Influeza/MRSA a fatal combination

[Tapio]

It's been really interesting and educating to read this thread, thank you.

I still keep wondering about one thing. I don't know anyone (and as hard as I try to remember, I've never heard of anyone) who's had a "yearly" flu shot, or who's got their kids one. I'm not claiming it doesn't happen in Finland, but it's very rare. Should we be alarmed?

Or is this hype about the vaccination just a US thang? Or what? I've got three under three-year-olds and we have our occasional flus, but really nothing I'd want to get vaccinations for. This is how I know tens of families here think and feel.

I'm ready and willing to learn more on the subject. Thanks!

 

[T.A.M.]

The flu shot is an annual shot that provides people with fairly good immunity (not perfect mind you) against the three (at least here in Canada) most prevalent strains of influenza for a given year.

Influenza does kill quite a number of people, most of them in the high risk categories, every year.

The shot is simple, has very little in the way of side effects (a certain percentage have a "flu like" reaction to the shot, others have a local soreness).

The occasional "Flus" you are likely referring to, are probably viral illnesses more similar to what we call the "common cold" than actual influenza. If you have had real "influenza" you will know the difference.

TAM

 

[Eos of the Eons]

I still keep wondering about one thing. I don't know anyone (and as hard as I try to remember, I've never heard of anyone) who's had a "yearly" flu shot, or who's got their kids one.

Myself and my kids got the flu vaccine this year. Hubby, who is girlishly freaked out by needles, did not. My brother, his ex wife (a nurse), and his two children got the shot this year. It seems the people affiliated with the medical community in some way are getting the shots. Other folks like me, with some awareness (that this thread is also raising) are not hesitating either.

Others, influenced by sCAM, are more likely to stick their nose up at it.

Just my humble unscientific observation and anecdote. Feel free to ignore it on that basis, but keep the information posted here in mind still.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4751

Pandemic: An epidemic that becomes very widespread and affects a whole region, a continent, or the world

An epidemic affects more than the expected number of cases of disease occurring in a community or region during a given period of time.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/general/news/oct0708flumrsa.html

The number of children who have died from a combination of influenza infection and bacterial pneumonia—in many cases due to the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)—has risen sharply over the past few years, federal epidemiologists say in a new report that urges flu shots as a preventative.

This flu season, for the first time, federal guidelines call for all children and teens up to 18 to receive flu shots. But motivating parents to get children vaccinated is proving challenging. A recent CDC report said that only about 21% of children 6 to 23 months old were fully vaccinated in the 2006-07 flu season, 2 years after guidelines recommended they be immunized, and a smaller study this year found only 16.5% of 2- to 5-year-olds were fully vaccinated.

 

[Tapio]

(snip)Just my humble unscientific observation and anecdote. Feel free to ignore it on that basis, but keep the information posted here in mind still.

Oh my, I wouldn't dare. I really value your time and effort in presenting according info on the subject. To me, as a genuine seeker (with way too little knowledge on vaccinations) also anecdotes provide a valid viewpoint of each individual. I'm trying to learn the hard ways of the skeptic, of not letting too little information (of course it depends on the subject, but especially info with a strong emotional content) be the basis for making any major adjustments in my beliefs. So thanks also for the reminder. The info presented in this thread regarding the OP and flu vaccinations in general is definetely not going to waste.

Tam, I must conclude I haven't had the "real deal" influenza. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[T.A.M.]

For me it is easier to tell the difference, as I have seen both every year now, for nearly a decade. When someone walks into my office with the flu, you can almost tell from their appearance. Of course there are exceptions, but most people with a common cold, while they look annoyed, and perhaps to a degree "miserable", most do not look what I would call "unwell". With the flu, INFLUENZA, most people look UNWELL. They are both sweaty and febrile, they have little if any energy, they will tell you most times, that every muscle and bone in their body aches.

A good description is like this...

"A cold tends to creep up on you, becomes annoying, and then is gone. A flu tends to hit you like a truck, and leaves you feeling like you've been run over by one."

TAM

 

[Physiotherapist]

Others, influenced by sCAM, are more likely to stick their nose up at it.

This is simply not true. I am not anti vax in any way, yet I have made the decision not to get a flu shot for quite a number of years now.

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

This is simply not true. I am not anti vax in any way, yet I have made the decision not to get a flu shot for quite a number of years now.

If the flu shot was less expensive would you have it?

If not, what cost(s) (either financial or otherwise) do you weight against the potential benefits of getting a flu shot?

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

This is simply not true. I am not anti vax in any way, yet I have made the decision not to get a flu shot for quite a number of years now.

Lots of people get the usual vaccinations yet view this one differently. There are many reasons, but the majority are based on unsupportable conclusions or false information.