School immunizations

[Rob Tucker]

You guys need to learn to just respect other people's opinions and not insist that your way is the only way.

Assume the best and ask questions.

Punaweb moderator

[ElysianWort]

Thanks Rob I agree with you.

[EightFingers]

The flu has costs:
Yes you feel bad and it’s possible to get so sick you’ll be hospitalized. Insurance (read: the rest of pay) may cover it if you have insurance
You can spread it to others
If you work, you might miss work and others have to work extra to do your job
You start posting weird things on Punaweb.

To avoid the last, I decided to get the shot!

:

[TomK]

The 'flu shot is not perfect for the reasons given in this thread. On the other hand, it reduces your chances of getting the flu, something you really don't want to deal with, and reduces time taken off from work and just a normal life. It also reduces the chances of suffering other illnesses such as pneumonia.

I don't think I've ever had 'flu but have certainly had walking pneumonia. I don't want to get the non-walking version.

My concern is that people like EW influence others not to take the 'flu shot. Having such opinions influence others is a big problem these days. "I read it on the internet". You'll also read that Hitler has a base on Mars, there's a big hole in Antarctica that allows aliens to live in the center of the Earth and Nibiru is once again about to destroy the Earth, even though it hasn't on all the other times it was supposed to destroy us.

Getting a 'flu shot is a good thing. It may not prevent you getting the flu but as sure as the sun rises each morning, it reduces your chances of getting it. And prevents thousands of people from dying prematurely. And if I had a kid at a school where the 'flu shot was not required for everyone, I'd very quickly withdraw my kid from that school.

[TomK]

Rob,

"You guys need to learn to just respect other people's opinions and not insist that your way is the only way."

I respect the way you moderate this forum, but in this case, I think you are wrong. You can respect someone's opinion but when they post nonsense then others should be allowed to point this out. I don't like Paul's method of doing this, it's very confrontational, but he has a point and sometimes you need to step things up a little when someone is posting nonsense advice. And when they misrepresent what others have posted or what they think, a hearty and fact-filled response is warranted, even if it may offend snowflakes.

We are living in an era where lies and misinformation are becoming commonplace and acceptable. Please don't let that happen here.

[HI_Someday]

Having worked in healthcare for decades I wanted to add this to the thread. As noted, the influenza virus, being a virus, does change. However each year the vaccine is remade based on the current iterations of the virus. Saying there is no reason to get the vaccine because the influenza virus changes and the vaccination isn't effective shows a bit of ignorance to the process. If you're going to oppose something at least educate youself on the basic facts first;

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/vac...ection.htm

[ElysianWort]

Maybe you should brush up on your facts before calling ignorance.

Because the vaccine is made from the current strain doesn't mean it gets out promptly. Because of the time to make it, when it is finally out on the market being given to people there is already another type infecting people.

[terracore]

There is no such thing as a perfect vaccine.

Well, maybe the rabies vaccine. It was tested in Iraq on condemned prisoners that were allowed to be bitten by rabid canines. 100% of the vaccinated "volunteers" survived, and 100% of the non-vaccinated prisoners died of rabies.

I recognize that the flu shot is not 100%, but I take my chances. Because of... SCIENCE.

ETA: Rabies is probably a good test of vaccine efficacy, because 100% of people who get infected with rabies die from it. There have been a few exceptions in the last few thousand years (about 9 people), but they are all individuals who got extraordinary care like medically-induced comas, etc.

[randomq]

A big part of earning respect in friendly debates is knowing when to admit you were wrong.

[Rob Tucker]

I will repeat something I posted yesterday...

In recent news there is research showing the CDC may finally be closing in on a universal flu vaccine. An antibody derived from llamas. Those folks really do dig deep if they located an antibody in llamas.

I found a link to the news:

https://www.biospace.com/article/a-llama...u-vaccine/