Do you know what's in a flu shot?

[Mallignamius]

This will make you think about your next doctor visit.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2163175142473074044"

 

[BobG]

I can't watch videos on this computer, however the components in a flu vaccine change every year. The influenza virus mutates very rapidly and rare that a vaccine is any good within a year.

The variety always makes me a little nervous. Flu shots were 'mandatory' in the military, but I managed to miss out on them for over 10 straight years. (They started putting me in charge of making sure everyone got their flu shots, which made it hard for me to sneak out of them - I kept following myself home until I finally buckled just to stop the harrassment. I thought putting me in charge of flu shots was a particularly cruel thing for our commander to do. After that I moved to a squadron where I was on mobility making vaccines impossible to dodge).

At a minimum, I prefer to wait until lots of other people have taken the vaccine, just in case people start dying (there hasn't been mass dyings in around 30 years of vaccines, but just to be safe, you know).

Of course, to be honest, needles scare the hell out of me.

 

[Moonbear]

*sighs* Not again.

Here, read this:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/thimerosal.htm

And...

Do all flu vaccines contain thimerosal?

No. Influenza vaccine is currently available both with thimerosal as a preservative and preservative-free. For the 2004-05 influenza season, it is likely that 6-8 million doses of inactivated influenza vaccine without thimerosal as a preservative will be available. This represents a substantial increase in the available amount of inactivated influenza vaccine without thimerosal as a preservative, compared with about 3.2 million doses that were available during the 2003-04 influenza season.

The removal of thimerosal as a preservative from influenza vaccine is a complicated process. The total amount of flu vaccine without thimerosal as a preservative will be increased as vaccine manufacturing capabilities are expanded. In the meantime, it is important to keep in mind that the benefits of influenza vaccination outweigh the theoretical risk, if any, for exposure to thimerosal. Each year, an average of about 36,000 people in the United States die from influenza, and 114,000 have to be admitted to the hospital as a result of influenza. People age 65 years and older, people of any age with chronic medical conditions, and very young children are more likely to get complications from influenza.

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/thimerosal/faqs-thimerosal.htm#12

And for general issues of vaccine safety:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/

 

[Mallignamius]

Just a little side humor. Okay, I'll stop.

 

[Mk]

Heh. I wonder why people are always so quick to be scared of vaccinees. Whooping cough, flu, measels, chicken pox, and HPV have all had their share!