Poll: Did You Get a Flu Shot This Year?

[erik]

Yesterday it was reported that this flu season could be the worst in last 10 years and it is starting early. It was also reported that the currently flu vaccine is one of the most effective in past 10 years - 90% which is very high....so given this information will you get the flu shot (or you may already have)?

Most people I have talked to says getting the flu shot has no impact on T either way, but getting the flu would? In the past I have, but haven't so far this year and still undecided....

 

[Polar-Bear]

Not worth it for me as I already had to flu at the end of September. First one in my office, now everyone has gotten it, but I don't think it was due to me, as I spent most of the time at home.

 

[mock turtle]

some flu shots have mercury added as a preservative and-or the amino-glycoside antibiotic know as gentamicin...both potentially problematic from an ototoxic standpoint...but...ive been informed by more than one medical professional the amounts are so low that i should not be concerned

but i am

of course a small but significant number of people die from influenza and some years are much worse than others

i dont know what to think....decisions

 

[Molan]

Personally I would never get a flu shot based purely by what nasty chemicals they contain. Most still contain thimerisol which is mercury based preservative. That is not the only bad chemical it contains Flu shots are based upon last years strains anyway not this years according to what I have read. Also the evidence suggests to me at least that theseshots are profit rather then health based.

In my opinion it's far better to build up your own natural immunity to the virus anyway. Vitamins C and D plus probiotics to build up your gut bacteria which is responsible for a large part of your immune system makes alot more sense I feel. Exercise as well creates a stronger and healthier immune system too. I haven't had the flu for many many years and have never had a flu shot.

 

[Markku]

I've never had a flu shot, not even pre-tinnitus. And it's been so long since I last time had a flu that I don't even remember what year it was. So the answer is no, I won't be getting one. Maybe at a later age when the risks are higher it's worth getting it. Or if a medical reasons comes up (like some disease that weakens the immune system).

Although as for the thimerosal or other potentially harmful (ototoxic in our case) ingredients, the amounts are likely so insignificant that nobody should avoid getting the shot just because of that.

Probably most people's everyday diets contain more harmful stuff than a single yearly dose of tiny amounts of the "bad stuff" that some of these shots consist of.

That's my own reasoning, of course.

Here's hoping nobody here catches the flu! And if you do, the effects on tinnitus should be temporary. At least I'm not aware of flu causing permanent worsening of tinnitus...?

 

[mike]

I got a Flu shot about 1 month ago and it never bother my tinnitus what so ever. I took the chance and it seemed to work out well. I was very concerned about getting one.

 

[Molan]

Of course this subject can be endlessly debated but I think it's important to know that more and more evidence is emerging that flu shots actually increase the risk of catching the flu,

What was a bit surprising when we looked at some of the data from Canada and Hong Kong in the last year is that people who have been vaccinated in 2008 with the seasonal or ordinary vaccine seemed to have twice the risk of getting swine flu compared to the people who hadn't received that vaccine,'

[Professor Collignon from the Australian National University] said.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/09/18/flu-shot-increases-flu-illness.aspx



It's also interesting to note the in the Mumps outbreak in New York a few years ago, that the majority of those who contracted it had actually been vaccinated against it! Read it in the new England journal of medicine below.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1202865

 

[Don H]

Nothing to fear with a flu shot. Far more evidence to support getting the shot versus not. The shot is a dead virus, not a weird chemical. I can't believe it would any relationship to T.

 

[Molan]

Sorry Don but Thimerisol (Mercury based) is certainly a weird chemical and the evidence is debatable at best in my opinion and certainly dosen't strongly support it when you weigh both sides of the argument.

Tom Jefferson is an epidemiologist with the prestigious Cochrane Collaboration. Him and his colleagues have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to indicate that flu vaccines reduce infection rates or mortality, even in the elderly.

I would strongly recommend people to read this interview in Time magazine below,

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1967306,00.html

He also goes on to say,

We looked at studies on vaccines in the elderly and in health care workers who work with the elderly, and we found an implausible sequence of results. We have studies that claim up to 90% effectiveness against death from all causes [in inoculated patients compared with the nonvaccinated]. If you were to believe that evidence, you would believe that flu vaccine is effective against death not only from influenza, but also from heart attack, stroke, hypothermia, accidents and all other common causes of death among the elderly. That is quite clearly nonsense