blackcoffeeblues
Student Of The Blues
What do you think.?
The flu shot / pnumonia shot the cure or the cause?
- Thread starter blackcoffeeblues
- Start date
Elio
Student Of The Blues
In another life I teach public health and am pretty sure it is neither of those. A vaccination, especially with a killed pathogen doesn't cause a disease, and it also doesn't cure a disease, although it can potentially prevent the disease or lessen its severity. However, a vaccine can sometimes produce mild symptoms, although they can be more significant to someone who is immunocompromised.
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CaptainMoto
Blues Voyager
I've taken the flu shot every year and never had any reaction other then a little sore arm for a day.
I've never contracted the flu either.
So,
I went with the flow this year and took the pneumonia vaccine.
I know too many old folks you got knocked out by it.
On a similar note:
I read that farmer kids, especially those who actually work the land, (like Amish & Mennonites) are less likely to catch some of the diseases floating around.
Why? ... they build up immunity by actually getting their hands dirty.
Early exposure to various germs is good for ya I guess.
Kids today have to be coaxed to put down the Iphone and go outside, then mommy wipes and sanitizes everything they come in contact with.
Then what?............a little germ that we never worried about starts going around faster then an a new EMOJI.
I also see that the new treatment for food allergies is.....guess what?.....start feeding them the food that makes them sick.
( in small amounts first)
I've never contracted the flu either.
So,
I went with the flow this year and took the pneumonia vaccine.
I know too many old folks you got knocked out by it.
On a similar note:
I read that farmer kids, especially those who actually work the land, (like Amish & Mennonites) are less likely to catch some of the diseases floating around.
Why? ... they build up immunity by actually getting their hands dirty.
Early exposure to various germs is good for ya I guess.
Kids today have to be coaxed to put down the Iphone and go outside, then mommy wipes and sanitizes everything they come in contact with.
Then what?............a little germ that we never worried about starts going around faster then an a new EMOJI.
I also see that the new treatment for food allergies is.....guess what?.....start feeding them the food that makes them sick.
( in small amounts first)
Dr. Ron
Nuthin’ But The Blues!
Generally agree with Elio. I would add that a vaccine triggers the immune system of the patient to
generate antibodies specific to the organism(s) in the vaccine. These antibodies then join the body's natural defenses to hopefully deal with a possible infection more effectively. They have never been fool proof and resistance against their use, though I believe not large, is passionate. History has shown them to be significant in erradicating diseases from smallpox to polio and beyond.
generate antibodies specific to the organism(s) in the vaccine. These antibodies then join the body's natural defenses to hopefully deal with a possible infection more effectively. They have never been fool proof and resistance against their use, though I believe not large, is passionate. History has shown them to be significant in erradicating diseases from smallpox to polio and beyond.
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Grateful_Ed
Student Of The Blues
I've had the flu before and flu shots too, though never in the same year. Mostly I just skip them. No reason, well there's my belief that if I hadn't had my polio vaccine on a sugar cube when I was a wee lad, I never would have tried LSD, but that's all colors under the bridge.
MarkDyson
Blues Hound Wannabe
Started the annual flus shot thing as a mandatory military requirement at age 17. I'm 57 now and have never missed a year. Habit, I guess. Never had a reaction other than the expected minor one from stuffing a killed pathogen into my arm, and have never had the flu. The plural of anecdote is not data, but for me there's no downside to keeping up the tradition. Haven't done the pneumonia one but not because I mistrust it; it's just not been on my radar.
Wildwood
Playin' Blues
In our family if someone gets hurt...scrapes an elbow, cuts their knee, bumps their head, etc., we just say "rub some dirt on it...you'll be fine".
When we were kids (waaay back when) we would play outside all day and into the night and get cuts and scrapes and keep on playing. And when we eventually came in the house mom would throw us in the tub for bath. That was it. I have never been really sick in my entire life (fingers crossed) and I am somewhat convinced that it's because, as CapMoto says above, exposure to various germs is good for ya!
I also get the flu shot every year...so far so good!
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blackcoffeeblues
Student Of The Blues
I have never had either of the shots. But I have had both the flu and pneumonia in the past 5 years and don't want it ever again, it is bad news. The flu has been around since I can remember, but it was not the same strain/s we have today you ran a fever for a couple days and couldn't eat much but it was nothing like this stuff that's killing people today--As for pneumonia very rarely did you hear of it back in the days. In most cases it was with people that lived in SUB-standard enviroments. But now it seems to be killing people every where. I know people that have the flu shots yearly and they still end up getting it. I just don't understand
Elio
Student Of The Blues
Each year, the flu vaccine is designed to target the specific strains that are most likely to be prevalent during that flu season. If the chosen strains for the vaccine are accurate, the vaccine will have a relatively high prevention rate across a population. If other strains end up being more prevalent, the effectiveness of the vaccine for that population is relatively lower, although there is still some effectiveness. Getting a flu shot is not guaranteed to prevent the flu, but it does statistically lower the risk of getting the flu. In cases where a different strain of the flu is the source of infection, the flu shot may make it less severe, depending on how closely related the strain.
To put things into perspective, the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 caused somewhere between 10 and 50 million deaths worldwide over the course of a year, and it affected every socioeconomic segment in literally every part of the world. The exact numbers are impossible to know because people were dying so fast that death records were not being maintained. In comparison, modern strains have been much less pathogenic historically. ...however, the fear remains that if another strain similar to the 1918 epidemic re-appears, the outcome could be quite serious.
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Grateful_Ed
Student Of The Blues
Al Holloway
Devizes UK
Never had a flu shot. They are reserved for people in high risk groups like the old....oh wait a moment that may be me
cheers
Al.
cheers
Al.
MarkDyson
Blues Hound Wannabe
I know that the original thread title was more to evoke discussion than a serious question, but the pedant in me feels compelled to note: while anecdotally I cannot produce enough evidence to show that my getting a shot every year has prevented me from ever contracting the disease, I have to throw down the gauntlet and ask to see one—even one—solid bit of evidence getting the shot has ever been the "cause" of someone getting the flu. Not sniffles, not some arm soreness, not some reaction to the shot...real, actual, clinical influenza directly caused by the injection.
MarkDyson
Blues Hound Wannabe
Heh. I'm taking that tongue in cheek, but on a semi-serious note there is a related issue:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity
Silicon Valley Tom
It makes me happpy to play The Blues!
I have a simple rule! Never get sick!
My grandmother was 24, with four children, and died November 1918, from the Spanish Influenza. Her brother had three children and died the previous week from the same illness.
My brother got the Asian flu, September 1957, and was very ill. He recovered. My friend Maureen Tuttle, was 12, and got the Asian flu San Francisco, died of the Asian flu of 1957-58. Now they say that 400 died.
I do like to get my flu shot. My wife got the pneumonia shot, called the "13". She was then told that in six months she had to have the next pneumonia shot, called the "23". Each number represents a strain of pneumonia. I asked how many strains of pneumonia exist, but no one at the doctors office has an answer.
Yes sir, never get sick!
Tom
My grandmother was 24, with four children, and died November 1918, from the Spanish Influenza. Her brother had three children and died the previous week from the same illness.
My brother got the Asian flu, September 1957, and was very ill. He recovered. My friend Maureen Tuttle, was 12, and got the Asian flu San Francisco, died of the Asian flu of 1957-58. Now they say that 400 died.
I do like to get my flu shot. My wife got the pneumonia shot, called the "13". She was then told that in six months she had to have the next pneumonia shot, called the "23". Each number represents a strain of pneumonia. I asked how many strains of pneumonia exist, but no one at the doctors office has an answer.
Yes sir, never get sick!
Tom
I can't really say one way or another. I have never had a flu shot and don't recall having the flu (other than the Mai-Tai flu) since I was a kid. The only shots I've had in probably the last 20 years were self-administered orally, sometimes with ice, but usually not.
My oldest son, between being in the NH Air National Guard and also an FAA employee gets a flu shot every year and usually has flu-like symptoms for a week or so after getting the shot.
My oldest son, between being in the NH Air National Guard and also an FAA employee gets a flu shot every year and usually has flu-like symptoms for a week or so after getting the shot.
TerryH
Blues Newbie
I have the flu jab and I have never had any kind of reaction, not even a sore arm. However, the vaccine wasn’t very good in 2016 and I got the flu. A lot of people get bad colds and think it's flu, but believe me if you have flu you really know you've got it! As far as I can remember it was the first time in my life I have ever had it. My GP didn’t believe me.