Questions on train forums I wouldn't think of asking.

[HONDO74]

I have never had a flu shot and I have never had the flu.

My wife and mother in law got the flu shots ever year and both got the flu a couple of times.

When the kids were going to school and the grand kids lived with us I caught everything that was going around at the schools but the flu. Haven't had anything since no children living here. One time we even had to get some special shampoo because some kids came to school with head lice.

[HONDO74]

We could lock AOC and Steve King in a steel cage match and sell tickets on pay per view.

Make it a 3 some. Put pelosi in there also.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

We could lock AOC and Steve King in a steel cage match and sell tickets on pay per view.

Make it a 3 some. Put pelosi in there also.

Nah, make it foursome then with McConnell.

[HONDO74]

We could lock AOC and Steve King in a steel cage match and sell tickets on pay per view.

Make it a 3 some. Put pelosi in there also.

Nah, make it foursome then with McConnell.

Just build that steel cage around around congress and call it last person standing WINS.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Make it a 3 some. Put pelosi in there also.

Nah, make it foursome then with McConnell.

Just build that steel cage around around congress and call it last person standing WINS.

Maybe the voters win then....

[HONDO74]

Nah, make it foursome then with McConnell.

Just build that steel cage around around congress and call it last person standing WINS.

Maybe the voters win then....

You must be kidding, right. The next batch that gets voted in will be different clowns but the same circus.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Just build that steel cage around around congress and call it last person standing WINS.

Maybe the voters win then....

You must be kidding, right. The next batch that gets voted in will be different clowns but the same circus.

Well, you have to let some folks have their delusions to keep them happy and on the farm.

[J. S. Bach]

Does anybody here think it is a good idea - even imperative - to get inoculation against the flu (influenza season has begun, it's being reported on the News)? I was prepared to go to our local CVS to get the shot, today, but have ended up hesitating. Maybe tomorrow.

I got mine at Publix, no cost and a free $10.00 gift card.

[robert.]

How does the pharmaceutical industry know what strain of flu to vaccinate against?

[chuck]

It usually starts out in Asia and usually jumps from one species to another. Prior to wide spread/cheap air travel they had tine to analyze the strains. There are too many variables and too little time to figure out the right combination.

Most people that die are either already sick and the flu finishes them of or the flu makes them much more vulnerable to other secondary infections.

[webenda]

How does the pharmaceutical industry know what strain of flu to vaccinate against?

Dr. Who tells them.

Flu viruses are constantly changing, so the vaccine composition is reviewed each year and updated as needed based on which influenza viruses are making people sick, the extent to which those viruses are spreading, and how well the previous season’s vaccine protects against those viruses.

More than 100 national influenza centers in over 100 countries conduct year-round surveillance for influenza. This involves receiving and testing thousands of influenza virus samples from patients. The laboratories send representative viruses to five World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza, which are located in the following places:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC);
London, United Kingdom (The Francis Crick Institute);
Melbourne, Australia (Victoria Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory);
Tokyo, Japan (National Institute for Infectious Diseases); and
Beijing, China (National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention).

Twice a year, the World Health Organization (WHO) organizes a consultation with the Directors of the WHO Collaborating Centers, essential regulatory laboratories and representatives of key national laboratories and academies. They review the results of surveillance, laboratory, and clinical studies, and the availability of vaccine viruses and make recommendations on the composition of the influenza vaccine. These meetings take place in February for selection of the upcoming Northern Hemisphere’s seasonal influenza vaccine and in September for the Southern Hemisphere’s vaccine. WHO recommends specific vaccine viruses for inclusion in influenza vaccines, but then each country makes their own decision about which viruses should be included in influenza vaccines licensed in their country.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes the final decision about vaccine viruses for influenza vaccines to be sold in the U.S. Information about circulation of influenza viruses and available vaccine viruses is summarized and presented to an advisory committee of the FDA in February each year for the U.S. decision about which viruses to include in the upcoming season’s vaccine.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Thank you, Wayne, for all that information. I value being well-informed.

May I ask, do you get vaccinated against the flu?

Thank you, J.S. Bach. Does anybody else here do so?

And Thank You to the other replies, too.
Murph, still trying to decide.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Does anybody else here do so?

Absolutely.

Murph, still trying to decide.

What is there to decide? You want to get the flu, end up in the ER, etc.?

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Does anybody else here do so?

Absolutely.

Murph, still trying to decide.

What is there to decide? You want to get the flu, end up in the ER, etc.?

That's exactly what I needed to read. Thank you. I was hoping to hear from you, Rufus.

I had the vague memory that at times in the somewhat distant past, we had gotten the flu or a flu-like condition after having received the inoculation.

Hearing from you is definitive for me. I'll get it this week.
Thank you, again.
Murph
Still picking up the pieces and trying to get everything straight and forward focused.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Does anybody else here do so?

Absolutely.

Murph, still trying to decide.

What is there to decide? You want to get the flu, end up in the ER, etc.?

That's exactly what I needed to read. Thank you. I was hoping to hear from you, Rufus.

I had the vague memory that at times in the somewhat distant past, we had gotten the flu or a flu-like condition after having received the inoculation.

Hearing from you is definitive for me. I'll get it this week.
Thank you, again.
Murph
Still picking up the pieces and trying to get everything straight and forward focused.

Depending on your insurance, it might even be free at your Doc's office. Might also inquire about pneumonia shot and shingles, too.

And, there's no guarantee that the flu shot will protect you from the all strains of the flu every year. There are mutations that slip by and it may or not protect you at some variable level.