How many people here got the flu despite getting the flu shot this year?

[Lyric]

For the past 3 weeks I've had something that I'm pretty sure was the flu--I'm still recovering from it, actually. But I *had* my flu shot. Normally I would chalk this up to bad luck, but so far, every single person I've met who came down with influenza this year, had also gotten a flu shot. I'm starting to wonder if there was something wrong with this year's batch of vaccine, or if it's just a nationwide streak of misfortune, or what.

For reference, if you're not sure whether you've had the flu or not, here's a basic guide to telling the difference between a cold and the flu:

Cold: mild or no fever (99.9 or below), runny nose, "wet" cough, sneezing, usually better in 3-4 days.

Influenza: moderate to high fever (100-106), intense body aches, dry cough, achy all-over headache, sore throat, weakness and fatigue, usually takes weeks to feel 100% better.

[FloridaJudy]

1. The first flu case has just been confirmed here

According to the local paper, so we're still really early in the season. I had something that sure felt like the flu back in October, but I got a flu shot in November just in case. I'll let you know if I get any further attacks of the crud.

[xchrom]

2. you would need a proper diagnosis to know for sure

if you had the flu.

i get the shot early in the season and it's been many, many years since i've had the flu.

however -- there can be more than one strain of the flu running around -- they innoculate you against the one they predict will be the most prevalent.

one can also be exposed to the flu before one was given the shot - and you will still get the flu.

it takes several days for the body to build up immunity after having the shot.

[Lyric]

5. I didn't have a doctor diagnose it, but

I've had real, diagnosed influenza 4 times in my adult life, so I'm pretty good at recognizing it now. This time, it was an absolutely classic case--high fever (104), body aches so bad that if someone had poked me in the arm I'd have cried, chills, sore throat, miserable achy head, weakness and fatigue so bad that I could hardly get up to go to the bathroom, coughing. I got my flu shot in October, and I got sick right around Christmas. I am *just now* recovering.

I suspect that the most likely reason is that I managed to get a strain that wasn't covered by the vaccine. But still--it's a miserable illness, and I made sure to stay inside and away from other people so I didn't risk giving it to some elderly person who could have died from it. :(

[xchrom]

8. i'm not down playing your experience -- but i've had

infuenza several times in my life as well -- and i've had flu like conditions but not the flu.

that was my point.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

3. They can only prepare a vaccine for the strain that they think will be the problem

It sounds like you've been unlucky and got a mutated version of the strain, or a different strain altogether. Or it could be that the vaccine manufacturers guessed wrong about the strain that was going to hit.

[Lyric]

6. Yeah, you're probably right

I just found it odd that several other folks I've talked to had also gotten the flu despite being vaccinated this year. A lot of my friends got vaccinated because there was apparently a big surplus of flu vaccine this year, so everyone's doctor was asking if they wanted a flu shot as a matter of course back in September and October--that's when I got mine, too.

[Orsino]

4. Up until a couple of days ago, I would have bragged...

...that I hadn't had a cold, either, since I started getting flu shots three years ago.

I've just had a couple of days of head-popping misery, though I'm already getting better. This is nothing like the two-week bouts I used to get twice a year. If the flu shot only prevented the flu, it'd be worth it, but not getting those respiratory whatever-they-are has been golden.

Anyone else stopped getting colds since starting flu shots?

[1gobluedem]

7. No flu, no flu shot

I rarely get sick. Last time was six years ago.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

9. I got something ...

dunno if it's flu or just a cold.

prolly just a cold.

anyway, I had my flu shot in October. followed by a grape lollipop.

There doesn't have to be anything "wrong" with the vaccine. CDC specifies the strains to protect against, guessing which strains will sweep in this winter from wherever. It's a litle like predicting the weather, or conducting exit polls in New Hampshire.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. Last year was the first year in years that I didn't get a flu shot

and the first year in years that I didn't get the flu, even as the members of my choir section got it one by one. :shrug:

[bikebloke]

11. I'll skip the jabs

The last time I caught the flu was in the mid-80's. Everyone else was mired with it for a week or more. It went through me in 24 hours. Too bloody healthy for my own good, I guess.

[Jimbo S]

12. I don't get flu shots

and I haven't had the flu in forever.