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Despite their claims that you can't get it from the vaccine, evidence all around me always indicated otherwise.
The injectable flu vaccine contains inactivated virus. You cannot get flu from it.
The nasal mist contains virus that has been altered so that it cannot survive except at the relatively lower temperature in the nose. You cannot get flu from it.
The non-specific effects of revving up the immune system can cause mild symptoms for a few days, such as low grade fever and muscle aches, but that is not "flu".
The vaccine takes about two weeks to work. Someone who truly gets flu soon after taking the vaccine was either already exposed and incubating the virus when he took the vaccine or is infected with a strain* not included in the vaccine. The vaccines contain three or four strains.
*As far as testing for flu is concerned, there is a difference between type and strain. In office tests can sometimes determine which type (A or B) is present. Testing for specific strain (a subgroup of type) is not usually done except at sites set up to do monitoring for the CDC. They send samples to CDC labs which can determine the strain.
"WHO and NREVSS collaborating laboratories, which include both public health and clinical laboratories located in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, report to CDC the total number of respiratory specimens tested for influenza and the number positive for influenza by virus type. In addition, public health laboratories also report the influenza A subtype (H1 or H3) and influenza B lineage information of the viruses they test and the age or age group of the persons from whom the specimens were collected."
My son had the mist a couple of times but he found it uncomfortable and is fine getting shots instead so that's what we do. I'm required to get one for work which they provide (I'm non-clinical but work in a hospital) but I go with him to the flu shot clinic they run at our HMO since I'd have to take him in anyway. No charge for me either way. And they make it super easy - no need to show up at a special time with a long line of people, they have someone there every day from 9 to 6 and you can pop in whenever you want. I've never had to wait for more than 5 minutes.
While people can get the flu after the vaccine, it reduces your odds enough that I still feel it's worth it, and apparently, it can at least reduce the severity to some extent if you do end up being one of the people who gets it. Worth it for both me and the kiddo IMO.
My family usually gets the flu shot. A few years ago my daughter and I never got around to getting it. So we got the flu. It was awful until we got Tamiflu, which worked very well. My husband and son had gotten the shot, and did not catch the flu from us.
We will be getting the shots this year. I don't mind the mist being unavailable, my son did get the mist once and was more bothered by it than he usually is with the shots. We always, always, go straight to Baskin Robbins immediately after getting any shot, so my kids usually just grin and bear it to get their ice cream.
My family usually gets the flu shot. A few years ago my daughter and I never got around to getting it. So we got the flu. It was awful until we got Tamiflu, which worked very well. My husband and son had gotten the shot, and did not catch the flu from us.
We will be getting the shots this year. I don't mind the mist being unavailable, my son did get the mist once and was more bothered by it than he usually is with the shots. We always, always, go straight to Baskin Robbins immediately after getting any shot, so my kids usually just grin and bear it to get their ice cream.
Those rapid tests do not attempt to tell the strain, just A or B, at least the one we used in our office.
It was rapid test, she had flu (general). It was only a day or two later that they gave me paper work stating the strain. I have no dog in this hunt, didn't matter to me at all what strain it was, but they did give me a print out saying what type it was. Just my experience.
Found this https://labtestsonline.org/understan.../flu/tab/test/ They obviously cultured my child's sample for whatever reason. Perhaps they were trying to figure out what strains were circulating locally? Nonetheless, they can differentiate strains taken in a rapid test (after culturing) and in my kid's case, for whatever reason, they did.
While some people know the difference between a stomach bug (aka stomach flu) and the actual flu...few can tell the difference between a cold virus and the flu virus. I cant tell you how many times people said they had the flu when it was clearly a cold virus or a post viral bacterial infection.
That always surprises me. One can have a God awful cold and be miserable, but that's nothing comparable to influenza!
Every year it is different. It's a guessing game, unlike the other vaccines that are specific. And a 40% failure rate is hardly "successful."
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