Anyone else here anti-vaccine?

[Bandit]

It has its pro & cons. Some save lives & have been proven to prevent illness & we should keep them. Others have been proven to cause harm. I do not like that when they use our Soldiers and lie to them about the shots that are mandatory, then half of them come home sick after the shot.

Some people run out out & get the flu shot then get the flu the next week. Others do just fine without it and won't get sick.

I feel the public is being told only half truths. Some things are true & some they do not have a clue about. I suppose that is why some call it 'research' because no one really knows for sure about all this newer stuff.

my two pennies

[HenriettaHen]

I just wanted to clarify that I do believe in the efficacy of vaccinating for certain diseases - certainly the above posters are correct in that - polio, measles & mumps, diphtheria - the list of killers goes on - HOWEVER.

In this age of ravaging capitalism, I do not think any of us should be complacent or naive about how profit motive can skew the clinical testing period - and let's not be silly here. There is a bottomless pit of "side-effects" from modern day pharmaceuticals.

Some are deadly or have lasting harm in the body. And if you or someone you love is harmed - too bad for you, friend. You are shit out of luck.

Should children be vaccinated for the killers? Yes - within reason. The more penetrating question to ask about childhood vaccines is ... how have they changed in the last forty years?

Don't even get me started on what they do to young men and women in the military.

THAT RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.

[HHM]

There is a difference between cynicism and reasonable skepticism, or put another way, "assuming" vs "knowing".

And a few of you are just off the charts into conspiracy theory nut job

[Bandit]

I was talking with a co worker about this last nite. He told me he took a flu shot a couple of years ago & became deathly ill for about two weeks with a flu that he had never experienced before & swore he will never take another flu shot. He was forced to take it because his job required it. Almost everyone who took that shot where he works became sick with the flu, or so that he was he said. They came to the place of employment & gave all the employees a flu shot.

This is not at the same place I work but his other job.

I only know of one other friend who took a flu shot & she also became very sick after taking it.

I have never had one.

If the shot is supposed to prevent people from getting the flu then why do they still get the flu & get it really bad right after the shot? Makes no sense & a whole lot of hype if you ask me.

[JollyGG]

The flu shot is supposed to provide protection against three or four strains of flu.

The flu bug constantly mutates itself, so that new strains appear every year. When they make the flu shot they make an educated guess about which strains are going to be the most common and most severe for the year and formulate the shot to provide protection from those strains. They base this decision on what strains were around the year before and other epidemiological information.

Often there are other strains of the flu that either appear during the course of the winter or become more virulent than it was though they would be. In that case the flu shot is not as effective as it would be against the strains it was intended for. Other years the flu strains are exactly right and the flu shot is very very effective.

So often when someone is sick with the flu even thought they got the shot it is because the shot didn't protect them from that particular strain. Additionally, people who get sick around the time of the shot may be sick with a different virus or with a different flu strain and just suffered from poor timing. If someone were to get the flu from the flu shot it would be a much milder case of the flu than they otherwise would have gotten.

[HenriettaHen]

Weellllllll..... before you see this beady-eyed old hen getting one of these crap-shoot flu shots, I'm gonna wanna know some things.

I'm gonna wanna know what strains they are vaccinating for. Then I'll wanna know where I can be tested, in order to find out which strain I am infected with, if I get sick.

Think they'll provide me with all that?

Not likely. Especially since "The flu bug constantly mutates itself".

Oh, and I'll wanna know how the vaccine was prepared, where, and what stabilizing/preserving solutions it's in.

Then I'll wanna know who made it and who paid for it.

The nurse will surreptitiously mark a check under "pain in the ass/non-compliant".

So I'll leave it to others to experiment with inoculations at THE GROCERY STORE. Criminy - if'n yer gonna INJECT things under your skin, might be nice to know a little more about what they ARE. "Various strains" !?!

Okay, I'm off this thread! This is one of my hot button topics, and I don't wanna lay a boiled egg.

Cheers! Caveat emptor!

[Bandit]

JollyGG, that is how I have always heard it & we are in agreement.

I have two thoughts on this. Perhaps the public misinforms each other because for some reason there are people who think just because they get a flu shot they wont get the flu, and that is wrong. Then people run around all scared because they will run out of flu shots. I don't, but some people do & I have seen that in the news a lot.

The other is, perhaps there is anxiety & fear in certain people that we could be on the edge of flu epidemic or pandemic (?) that the population will suffer & that is why they keep pushing these shots?
This has never been a mandatory thing until more recently that I am aware of. Nevertheless there is no absolute cure for flu so to make it mandatory makes no sense.

For example, 1919 we lost about 30 million people to Influenza and I believe if I have the facts correct, about 1/5 of the worlds population was infected.

[Bandit]

Then I'll wanna know who made it and who paid for it.

Cheers! Caveat emptor!

Probably MADE IN CHINA. I aint taking it either. I will stick in the Doctor before he pokes me with it.

[JollyGG]

The previous post from me was actually not meant to be an anti-vacine message. It was just ment to clear up possible misconceptions about the flu vaccine.

I personally will go for three to four fewer chances of getting the flu. I have two children and a work that relies on me to be healthy. I got the flu shot last month as did both my children and my husband. And for the record we have four to five people out with the flu at work right now and I feel fine.

[JollyGG]

I'm gonna wanna know what strains they are vaccinating for. Then I'll wanna know where I can be tested, in order to find out which strain I am infected with, if I get sick.

Think they'll provide me with all that?

Not likely. Especially since "The flu bug constantly mutates itself".

Once you have the flu a flu shot will do nothing for you. Once you have flu symptoms there are numerous over the counter and prescriptions that can reduce the duration and severity of your symptoms, but a flu shot won't do anything for you. The flu shot prevents the flu. It does not treat it.

A flu shot works by training your body to recognize the virus. It basically shows your immune system a picture of the flu virus. Once your body recognizes the virus it can launch a full attack on the virus before you get sick and have to deal with the symptoms of the flu.

Therefore to a certain degree a flu shot can be effective even if a strain mutates to a certain degree. As long as your body can still recognize it your body can combat it. So basically if your best friend dyes her hair you can still recognize her. If she gets plastic surgery, gastric bypass, trades glasses for colored contacts and dyes her hair - well then you may have more trouble.

I also wanted to clarify exactly what the flu is.

An upset stomach with vomiting, fever, and other gastrointestinal symptoms is NOT the flu. It is often called by that name. However that is a different virus.

The flu is characterized by fever, soreness, headache, congestion, runny nose, coughing, sneezing and the like.

[HenriettaHen]

For the record, JGG, I am a fifty-something fifth-generation farmer and I understand perfectly well how vaccines work. (better than you do, in fact.)

I was referring to getting sick AFTER the flu shot, not before.

Sorry for the confusion.

Since you are a biologist, let's talk in real terms - not ga-ga terms.

A vaccine works by assaulting the immune system - causing the body to respond by creating antibodies.

[tinroofrusted]

There is a difference between cynicism and reasonable skepticism, or put another way, "assuming" vs "knowing".

And a few of you are just off the charts into conspiracy theory nut job

You are certainly entitled to your own opinion, but in this day and age when the government and others are pushing a brand new STD vaccine on 9 YEAR OLD GIRLS and it is causing deaths by the thousands, it makes me stop and think a little about what other issues and problems may be in vaccines...

It's also a proven fact that if you get a flu shot, you are not guaranteed that it is protecting against that particular strain that is out and about that year. That's scientifically proven.

[HenriettaHen]

Here's a cogent article about the flu shot from a few years back. There are MANY good websites which delve into the pros and cons of both flu shots and childhood immunizations.

Oh, and ...."conspiracy theory nut job" is a defensive term that is generally employed when one is threatened by the suggestion that all is not what it seems.

http://www.theecologist.org/archive_detail.asp?open=y&content_id=494#16889

The flu vaccine...a shot in the dark?

If we truly knew about flu, and the lack of effectiveness of the vaccine being offered as protection, would we really be so obedient about getting the jab?

Date:25/09/2005 Author:Pat Thomas

[AMISLANDER]

Very informational flu article!

I've been down in FL for years. We get sick here right after Thanksgiving (all the northerners bring it on the planes; if that doesn't tell you how germs migrate!)...and usually mid February.

My mother was against all vaccinations (I was born in '62). I don't know how she got around it, but I have no idea about my v history...I received a shot of gamma globulin once a month for the first ten years of my life due to almost having leukemia, or so that's what she told me.

I got the measles when I was 25 weeks pregnant with my first son, back in '96 winter....it wasn't really all that bad, just weird & son turned out just fine.

I had the flu shot the year I moved down here, 1991 and have never had one since. After reading how they're made & where they come from, I don't think I'll go that route, rather fight it off myself. EEW!

[whatamess]

My older child was vax'ed, youngest hasnt been yet. I will have to soon since she is supposed to start Kindergarten next year. We never get sick, minus the headcolds and occasional barfing virus. My daughters escape strep, ear infections....Im very lucky. My older daughter has TERRIBLE animal hair and mold allergies though. She gets hives from cats, and it stinks because we love animals. We still manage to keep three dogs and a rat.
I get frequent colds due to allergies but thats all. Ive never had strep. the only vax Ive had is hep B (I think it was) due to travel to Asia.
My kids are great eaters. This may help. We eat a very typical Asian diet of rice, seaweed, veggies, fish and chicken. The weekends we splurge on pizza or burgers, maybe Chinese takeout. The only nasty thing here is Spam, cuz my husband loves it. *blech*
I think diet, SLEEP, and hand washing has much to do with controlling sickness. Most kids never wash properly if at all. They eat frozen chicken nuggets, fries, sugerary cereal and pizza daily. No wonder they are sick!!
Ive watched the boys in our school here, they are germ bags. The even wipe POOP on the walls!! Talk about GERMS!!!
My kids bad vice is campells chicken noodle soup and fried 'sunny side' eggs on toast!
WAM