Flu page 3

[namelesswonder]

I got the H1N1 vaccine when it was all the rage a few years ago, when I was in school. They were going through the asthmatic and prone-to-sickness group forst, but I was in the nurses office for something anyway, so they signed me up. No ill effects that I can recall, and I didn't get swine flu. I don't think I've gotten an actual flu infection in many years. Even if it's risky, I'd rather see what I can do with lots of Vitamin D if I get it this season. I've been okay through other illnesses that my boyfriend has gotten, and we live together (though I did get a GI bug that he got).

I'll keep experimenting with myself even through illness. And I'm stubborn.

As for the safety of the vaccine, in my immediate surroundings, I've never encountered anyone with ill effects beyond some flu-like symptoms for a day or two post-vaccine. I don't really understand how they work (I mean, how a "dead" virus can make your system more immune to a live one), and I don't really know enough about the people around me who have or haven't gotten the vaccine and have or haven't gotten sick to say whether I feel it's effective.

If it was me, I would do what I could to make them cover my sick days if I got the vaccine but still got sick, if they were legally requiring me to get it. That's really messed up for them to mandate something health-related like that.

[meeshar]

I'm highly curious, are you in the medical field? I've heard about medical workers being required, but nothing outside of that yet.

Personally, I don't do it. I've only had the flu shot twice in my life--the first time was 17 years ago. It was a bad flu year and my employer was giving $20 (cash) if you got one, so I got a shot for free at the health department and pocketed the cash. I came down sick right after the shot and missed several days of work, doh. The second time was a couple of years ago during the H1N1 scare, I had a toddler at the time and I had been having health issues, so I figured it would be better safe than sorry. The kids were fine, however I felt like I'd been hit by a truck (fatigue, achy joints, muscle weakness) for days afterward.

We don't get sick a lot anyway--I abandoned CW about antibacterial soaps and obsessive hand washing/sanitizing years ago after reading about the hygiene hypothesis. Germs are our friends. Our daughter has never had antibiotics, and I hope she never needs them. The few illnesses she's had have been mild and short lived. I let fevers run their course and do their job, and favor soothing remedies (honey for a sore throat, humidifier w/vapor for stuffiness, etc.) over pharmaceuticals. Modern medicine is great, but I don't like interfering with nature when it's unnecessary. I am not anti-vaccine, just selective. If myself or my child had serious health issues (particularly immune system issues) I would probably get the shot.

I didn't bring the subject up for a debate, I truly want opinions. I work for a company that said if we do not receive the flu shot this years we will be terminated and they have legal backing on this. Puts me at a disadvantage and I have conflicting opinions about this topic.

[KV8R]

I didn't bring the subject up for a debate, I truly want opinions. I work for a company that said if we do not receive the flu shot this years we will be terminated and they have legal backing on this. Puts me at a disadvantage and I have conflicting opinions about this topic.

Well then, the question seems to be, do you like your job? I hate getting the flu shot, but, like I said before, it's a job requirement. I get the stupid shot every year, and I bitch about it, but I still do it. I love my job, and they pay me decently, so I suck it up and get the stupid fucking shot.

[Lucy]

Hi Meeshar i am in the medical field. last year my company recommended it but this year it is required. Many employees are complaining about this. What is even more disturbing is I spoke with a drug rep a few weeks ago and she works for the company that produces the vaccine and I asked her what the efficacy of the flu shot is and her answer was, "We don't know". Scary stuff!!

[doublehelix]

Hi Meeshar i am in the medical field. last year my company recommended it but this year it is required. Many employees are complaining about this. What is even more disturbing is I spoke with a drug rep a few weeks ago and she works for the company that produces the vaccine and I asked her what the efficacy of the flu shot is and her answer was, "We don't know". Scary stuff!!

They never know, and if you say you've had flu shots and still got sick, "Oh, it only protects against one kind of flu, not everything."
But the issue isn't if they work or not. The issue is your rights. I'd say if they can't prove in writing that you agreed to flu shots when you accepted the job, then they can't force you. I can't say that you'd have a case if they fire you over it, but if they fire you over this, they'd fire you for something else... then they are just looking for something.

I think all of this is downright scary. Employers shouldn't be able to mandate anything. They can't use the excuse that they are caring for their patients. Your rights aren't trampled by that reason, and, if they really worried about patients getting the flu, they wouldn't let anyone in the room who hasn't had a flu shot, including family and visitors.

[paleo-bunny]

The only time I got the flu shot was while I was working in a children's hospital ... lets just say I didn't take the shot for my own sake and I wouldn't take it again. I hadn't appreciated the risks beforehand. There are all sorts of monkey viruses involved as well as mercury hyperstimulating the immune system.

I contracted some virus that affects my hands and feet. The affects are wearing off now but haven't disappeared entirely.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Have we got any medical certificate "I've had a flu shot" forgerers on this forum ??????

[BratKat]

I hope my employer never requires vaccination as a condition of continued employment, because then I might be in for a fight. I never get a flu vaccine-- the questionable benefit (efficacy of the vaccine is very much unproved) is not worth the risk to me of allowing myself to be injected with know toxins (mercury, etc.)-- plus known potential side-effects.

Recently, flawed Pertussis vaccines actually CAUSED numerous cases of Whooping Cough!

[Ferti]

I'm still undecided myself but there is vaccine without Thimerosal. From CDC - Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Questions & Answers - Thimerosal and 2012-2013 Seasonal Flu Vaccines.

"Since seasonal influenza vaccine is produced in large quantities for annual immunization campaigns, some of the vaccine is produced in multi-dose vials, and contains thimerosal to safeguard against possible contamination of the vial once it is opened.

The single-dose units are made without thimerosal as a preservative because they are intended to be opened and used only once. Additionally, the live-attenuated version of the vaccine (the nasal spray vaccine), is produced in single-dose units and does not contain thimerosal."

This was helpful. I'm in the same boat, mandatory (I'm in LPN school and we work in nursing homes). I'd really like to avoid it though, now and in the future.