Have you guys gotten your flu shots yet?

Or are we all just too paralyzed by the fear of some exotic bird flu to actually do anything about the standard seasonal flu?

What about the seniors in your house—those folks dealing with chronic health issues?

My wife is 68 and I’ll be 64 soon. For the last 20 years, we've stayed on top of our annual flu shots, and we make sure to get our pneumonia vaccine every five years as well.
😎

I am never getting vaccinated.

placidfox55 said:Or are we all just paralyzed by the fear of bird flu and ignoring the regular seasonal flu entirely?

What about the older folks in your family? Those with chronic health issues?...

Honestly, I haven't gotten my shot, I don't really want to, and yeah, maybe there's a bit of anxiety about the bird flu thing too. But I've always felt the best defense is just having a solid immune system—eating right, staying active, getting enough sleep. Just a few weeks ago, I was talking to my grandma about skipping the vaccine. I asked her if she’d ever actually caught the flu in her life... she said nope. And everyone else in the family gets it regularly, too. So I asked, why even bother? She just shrugged and said, "Well, that's what the doctors tell us." Well, whatever... 😉 It's all about moving those doses, isn't it? 😁

I mean, I haven't yet, but I think I might this year. It’s not even about the bird flu or whatever—it's more that I'm constantly on the move, hitting up crowded spots all the time, and honestly, I deal with enough stress as it is.

I honestly feel like getting vaccinated against avian flu is a bit of a lost cause...
The way I see it, this vaccine only targets those specific bird-to-human viruses, rather than the kind of strain that would actually trigger a massive global pandemic...
It might be more practical to just focus on staying current with the standard seasonal flu shot instead.

Nicole James said:I honestly think getting the bird flu shot is a lost cause...
The vaccine only targets bird-to-human strains, not whatever crazy virus actually triggers a pandemic...
Maybe focusing on the seasonal flu shot would be a smarter move.

Can you elaborate on that? From what I gather, vaccinating just weakens our natural defenses. Flu and similar illnesses are mostly issues with the immune system—meaning the people who get hit hardest are the ones with the weakest systems to begin with. Between the mercury and those other toxins found in vaccines, the shots might just be suppressing our immunity and making us more vulnerable to infections. Getting a flu shot doesn't seem like the brightest idea...

I haven't, and I don't plan to, even if I am technically eligible for free flu shots since I work in healthcare.

I have honestly never had the flu...

Four years ago, the flu absolutely wrecked me—I’m talking full-blown, body-shattering devastation. I couldn't even drag myself out of bed for five days straight; if I managed to make it to the bathroom, I considered it a massive victory.
I've never been vaccinated before, but I am definitely planning on getting my shot this year.

I seem to catch the flu about every other year on average, but I’ve honestly never bothered with the shot. Is it just me, or is nobody else willing to deal with waiting three hours at a local clinic? 🙄

Never again. Speaking from experience, I had the absolute worst bout of the flu right after I got my shot.
In my house, nobody gets vaccinated. If someone catches the flu, they just complain for a bit, recover, and move on. It’s really no big deal.

I have never done that, nor do I ever intend to. I’ve had the flu maybe a few times in my life, but it was always mild; a little rest, some tea, and vitamins were all it took to recover quickly. As for bird flu, I am still holding onto the hope that things will settle down soon and we won't see any major outbreaks, at least not here in the States.

dustycanyon6 said:Can you elaborate on that? My view is that vaccination actually works to suppress our immunity—flu and similar ailments are primarily issues within the immune system itself, which means they hit those with already compromised systems first and hardest. Because of the mercury and other toxins present in vaccines, our immune response gets weakened after the shot, leaving us more vulnerable to infections. Getting a flu shot just doesn't seem like a smart move.

Honestly, spending a full week battling the flu will do far more damage to your body than any vaccine ever could. That’s precisely why recurring bouts of the flu can be so dangerous.

Casey Palmer5 said:I haven't, and I'm not planning to, even if I am technically entitled to free flu shots since I work in healthcare.

I've never actually caught the flu.

That's too bad.

Working in healthcare makes it easy to become a "victim" of the flu, but you also end up being the one spreading it.

Alright then, looks like your only defense against the flu season is good old-fashioned hand washing. 🙂

Why get the shot?

First off, I work in a high-traffic environment surrounded by tons of people.

Second, if I catch the flu, I’m definitely passing it on to everyone else in the office.

Third, getting hit with the flu means being sidelined for a week—aching muscles, fever, maybe even some sinus issues. Plus, you don't just bounce back instantly; that lingering fatigue can drag on for weeks after the initial symptoms clear.

Finally, there's always that small risk—which honestly creeps up as you get older—that a simple flu could turn into something much more serious.

I haven't had a shot since elementary school, and I don't plan on starting now.

I'm more worried about the vaccine than I am about the flu😁

I never have, and I don't plan to.
Honestly, I’ve just never been one to catch the flu.
I guess some people are just naturally more susceptible than others!
My company has actually organized on-site flu shots for us for a few years now. Back during the first year, a few coworkers had such a strong reaction to the vaccine that they joked they were totally immune to the flu after that!

jadesailor14 said:During that first year, some people had such a massive reaction to the shot that they started claiming the flu was basically nothing compared to it.

Honestly, all this just proves those folks have probably never actually dealt with a real flu in their lives... they just caught some random virus and assumed it was the flu because, well, life...

rustymoose54 said:All this just proves they’ve never actually dealt with the flu in their lives. They had some minor virus and just assumed it was the flu.

Yeah, that’s the truth right there. I’ve had the actual flu exactly one time in my entire life. Just once. But believe me, I’ll never forget it.