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sexobon · 01-14-2018, 10:57 AM

There are a lot of variables as to catching the flu and some people just luck out year after year. The flu shot helps reduce one's reliance on luck.

Once a person contracts the virus, it takes about 7 days for the virus to replicate into sufficient numbers to cause symptoms. The person is; however, contagious during that week and you can't tell by looking at them so you don't know to keep your distance. You can also have it yourself and be contagious without yet knowing you could be infecting others.

The flu shot helps protect people from the top 3 or 4 strains projected to be the most serious and prevalent. It used to contain an attenuated (weakened) live virus and one could get a mild case of the flu from it. Nowadays, it contains a killed virus that doesn't give you a mild flu in order to build immunity against severe infection.

Those who get sick after getting the flu shot were probably already infected. It could also be that they contracted a strain not so closely related to the what the flu shot protects against. They may not have built up as much immunity as most people for whatever reason. Additionally, they may have contracted something other than the flu (e.g. bad cold, septicemia) that causes some flu-like symptoms. Mimics of infectious diseases is an entire area of study.

It's still worthwhile to get a flu shot due to the severity of the disease. News in the US carried a story about a 20 y.o. male fitness buff who died from the flu. California alone had 27 deaths, of people under age 65, attributed to the flu - last I read. A 12 y.o. girl was misdiagnosed with the flu and died a week later from complications of sepsis, the disease process she actually had. The CDC reports there are over 1 million cases of sepsis each year in the U.S. It kills more than 258,000 Americans annually, making it the ninth leading cause of disease-related deaths. It was treatable for her.

So getting a flu shot not only reduces the chance of becoming a casualty of the flu, it reduces the chance of becoming a casualty of something that mimics the flu by getting doctors to look for other causes of what's ailing you despite having gotten a flu shot.

The forecast was that this year would be bad for the flu. I got my flu shot early in the season and posted about it. I've had a bad cold that lasted a week, all upper respiratory symptoms (not the generalized symptoms of the flu); but, no flu. The flu season has peaked; however, it's still not too late to get the flu shot.

01-14-2018, 10:57 AM	#1767
sexobon I love it when a plan comes together. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 9,793	There are a lot of variables as to catching the flu and some people just luck out year after year. The flu shot helps reduce one's reliance on luck. Once a person contracts the virus, it takes about 7 days for the virus to replicate into sufficient numbers to cause symptoms. The person is; however, contagious during that week and you can't tell by looking at them so you don't know to keep your distance. You can also have it yourself and be contagious without yet knowing you could be infecting others. The flu shot helps protect people from the top 3 or 4 strains projected to be the most serious and prevalent. It used to contain an attenuated (weakened) live virus and one could get a mild case of the flu from it. Nowadays, it contains a killed virus that doesn't give you a mild flu in order to build immunity against severe infection. Those who get sick after getting the flu shot were probably already infected. It could also be that they contracted a strain not so closely related to the what the flu shot protects against. They may not have built up as much immunity as most people for whatever reason. Additionally, they may have contracted something other than the flu (e.g. bad cold, septicemia) that causes some flu-like symptoms. Mimics of infectious diseases is an entire area of study. It's still worthwhile to get a flu shot due to the severity of the disease. News in the US carried a story about a 20 y.o. male fitness buff who died from the flu. California alone had 27 deaths, of people under age 65, attributed to the flu - last I read. A 12 y.o. girl was misdiagnosed with the flu and died a week later from complications of sepsis, the disease process she actually had. The CDC reports there are over 1 million cases of sepsis each year in the U.S. It kills more than 258,000 Americans annually, making it the ninth leading cause of disease-related deaths. It was treatable for her. So getting a flu shot not only reduces the chance of becoming a casualty of the flu, it reduces the chance of becoming a casualty of something that mimics the flu by getting doctors to look for other causes of what's ailing you despite having gotten a flu shot. The forecast was that this year would be bad for the flu. I got my flu shot early in the season and posted about it. I've had a bad cold that lasted a week, all upper respiratory symptoms (not the generalized symptoms of the flu); but, no flu. The flu season has peaked; however, it's still not too late to get the flu shot.