According to yesterday's Investors Business Daily:

Some 36,000 Americans die of the flu every year. Another 114,000 are hospitalized.

A slim majority of Americans 65 and older get annual flu shots. 41% for those 18-49 and 15% for those 18-49. A total of 80 million Americans got flu shots last yr.

There is now a pain-free alternative... Flu-Mist, a vaccine that can be inhaled like a nasal spray. It hit the market last month. It is currently approved for ages 5-49 - the group with the lowest vaccination rate. It is currently being tested on subjects 50 and up. Another problem... FluMist costs $46 a pop. But in time, should come down. A sign of better things to come.

hi Glen: Yeah, the Flu-Mist vaccine was offered as an option to me but it uses a LIVE flu virus whearas the Flu-Shot uses DEAD virus' only. In addition to the high cost of Flu-Mist, I still don't feel comfortable with the idea of being misted (blasted) with a LIVE flu virus. I'll perhaps feel safer about going the Flu-Mist route after it's been around a bit longer and the price drops significantly as well. Till then, I'll continue to endure the needle. Ouch! - Scott

Just got back....Got the shot...didn't hurt a bit !

Donny, good going.
Did the nurse give you a lollipop?

Scott

No Flu shots for me. I've never had one, but everyone I talk to end up sick anyway.

I encourage head colds, it really helps my Barry White and Lou Rawls impersonation sets!!!

Al

Dreamer,

If you are reading this topic. You are a doctor. What is you recommendation? I have heard that it is better to allow one's own immunity to build up by its own without flu shots. What do you think?

Probably the most valid reason for NOT getting a flu shot, if you are healthy and < 60, is that their are some who profess that it can hinder your body's natural immune system.

SK880 user,
thank you for asking my opinion

From a medical point of view, vaccination against influence (flu) is strongly adviced for people who are at particular risk, like children or elderly people, because in these two categories the immune defences are supposed to be less effective, compared with young or mature subjects. For this reason these are the categories that are more susceptible to complications, sometimes fatal.
Vaccination is also adviced for health care providers, who work in close contact with a great number of people who are often ill and, for this reason, are exposed to a greater risk of infection.
For all the other categories, the choice is a personal one and has to be weighed against the risk of contracting the illness: since the influence virus is diffused by air (most often through small liquid particles like the ones we expel when we sneeze or cough), it's easy to understand why a guy like Al, who commutes daily to his working place in NYC and maybe travels in a crowded train, has a greater risk of infection compared with someone like Bluezplayer: they live in the same state but their habits are quite different!

Re. the issue of live vs. dead viruses, it has to be said that, even when live viruses are inoculated (or inhaled) they are "weakened" beforehand and thus the risk of introducing them inside the organism is comparable to the use of dead viruses.

Finally, speaking of side effects, the most significant is a slight malaise (comparable to a mini-flu) that usually last two or three days (the time-interval the organism needs to develop its immune response).

Okay, that was all, I guess; if you have more questions, feel free to ask and...
...have a safe winter!

Was supposed to get my Flu shot On Oct,10th. Had to cancel because I came down with the Flu on Oct.2nd.
Just got over the worst of it today...Oct.14th. No Fun!!
I didn't know there was that much snot in the world!!

Leon: Sorry to hear you have the flu now, but the GOOD thing is you won't need a flu shot later as you're now immune to getting it later during the critical busy holidy gig season. - Scott