Don’t forget to have your flu shots . I had mine 5 days ago . No side effects if your worried about that . If you are a pensioner it’s a freebie so get to it .
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Strong herd immunity is important! <3
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Too late for me, I’m getting over it after a number of days of severe aches, pains, mainly around the hips, and a killer headache for about a day, added to the the joy of the usual nose and throat unpleasantness, and lack of sleep!
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Yes, do it. But - choose the time carefully. I had mine on Monday and suffered from side effects for a few days. I was booked to baby sit for friends on Wednesday evening and couldn’t let them down, so had to deal with two super exuberant children while feeling unwell. Next time I will leave a couple of days free afterwards in case I get the side effects again.
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You should still get the needle. You might still get other varieties that the needle helps to protect against. One type of the flu shot helps cover 4 strains the other 3 strains. Both cover same 3 of the strains but the quad one adds another that some age bands don’t seem to need.
They are working on an immunisation that will protect against all forms of flu, but it is still some time off. But one needle (or a series like with baby immunisation schedules) to protect for lifetime…I’m up for that!.
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Brainwashing in its full glory!
Your comment being case-in-point? 
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Totally disagree with you vax. The organisation I work for has had free flu vaccinations available for years. The industry I work in is open to the environment; and operates around the clock three-hundred-and-six-five days a year. I have personally seen people that have never being sick in their lives completely devastated physically after receiving a flu vaccination. I personally do not even take aspirin for a headache, and shuffle along with whatever the environment throws at my physical self; and thus far ( touch wood ) my own personal physical defence mechanisms have always managed to overcome any extraneous infection that has assailed my body. I do understand the need for vaccinations, but I disagree with the all enveloping requirement to have to have a vaccination if your own bodies physical defensive mechanisms are working perfectly well. After all I think it is much better for your own self to develop its own autoimmune response rather than being stimulated by a injected foreign mechanism to induce such a response. Just an aside note; that I did come down with this miserable head cold a couple months ago, which went straight for my bronchial area. It has taken my own bodies defences up till now to almost throw off this infection. It is a tough ol bug this one; talking to friends in the Northern Hemisphere ( Canada ) it is a nasty, nasty bug. I tend to eat healthy, and exercise as part of life’s work, and drink alcohol infrequently. Though I am a smoker ( we all have a vice or two ). Anyways I do hope that all stay healthy over this upcoming colder weather; finally ( I do like the cold ), and thank-you for reading. Peaceful road, Peter. .
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I am a believer. Have been getting shots for years. Never had the flu. No side effects. I urge everyone to have one
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If one has time, this documentary on SBS is worth watching for a balanced view on the risks of vaccinating and not vaccinating.
Like any medical treatment, there are risks and potential side effects. With vaccinations, there are some in the community which experience some undesirable side effects as well as many others who experience none. Severe side effects are rare, however the risks of getting a preventable disease is real.
Influenza is one of the most common diseases and every year many have severe complications from this infection. Vaccinations are one way to reduce risks and potential complications from some of the most virulent strains.
The flu vaccination also only protects against those strains covered by the vaccination.
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Yes indeed it is. We need about 92 -95% of the population protected for the others who are unable to be vaccinated or for whom vaccines don’t work as well (immuno-suppressed, very young children who are not able to be vaccinated, and the very elderly whose immune response is very much weaker). So getting vaccinated isn’t just about the person getting the jab, in fact it could be argued it isn’t about even the healthy people getting protection it is about the unhealthy and weak for whom vaccines are not the answer being protected by the larger healthy group who do get vaccinated.
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You can only come down with the flu after a flu shot if you had already acquired it. You cannot get it from the flu shot. Eating healthy does not stop the flu.
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I would be interested to hear you explain who is being brainwashed, by whom and in what way.
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For the most part correct, but you can still get the Flu after vaccination. This is because 1) the flu vaccine does not confer total immunity in all people nor does this immunity last forever for the strains the needle contains 2) You can still get another variety of Flu virus that the vaccine does not specifically protect against though the vaccine may give you some immunity or help your immune system adapt more quickly than if you hadn’t been vaccinated.
If you don’t get full protection in either situation you still get some protection and the symptoms you may suffer will most times be far less than if you hadn’t got immunised.
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I kind of feel like those that don’t take(need) annual flu shots and vaccination deniers aren’t necessarily the same topics though.
But in as much as they are both likely carriers of the Flu to those who are immuno-comprimised by age or health, those who cannot be vaccinated and the very young, they both share a common outcome in those populations even though most times it is done unknowingly and unfortunately/sadly in some cases uncaringly.
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I’m really keen to know the details of why the immunity doesn’t last forever for the strains the needle contains. I jumped in early this year and got the 'flu vac as soon as it was available. However, I heard a Health Report interview in which a virologist advised the 'flu vac loses its potency over time, so recommended the vaccine be taken later. If the vaccine contains the inactive virus signatures, and that triggers your body to develop an immune response to those signatures, why doesn’t that defence last forever against those strains? Is it because those strains are capable of mutating within a single season or is it because our immune systems only have a fleeting effect for a given strain?
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I cannot give you the full explanation as I am not the immunologist in the family! The simple version is that the immune system slowly ‘forgets’ how to deal with specific microbes over a period of time. If the reason for that is the point of your question I am sorry it is beyond me to explain.
This loss of immunity is why you get boosters for some bugs, eg tetanus. The booster re-stimulates the immune system to continue to produce antibodies for the target. In the case of flu, which changes all the time, boosters are not manufactured as there would be no point but a new vaccine in made to keep up with the mutations in the wild population of the virus. As a result you slowly lose your immunity to strains of flu that you have been immunised against. The good news is that you probably will not face the same one again.
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Cue the b-grade movie where they chip Thag out of the ice and discover he had the flu 
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As @syncretic stated many viruses and diseases need booster shots throughout life to retain protection. Another reason is the amount of the dead or de-activated (attenuated) virus in the needle. It is a very small amount to kickstart the immune system into recognising the virus.
In the elderly this amount has now been adjusted significantly upwards to get the immune system to react. But the elderly have some residual immunity to previous pandemic types so they only use the 3 strain vaccine rather than the 4 strain. This higher dosage can lead to more pronounced reaction symptoms. So rather than give everyone a much higher dose it is only used in the elderly as a way to help cut down of some of those reactions in a healthy and younger population.
You don’t lose all protection it is just very low compared to when it is at it’s peak. Reasonable levels of protection can be expected for up to 12 months or so but if the flu goes for a longer period than normal it is also acceptable to get a 2nd vaccination to give you the best level during that season. Pregnant women are encouraged to do this top up if it is possible during their pregnancy.
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