Flu Shot? Can/Should we get them?

[Styx]

Actually, for now, I won't try to convince you that vaccines are safe.

mshistory said it best.

More importantly, I want you to understand  that running around listing the ingredients of vaccines is not helpful at all. Methotrexate is a powerful abortifacient and very toxic, yet it has dramatically improved the quality of life for patients with rheumatoid arthritis around the world. Water is highly toxic if consumed in great quantities

This is why medical science judges the merit of a drug based on its performance in controlled trials. The ingredients are not the point.

Styx

[Iris]

I don't really care what the ingredients are.. I'm more worried about whether i'll get the flu if I take it.. I've only had one flu shot in my life and I did get the flu after taking it.. Maybe it was a coincidence, I don't know but i'm kinda scared to try again.. It surprised even my doctor, he doesn't even want me to get a flu shot now so if I got one i'd probably have to get it somewhere else..

With all the breathing problems I have now though i've been thinking about getting one.. Been thinking about getting the shingles vaccine too.. I have 2 sisters that had shingles, one of them had it more than once.. I'm not sure if that makes me more susceptible.. I know I really don't want shingles though..

[slccom]

The flu shot does not convey 100% immunity. One reason is that besides the main strain we get vaccinated against, there are many other strains of flu virus. You may have been incubating the flu when you got your shot, or gotten sick with a different strain, or failed to develop immunity tomain strain.

Now they have two strains in the vaccine this year. Tomorrow I want to get my shingles shot. Next week, the flu shot.

Sharon

[jazzlover]

So if we don't care what is in the shots, do we also not care about what chemicals we ingest in our foods?? .. just wondering..

[JaFish]

I used to get a shot faithfully each year and each year end up with bronchitis.  One year I was sick within 2 weeks of getting the shot. Then I learned I'm allergic to chicken eggs! So no more flu shots and no more bronchitis. I make all the other members of my family get the shot, though, to lessen the possibilities that they will bring home the flu!

[slccom]

Jazzlover, the dose makes the poison. The American Council on Science and Health put together an analysis of the Holiday menu. Search "Holiday menu" and read the article. It is a real eye-opener.

ACSH is a favorite enemy of some strong anti-every, thing-modern organizations like the misnamed Union of Concerned Scientists and Jacobson's group, also misnamed, the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

I have worked for and with them, and strongly recommend them. I know the science, and they are right. Keep in mind that alarmist groups do not get money by telling people that well, we are all living longer and healthier lives, and better lives with more luxuries and less hard work. No, they get money by scaring us to death.

Sharon

[Styx]

So if we don't care what is in the shots, do we also not care about what chemicals we ingest in our foods?? .. just wondering..

It's complicated I do worry about what is in my food for different reasons.

Namely, we can't perform well-controlled trials with food given the diverse diets that people eat. You can study particular populations with particular diets, but even then, there are typically strong geographical, genetic, cultural differences, etc. So you end up doing a lot of multivariate analyses and it's difficult to extrapolate high-quality conclusions from the data.

I actually did do some reading based on this thread, and I did see some literature that concerned me regarding vaccines, but I was just skimming the surface. I'm going to keep reading...

My more immediate point is that with vaccines, we don't need to pay close attention to the ingredients because we have data from controlled trials that is more relevant.

Styx

[jazzlover]

My more immediate point is that with vaccines, we don't need to pay close attention to the ingredients because we have data from controlled trials that is more relevant.

Styx

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I do NOT trust "controlled trials".. they can be skewed and manipulated at will. I've been around the block a few thousand times on that issue.

-- as for foods.. I was referring to GMO "foods" and the chemicals put in "food" found at the grocery store.

[Styx]

I do NOT trust "controlled trials".. they can be skewed and manipulated at will. I've been around the block a few thousand times on that issue.

I agree. Even the scientific literature is corruptible, but as far as I know, it's the best we've got. If you find me a source that is more precise and less biased, believe me, I'll take it.

I'm not saying the literature is the word of god or even that I always agree with it; I'm just saying in this particular discussion considering the contrary evidence presented, it's pretty clear cut.

[odie]

I haven't posted my experience yet with Sjogren's, but on the subject of flu shots, I won't be having them ever again.  I did have one last year and shortly after I really went downhill with symptoms that turned out to be Sjogren's.  Coincidence or not, I'm not taking any chances of getting worse. In the past, after taking the flu shots, I always felt worse and on a couple of occasions got the flu within a couple of weeks.