Flu Shot

#57
#57
kiddiedoc said:
The ACIP released a statement in late June recommending against the use of the LAIV (Flumist) this year. Studies from last year showed poor effectiveness, but the reason is unknown at the time.

Of note, multiple studies in prior years showed equal or better efficacy of the FluMist compared to the shot.

This news is very interesting to us, because we just had the calmest flu season I can remember. You would think we would have had a major outbreak last winter if the mist wasn't working.

What does this mean? Likely: there will be a shortage of the shot, fewer people will get immunized (without schools administering the mist), and there will be more cases of the flu this winter (and more work hours for me...).
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That's similar to what my kids' pediatrician told us: that the mist was more effective than the shot.
 
#58
#58
davethevol said:
That's similar to what my kids' pediatrician told us: that the mist was more effective than the shot.
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It definitely was in the past, but studies during pandemic H1N1 were less favorable, and the new numbers are terrible (3% effective for the 2015-16 season, vs 63% with the injection).

It will be interesting to see if a cause for the reduced efficacy can be identified.
 
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#60
#60
FluMist only made up 8% of the US Flu vaccine supply for the US last year. So the chance of a vaccine shortage is extremely slim.

"The makers of LAIV had projected a supply of as many as 14 million doses of LAIV/nasal spray flu vaccine, or about 8 percent of the total projected supply."
ACIP votes down use of LAIV for 2016-2017 flu season | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

Just a theory but MedImmune a subsidiary of AstraZeneca just got caught fabricating their effectiveness of FluMist by utilizing their own "in house" studies.
 
#61
#61
While there is a lot more injection than mist each year, the percentage of children that use the mist is much higher. If I had to guess, I bet 75%+ of my school-aged patients get the FluMist in recent years, most of them at school. Without that convenience, immunization rates will certainly drop, which is a concern.

I highly doubt MI fabricated efficacy data, because epidemiology numbers suggest that it worked well in the past. In my practice, it certainly has protected patients well (with the exception of the mismatched strain two years ago), and the H1N1 LAIV was widely used to end the swine flu pandemic.
 
#62
#62
kiddiedoc said:
While there is a lot more injection than mist each year, the percentage of children that use the mist is much higher. If I had to guess, I bet 75%+ of my school-aged patients get the FluMist in recent years, most of them at school. Without that convenience, immunization rates will certainly drop, which is a concern.

I highly doubt MI fabricated efficacy data, because epidemiology numbers suggest that it worked well in the past. In my practice, it certainly has protected patients well (with the exception of the mismatched strain two years ago), and the H1N1 LAIV was widely used to end the swine flu pandemic.
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I got the swine flu back in 2009 and then my whole family caught the 2013-14 flu pandemic. Even with the vaccine that particular strain in 2013 was just awful. It came with the chest congestion/bronchitis. The Flu is quickly becoming a scarier virus to contract. Putting aside the old adage of "children and elderly are most susceptible" for a second, it's beginning to take out even the healthiest of victims.
 
#63
#63
Coug said:
The US military needs it's personnel in top notch health if they can help it. It's why you guys always got the best vaccines. You probably thought it was a form of torture and government control when in fact it was just the opposite.

There are a lot of professions outside of the military that require a flu shot, I'm not in one of those but I know the benefits of getting a flu shot.
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What are the benefits of getting a flu shot?
 
#64
#64
Coug said:
I got the swine flu back in 2009 and then my whole family caught the 2013-14 flu pandemic. Even with the vaccine that particular strain in 2013 was just awful. It came with the chest congestion/bronchitis. The Flu is quickly becoming a scarier virus to contract. Putting aside the old adage of "children and elderly are most susceptible" for a second, it's beginning to take out even the healthiest of victims.
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Bacteria becoming more resilient to antibiotics should be a much bigger concern.
 
#66
#66
It worked for me this past year - all I got was a mild 2 day cold virus -only the 2nd time I have ever got one and only did it because it was free from my ins provider ( the Dr office billed them 115 bucks for it )
 
#67
#67
Rasputin_Vol said:
What are the benefits of getting a flu shot?
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It stacks the deck in your favor.

It has the potential to completely prevent the flu, but at it's very least if you contract the flu the vaccine can help lessen the severity of the virus.
 
#69
#69
Rasputin_Vol said:
What are the benefits of getting a flu shot?
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Flu is a virus, not a bacteria, and can be quite deadly.

"The Influenza Pandemic of 1918
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster."

Flu, if IT does not kill you, can so weaken your immune system you are susceptable to secondary bacterial infections. Pneumonia, and others. I know of a man who lost both legs and one arm to secondary bacterial infection after the H1N1 pandemic a few years ago.


All vaccines have some associated risks and the risks are varied; but I personally believe are negligble relative to the greater risk to self, family, and society from not getting vaccinated.

Thiomersal
----------

Now, the quantity of Merthiolate (thiomersal) in vaccines is minute or zero.


Thimerosal in Vaccines Thimerosal | Concerns | Vaccine Safety | CDC


Getting a flu shot every year is a wise thing.
 
#71
#71
Orangedogsrule said:
Flu is a virus, not a bacteria, and can be quite deadly.

"The Influenza Pandemic of 1918
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster."

Flu, if IT does not kill you, can so weaken your immune system you are susceptable to secondary bacterial infections. Pneumonia, and others. I know of a man who lost both legs and one arm to secondary bacterial infection after the H1N1 pandemic a few years ago.


All vaccines have some associated risks and the risks are varied; but I personally believe are negligble relative to the greater risk to self, family, and society from not getting vaccinated.

Thiomersal
----------

Now, the quantity of Merthiolate (thiomersal) in vaccines is minute or zero.


Thimerosal in Vaccines Thimerosal | Concerns | Vaccine Safety | CDC


Getting a flu shot every year is a wise thing.
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I can only say that I personally have not received a flu shot since I was 13 years old.
Last time I had the Flu I was 13...
 
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#73
#73
They had 250 cases at A&M from sorority rush. The anchorman said to decide for yourself how it was transmitted and then winked like eight times.
 
#75
#75
LittleVol said:
I can only say that I personally have not received a flu shot since I was 13 years old.
Last time I had the Flu I was 13...
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Ive had it once too. Worked in healthcare or with kids for the last 12 years. No vaccine, no flu. I might take the shot this year tho
 
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