@roger,
My wife and I got our flu shots a few days ago. She felt slightly ill for two days after; I felt nothing.
I have always had a strong immune system so I see no reason to funnel another $10 to big pharma and another $20 into the bloated health care system, so I abstain.
we do however get our dog the kennel cough vaccine, so imagine my shock when she came down with kennel cough last week. the vet says that like with the flu vaccine they (the experts) take a guess what strains will be around..a year or more out. they were wrong this year. OOPS!
Real cultural difference here. The NHS gives vulnerable groups a flu shot as a matter of routine, those of us who aren't in those groups don't usually bother. I could insist on one, but that would place an extra burdon on the NHS, so would buying one privately as that would diminish stocks. So I don't have a flu shot because I think not having one is the right thing to do.
@chai2,
chai2 wrote:As they say in my homeland, klaatu barada nikto.
getting mine free on Oct 16th, thanks to the Canadian Healthcare system and my taxes
@izzythepush,
izzythepush wrote:
Real cultural difference here. The NHS gives vulnerable groups a flu shot as a matter of routine, those of us who aren't in those groups don't usually bother. I could insist on one, but that would place an extra burdon on the NHS, so would buying one privately as that would diminish stocks. So I don't have a flu shot because I think not having one is the right thing to do.
while in America all kind of all kinds of firms work hard to get anyone who is insured a shot, regardless of need, so our nation needlessly spends $30-$50 a pop on nearly worthless shots. This is not big money, but it adds up, and this is a good place to look to begin to see how thoroughly the US healthcare system is fucked up. we produce north of 150 million doses a year...great for big pharma, not so great for those who pay the bills.
@djjd62,
Mine was also free. Medicare.
@roger,
roger wrote:
Mine was also free. Medicare.
you mean "free to me", because it was paid for. you still charged $30-$50 on to the collectives tab. at some point we need to get back to doing cost benefit analysis of our healthcare choices.
@hawkeye10,
I knew someone was going to say that. I didn't know who, but someone had to.
Some get it "free" because it's paid for by employers, who indeed have done a cost benefit analysis. Some get it "free" because it is a covered benefit of insurance they have paid for. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn that the insurance companies haven't done their cost benefit analysis. I have Medicare benefits because I've had payroll deductions for same since the inception of the system. I also pay a monthly premium. I would almost bet Medicare has worked out that the cost of immunization of many is less than the cost of treating a severe case of the flu and it's complications.
Trust me, the insurance industry is real big on risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis.
@roger,
Ok, hawkeye, go ahead and get the flu, with chance one of the baddies, and give it to ten more people, or maybe forty, which will then manifest the progress with many more ill or very ill. Meantime, you run a restaurant. Is that a 'socialism' tenet for you? to share the bugs?
Bugs is a common term, I did study virology a long time ago.
@ossobuco,
Yech, you are a restaurant owner.
@ossobuco,
ossobuco wrote:
Ok, hawkeye, go ahead and get the flu, with chance one of the baddies, and give it to ten more people, or maybe forty, which will then manifest the progress with many more ill or very ill. Meantime, you run a restaurant. Is that a 'socialism' tenet for you? to share the bugs?
Bugs is a common term, I did study virology a long time ago.
Did I not mention that I have a killer immune system? As a kid I once went 5 years with out missing a day of school, the last day of work I missed do to illness was in 06 (bad food, not mine), I have had the flu exactly twice, and I don't recall ever getting a flu shot.
@hawkeye10,
I have one too, major good macrophages, they're in some paper as a control.
You are stupidly cocky.
If I didn't get the shot, and ended up sick, I know what I'd be saying while enduring the pain, chills, fever difficulty breathing, etc.
"Why didn't I spend $30 to line the evil bloated pockets of those evil bloated pharmas?! Why???!!!"
Seems like hawkeye wants it both ways.
People are supposed to be able to do whatever they like as far as unwise choices, but they aren't supposed to do what they feel is a wise choice, because he believes it's wrong.
My money to spend how I like, and I'm for getting all the help I can with my health. I'd lose a lot more money if I did get sick.
BTW, I have a great immune system too, but I believe in insurance.
So don't get a flu shot if you don't want to, that's your business. However, if you're planning on getting one, now's the time.
@chai2,
Well, if it's a bad flu (or really, even an ordinary one) and he spreads it in his diner, it is not just his business.
Turkey for Freedom, that's him.
@chai2,
Yep, got mine on Monday. No charge. My doctor knows I teach.
On behalf of teachers everywhere, thanks for posting a reminder, chai.
@Eva,
I got one every year I worked in Pediatrics at BC Children's Hospital - can't risk making sick kids even sicker. The shots were free to everyone who worked there. I also got one every year I worked in a care facility for the same reason. They were free, too, also for the same reason. These days? No. Never had the flu and not working now, so no need.
@hawkeye10,
hawkeye10 wrote: at some point we need to get back to doing cost benefit analysis of our healthcare choices.
the collective did do its cost-benefit analysis.
we, the collective, think it's good to offer free flu shots
@ehBeth,
Does it make any sense to make 160 million doses a year in America? How many people should get it? How many do?
I don't know, but my sense is that there is a lot of waste. I also think that the public has never agreed that this is a great idea, that this is a program run by the elites who are trying to entice people to get shot by offering it free...ie shifting all of the costs. I also want to know if we weaken our immune system by not letting our bodies deal with flu....use it or lose it seems to be a rule in biology.
I am on the fense about mass immuniation for flu, awaiting information, but I do know that I have never been sold the idea that I should get one.
@hawkeye10,
I've no intention of having one but I know a few people who treat it as an excuse to be "doing themselves". Those who sold it to us played on that aspect of the matter. As somewhere one might go to get oneself taken seriously by experts in white coats. Going by other services on offer I imagine the invoice to the taxpayer is about £30 a shot. $45 thereabouts.
My guess is that if a flu epidemic knocked off a million the DOW would gain 1,000 points.
I've never gotten a flu shot and I can't remember ever having had the flu. Maybe I did when I was a kid, but I know I haven't as an adult- and that's even though I've worked with children of all ages my entire working career.
I think I have a very strong immune system naturally. I can't even remember taking an antibiotic as an adult.
