2017 #83

Post removed Post removed Nov 2017 #57

LOL - you've been scammed, that's a quack website. procon Nov 2017 #62

But his work has been cited on Mercola's website! Revanchist Nov 2017 #118

Post removed Post removed Nov 2017 #92

Then don't work at a hospital if you're that worried about it. Easy n/t kcr Nov 2017 #53

And it's a risk healthcare workers sadly have to take, for themselves and ... moriah Nov 2017 #55

You are the one that does not get it. If you have a reaction, them you stop getting flu shots Thor_MN Nov 2017 #95

Take a Benadryl before the shot Nevernose Nov 2017 #37

Problem is not solved - womanofthehills Nov 2017 #63

Thats med-mal payouts and means very little Nevernose Nov 2017 #67

Actually, from what I've read the childhood vaccines are much safer than the flu shots womanofthehills Nov 2017 #70

Im still willing to argue Nevernose Nov 2017 #73

I know 2 people who were injured by vaccines so it made me do some research womanofthehills Nov 2017 #77

Yes, you work in an industry with sick folks with compromised immune systems...get the shot or get Demsrule86 Nov 2017 #101

Hell, yes! If they are health care workers liberalhistorian Nov 2017 #106

you aren't forced Horse with no Name Nov 2017 #115

or in many hospitals, you can wear a mask womanofthehills Nov 2017 #121

that option is going away due to the high rate of noncompliance Horse with no Name Nov 2017 #122

No... Just No Leith Nov 2017 #19

should they force you? bluestarone Nov 2017 #21

That's an interesting idea you have Hassin Bin Sober Nov 2017 #24

Force? Leith Nov 2017 #27

They weren't forced. Mariana Nov 2017 #31

there are many jobs that don't require them to get a shot Skittles Nov 2017 #44

Honestly...this is the most inane post on this thread BoneyardDem Nov 2017 #107

They're not holding anyone down and injecting them by force. X_Digger Nov 2017 #112

There's one good reason not to have a flu shot. Staph Nov 2017 #14

I haven't gone through chemo MurrayDelph Nov 2017 #18

And it's patients like you that shouldn't be exposed TexasBushwhacker Nov 2017 #64

Aversion to flu shots and anti-vaxxers... lame54 Nov 2017 #20

Wrong. The flu shot is a vaccine. GulfCoast66 Nov 2017 #35

Not the same thing... lame54 Nov 2017 #48

Not getting the flu shot doesn't make one an anti-vaxxer, that's true CreekDog Nov 2017 #59

Agreed - and "The flu vaccine may have a strange problem that US scientists can't fix" womanofthehills Nov 2017 #65

My measles vaccine didn't stop me from getting measles. Mariana Nov 2017 #71

Perhaps, but it could have kept you from dying from it. Laffy Kat Nov 2017 #78

Don't get me wrong, I'm entirely pro-vaccine. Mariana Nov 2017 #98

Influenza is not one disease - it is a grouping of diseases. Thor_MN Nov 2017 #97

I didn't get the flu shot Beakybird Nov 2017 #26

There should be exceptions to those who have medically documented adverse reactions to the flu shot. MarvinGardens Nov 2017 #28

The hospital I worked at allowed emplyess to wear a mask while at work, if the employee Tess49 Nov 2017 #50

Univ of New Mexico Hospital has exceptions womanofthehills Nov 2017 #66

Good riddance. Aristus Nov 2017 #30

My wife and her mother are highly allergic to the vaccine. As a doctor you should fucking know madinmaryland Nov 2017 #38

Then they don't qualify to work there Sentath Nov 2017 #56

Lots of authoritarian types here - I find it curious. cwydro Nov 2017 #84

If its a choice between a hard rule or lots of people unnecessarily dying.. Kentonio Nov 2017 #86

I doubt anyone much cares what anyone else orders others to do on a message board. cwydro Nov 2017 #89

There's a difference between giving orders and expressing a strong opinion. Kentonio Nov 2017 #99

There some vaccines that are for that express purpose...but with all due respect. Your wife and Demsrule86 Nov 2017 #102

I do know better. I also know that vaccine allergy is relatively rare, and that exceptions based on Aristus Nov 2017 #125

Why - many hospitals will let employees wear masks womanofthehills Nov 2017 #123

That's the hospital's choice. Aristus Nov 2017 #128

Maybe all 69 were allergic to eggs. egduj Nov 2017 #34

My wife and her mother are highly allergic to the vaccine. That's why they don't take it. madinmaryland Nov 2017 #39

Are They Health Care Workers? Leith Nov 2017 #40

There's been an egg-free recombinant vaccine out for 3 years... moriah Nov 2017 #46

Flublok is interesting - no eggs, formaldehyde, thimerosal, latex, antiobiotics, no .. womanofthehills Nov 2017 #75

i understand that people think ignorant things CreekDog Nov 2017 #43

I don't get the flu shot. PoindexterOglethorpe Nov 2017 #72

Why would you think the flu you got 50-70 years ago confers immunity now when flu viruses mutate? CreekDog Nov 2017 #74

Lifelong protection against severe influenza - Childhood flu and you womanofthehills Nov 2017 #80

Same here HockeyMom Nov 2017 #88

I'm pretty sure I got the 1957 flu also known as the Asian flu. PoindexterOglethorpe Nov 2017 #103

At the HMO I work for.. Laffy Kat Nov 2017 #76

I have a niece in Miami with two beautiful little girls, ages five and two. She is a rabid anti-vax. secondwind Nov 2017 #79

I have a niece in Miami with two beautiful little girls, ages five and two. She is a rabid anti-vax. secondwind Nov 2017 #81

A health care worker must get a flu shot for the safety of their patients. Vinca Nov 2017 #87

A Billing Clerk is now a Health Care Worker? HockeyMom Nov 2017 #104

Then I guess they should opt to get the vaccination. Vinca Nov 2017 #105

Do Hospital VISTORS use cafeterias? HockeyMom Nov 2017 #109

Okay, okay, okay. Chill. If you want to die of the flu it's your choice. Vinca Nov 2017 #110

If I do not have the flu HockeyMom Nov 2017 #111

You can be asymptomatic, have the virus and then become ill. Vinca Nov 2017 #117

Yep HockeyMom Nov 2017 #120

And I'll leave you with a hope you stay well. Vinca Nov 2017 #124

Your statement shows how much you know about Shingles HockeyMom Nov 2017 #129

It seems we're both correct. Vinca Nov 2017 #130

If you dont want to get the shot dont take a job in health care Lee-Lee Nov 2017 #90

totally agree steve2470 Nov 2017 #119

If u work in healthcare u need to protect the vulnerable dembotoz Nov 2017 #93

Bye! Iggo Nov 2017 #96

I didn't get the flu shot and probably won't in the near future. Tatiana Nov 2017 #100

They have in the past allowed the employees to wear masks the entire flu season Horse with no Name Nov 2017 #113

Good ebbie15644 Nov 2017 #126

Good. Lunabell Nov 2017 #127