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I know they've been offering them since August, but that's "marketing" -- not public health.
August is typically the month in which supplies of the current year's vaccine first become available. It's not like ordering a large pepperoni pizza to go.
The best time to get the shot meanwhile is as soon as you can. Keep in mind of course that there are dozens of strains of flu, and the shot only protects against those strains that were selected for inclusion in the vaccine.
I'm as skeptical of "Big Pharma" and as opposed to unnecessary medical intervention as the next person, but I don't believe the flu shot is bogus. The CDC has to just guess as to what the prevalent strains may be that season based on last season, and of course it can always mutate in the meantime. It's not foolproof, but it's better than nothing and is offered free under most insurance plans. The flu is nothing to mess around with; it can be very debilitating and even deadly.
Not to mention, you can be deadly to those who CAN'T get immunizations because of compromised immune systems or other legitimate medical reasons (one of which is being too young). My grandson was born with SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, aka Bubble Boy Disease), so I've had to learn more than I ever wanted to know about immunizations and the consequences of the current anti-vac movement, AND I've had to know too many children die from conditions that were enough for them to fight without also having to beware of those irresponsible enough to jump on that current conspiracy theory bandwagon.
We usually get it by late September, that way we're as protected as we can be before the flu is in full swing. Alas, this year we're a little behind schedule. I got mine yesterday, Mr.Mathlete and our sums are getting theirs this weekend.
The often cited 1918 Flu Pandemic. That one affected far more young adults than older adults. WHY? There was another epidemic of the same strain in the 1880's. Older adults had immunity from that one. It also happened in 2009. Far more younger adults were affected than older adults who had lived through the 1957 Pandemic.
In part, that is their suspicion, don't forget, viri had not even been discovered yet.
A large part of the deaths of the young and healthy were from the cytokine storm that filled their lungs. A good healthy immune system was not helpful in this case.
And your husband could have had a different strain of the flu than was in the vaccine.
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Dont get it - its not good for you - just because the guberment wants you to have it does not mean it is safe - educate yourself
Are you being sarcastic? If not, read my post above yours. And I HAVE educated myself - extensively - out of necessity. Don't want to be guilty of murder, whether I'm charged with it or not, now, do I?
I'm as skeptical of "Big Pharma" and as opposed to unnecessary medical intervention as the next person, but I don't believe the flu shot is bogus. The CDC has to just guess as to what the prevalent strains may be that season based on last season, and of course it can always mutate in the meantime. It's not foolproof, but it's better than nothing and is offered free under most insurance plans. The flu is nothing to mess around with; it can be very debilitating and even deadly.
We used to never get flu shots until one of my sons and I had a really bad bout with it, about 8 years ago. It was a good two weeks before he was on the mend, and over a month for me because I developed pneumonia. I looked like a skeleton because I was so run down from taking care of my sick child, myself, and my nursing infant.
At least back then I was an at-home mom and could stay home and recover for as long as needed. These days I have to worry about potentially missing weeks of work if one child after the other gets sick (why do they never seem to be sick concurrently??) and them having to fall behind on school work.
To the original question on "Best time to get the flu shot"
Here is a great link on the CDC website regarding the upcoming flu season with details on the current vaccine recommendations...
"You should get a flu vaccine before flu begins spreading in your community. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against flu, so make plans to get vaccinated early in fall, before flu season begins. CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later." https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season...-2017-2018.htm
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