Thursday - Flu Shots

For the first time since early last spring, I turned the heater on in the van for my trip to Cardiac Rehab. I also wore a denim jacket on this brisk, 45-degree morning. By the end of the session at 10 a.m., though, I was warm from exercising, and the van, parked with windows rolled up in a sunny parking space, seemed hot, so I turned on the air conditioner for the ride home.



Nothing of note happened either at Cardiac Rehab or at home this morning. After lunch, the three of us went to the doctor's office to get flu vaccines. We teased the nurse about Mother getting two flu shots last year, instead of a flu and a pneumonia shot. The nurse today wasn't the same one who made the mistake last year, but she certainly remembered the incident (which I'm sure was the talk of the clinic at the time), saying that was the only time the mistake has ever been made. I'm sure steps were taken afterward to assure that such a mistake would not be repeated. Fortunately, Mother suffered no real ill effects from a double dose of the vaccine, other than feeling a little blah the next day.



Several older folks that I'm acquainted with refuse to be vaccinated against the flu, because they swear that after they were vaccinated they got the worst case of the illness that they've ever suffered. I mentioned this to the nurse today, and she said that in years past, the vaccine was made from a live virus, which might have caused folks to contract the flu. But now the vaccine is made from killed virus, so that it is not possible to catch the flu from it.



A TV news channel report about the vaccine says this about catching the flu from the vaccine: This is probably the biggest myth surrounding the flu shot. The truth is you cannot get the flu from the vaccine. The injectable vaccine is made of inactivated viruses, so it is impossible to get the flu from the vaccine. The most common side effect is mild soreness or redness at the injection site, headache, low-grade fever, or a runny nose for a day after receiving the vaccine.



A childrens' hospital says: A common myth about the flu shot is that it can actually cause the flu. But the flu shot used in the United States is made from killed influenza viruses, which means that it's impossible to catch the flu by receiving it. However, because the nasal spray flu vaccine is made from live viruses, it may cause mild flu-like symptoms, including runny nose, headache, vomiting, muscle aches, and fever.



Other website information about flu vaccines: Myth: The side effects of the flu shot are worse than the flu. Fact: Most people experience little or no side effects, and the influenza vaccine usually produces no increase in systemic side effects or disability in the elderly. Symptoms attributed by patients to a recent influenza vaccine are likely secondary to coincidental illness coupled with heightened somatic awareness following vaccination. If an individual does experience flu-like side effects, the duration is short (usually no longer than 24-48 hours) whereas influenza can hang on for 10 days or more and may leave a person debilitated for a longer time. Moreover, a true case of influenza always leaves open the possibility of chronic complications (such as pneumonia) and even death.



Myth: getting an influenza shot every year weakens your immune system. Fact: The vaccine prepares and boosts your immune system to help you fight the virus if you contract it. People who get the influenza shot each year are better protected against influenza than those who do not get vaccinated.