There are several things that I did not understand about the flu shot – there are probably others who think the same way I thought – so this information is for you.

You cannot catch the flu from a shot. The virus in the flu vaccine has been inactivated, so its dead – not a live virus. Getting the shot gives you part of the inactive virus and your body then produces antibodies against the virus.

Flu shots are about 70% effective in preventing the flu all-together. If you do happen to get it, the vaccine will prevent a severe case (I’ve seen it work now).

I always thought that only the elderly, or those working in the healthcare profession needed to get the flu shot – not so. Flu shots benefit healthy adults and children in that they help to prevent getting the virus and thus help prevent the spread of the virus to others.

Just about anyone can get a flu shot – only those allergic to eggs, or those who have had allergic reactions in the past cannot. There may be a few other instances, so check with your doctor.

Too sick to do it now, but I’m definitely getting one next year!

When you hear the word “Vaccine” visions of screaming/crying children usually come to mind and just hearing that word can bring back horrible childhood memories of our own vaccination experiences. This is why I have a hard time with the word vaccine being used in the same sentence with the new nasal spray that is being promoted and targeted towards children especially. With all the medical salespeople out there, you would think they would have come out with a more appealing term for the “FluMist vaccine.”

Children seem to have a high success rate with this nasal spray, when used annually in lieu of the traditional flu ’shot.’ Kids tend to get the flu twice as often as adults, through their exposure at school and day care programs, and because of this, they are often the cause of infection throughout the family, which includes the fragile elderly and babies.

Nasal spray flu prevention could have a significant effect on the public’s ability to deal with flu season. Having a trained medical professional to administer injections, would not be necessary, therefore the product could then become more accessible to the public. There would be a greater possibility of having the ‘vaccine’ administered at schools in mass, along with other public facilities.

Just think -no more kicking and screaming, just a quick squirt in the nose and it’s over before your little bugger knows what happened. I feel better already!

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