OK tough guys, no Flu shot for you!

People still do die from the flu all the time. According to the CDC; in 2001 Influenza and pneumonia was the 7th leading killer, in the United States, coming in with 62,034 deaths. (That's triple the number of deaths from Homicide, btw)
Don't panic yet, though, because that's still only about 1 in 4,500 citizens... and sooner or later, we all have to die of something.
Source

My wife and I both had bad cases of the flu - me in '86 and the missus in '90. After that we both get the shot every year.

I am quite sure, that up until now, YOU are the only person who has mentioned guns in this thread.

I am also well aware that flu vaccine formulations vary and that OZ formula may not work in the U.S.

But your deep and inbred hatred of the U.S. is being won on your sleeve Dlowan. That I cannot ignore.

Whatever you choose to imagine.

I don't know dude. That last post was pretty funny... made me laugh out loud anyway.

Hear this from the sidelines, Cjhsa; I rarely agree with Dlowan on anything, but you are worked up about nothing. There was no slight on this thread, whatsoever. Chill. :wink:

Maybe I should go into stand up....

Ba da bing.

True. And true is that flu is serious illness. However, to put things into perspective you must say that over billion of people got sick this year. So, death toll was around (probably bit less) 4% and it's far far from "everybody that got it died" hysteria that most of people think of when someone mentiones Spanish Flu. Also, you have to consider fact that it was 1918, World War One just ending, no medicines, and those that are available are joke in comparison to medicines today - and also that biggest outbreaks were among soldiers (and biggest joke is when someone today mentions "those were strongest and healthiest" people - hm, yeah right, after four years of war in absolutely unhuman conditions...they were dying of much less serious diseases then of flu)

Also, some of you have deeply wrong assumptions, especially in light of vaccine shortage in USA. If you get the flu shot, YOU CAN STILL PASS FLU TO OTHERS! You will maybe (just maybe because flu vaccine has worst results of all vaccines on planet) not get sick, but you WILL get into contact with flu, virus WILL enter your system, and, although for shorter period then someone that really gets sick with flu, you CAN pass viruses to others. You don't seriously think that if you get flu shot and you get into contact with viruses they will run away screaming madly? No, they will enter your body, but your body will beat them (as well as it can possibly beat them without flu shot)

So, it's not my business of course, but I would politely suggest that you healthy people skip vaccine this year.

I agree, and glad to see you back, MyOwn...

Also, I will agree with others about cjhsa-dlowan conflict, but I will agree with cjhsa in something else.

West Nile is the best example of media hype and hysteria out of almost nothing. Less then 1% of mosquitos in affected areas are actually carrying virus. Less then 1% of people bitten by those mosquitos will develop anything more then bad cold, and those that do develop more serious disease will in 99% of cases develop viral meningitis - and that is not minor throat infection or cold, but is also not as near as dangerous as bacterial meningitis and HUGE majority of people gets over it without any major problems.
For example, in Croatia were last year two outbreaks of viral meningitis in schools, and not a single child died or developed some serious problems.

Yes, some people do die from West Nile - as well as some people die from about one million different reasons and diseases.

thanks osso (I should say that before second post, but...)

I better go buy a lottery ticket!

of course, to put things in perspective, or maybe it's better to say out of "shortage perspective", getting flu shot has some economical reasons.
In Croatia flu shots are free for older then 60, people with chronic diseases of all ages, and for Health workers. Rarely anyone else gets shot although they are available.
However, some companies organize vaccination for their workers, simply to avoid possible outbreaks inside company and therefore paralyzed work for few days or weeks.

To amend a comment I made in agreement about flu transmission a few posts ago, I'd like to add that while it's true that people who have protective antibodies because of getting a flu shot will still be able to pick up and transmit flu viruses, they won't be quite the flu virus factories that people who do get the full flu infection are. Still, I agree that general hysteria is not appropriate, while individual concern just might be..

Certainly we in the US need to figure out how to gear up vaccine production.

you are right, of course. I think I said something like that (believe it or not, I am too lazy to go back one page and see it) too. They are not "virus factories" and they are "contagius" for shorter period. But they can still spread virus, and in the peak of flu season 99% of people are in contact with the virus one way or another.

Yes, you did, and I was just elaborating on it.