Flu Shots

[Guest guest]

I worked in an Occupational Health setting and I have probably no

joke given at least 2,ooo flu shots a season. It was my

responsibility to go to all the factories in our area and give flu

shots. Plus I went to all the schools and gave to the teachers, bus

drivers, banks, grocery stores (their employees not shoppers) plus I

administered them to people at our hospital and there family

members. I can assure that there is NO WAY the flu shot can give you

the flu. It is made from a DEAD virus. If you get sick after

recieving the shot you were getting sick any way. Now adverse

reactions are another thing, it is possible to have sore muscle

after recieving the injection, people that have alleric reaction to

egg should not recieve the injections, there is a rare neurological

syndrome that has occurred after recieiving the flu shot and some

people have gotten after having a virus, but again those are adverse

side effects. I have seen the advertisements for the nasally

administered flu immunization now that is a LIVE virus like

recieving measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Any LIVE virus has the

ability to make one ill, even close family members because the LIVE

virus can be shed, and those with weak immune systems such as those

on chemotherapy or radiation for cancer treatments, people with

HIV,or those on long term or high dose steroids. Hope this does away

with the myths and superstitions regarding Flu vaccine, the vaccine

is not intended to provide complete immunity it will help lessen the

severity of infection and hopefully not last as long. Also it is

only a prediction of what the CDC estimates what influenza virus'

will be a problem that year they are worked on a year in advance

they contain usually influneza a and b and yes there are

potientially hundreds of different influenza virus'. A little

education about what is confusing subject helps all to understand

the facts. R. Atwell LPN