The doc and the digger...
I have a friend who owns a backhoe, and we have a lot in common. When we are working we make pretty good money. When we ain't workin', we make zilch. And we both get paid by the hole !
So it takes a lot for either of us to take a day off sick. Which is why I know getting the flu is bad. We both ended up losing a week's work over it. Drat !
So it takes a lot for either of us to take a day off sick. Which is why I know getting the flu is bad. We both ended up losing a week's work over it. Drat !
The flu is baaaad ...
A flu outbreak after WWII ( nicknamed the "Spanish Flu" because - just like Spain - it didn't take sides ) killed more people than the war did. It may have killed twenty million people worldwide. And it could have killed a whole lot more.
There were no antibiotics for the flu back then. That is almost the case now.
So fancy pants medical care didn't make the flu go away. Not even a little bit. It just killed twenty mill, and then faded out on it's own. Why ? Nobody knows !
In 1967 the Hong Kong flu killed ten's of thousands of people. And since then we have have the swine flu, the bird flu, SARS, and who knows what else.
And did I mention the flu made me miss a week's work ?
There were no antibiotics for the flu back then. That is almost the case now.
So fancy pants medical care didn't make the flu go away. Not even a little bit. It just killed twenty mill, and then faded out on it's own. Why ? Nobody knows !
In 1967 the Hong Kong flu killed ten's of thousands of people. And since then we have have the swine flu, the bird flu, SARS, and who knows what else.
And did I mention the flu made me miss a week's work ?
Who can get a flu shot - 2017 - Vancouver
Who can get a free seasonal flu shot?
- People 65 years and older and their caregivers/household contacts
- Residents of nursing homes and other chronic care facilities
- Children and adults with chronic health conditions, including obesity, and their household contacts
- Children and adolescents (six months to 18 years) with conditions treated for long periods of time with acetylsalicylic acid, and their household contacts
- Healthy children age six months to five years of age
- Household contacts and caregivers of infants age zero to 59 months
- Aboriginal peoples (on and off reserve)
- All pregnant women and their household contacts
- Health care and other care providers in facilities and community settings who are capable of transmitting influenza to those at high risk of influenza complications
- People who provide essential services including first responders and correction officers
- People who work with live poultry
- People planning to visit loved ones in a health care facility or who will take family members to outpatient appointments
Do flu shots cause the flu ?
I used to think that anyone who could believe this was silly. Then I saw the light .
It is because of one time ( of many ) when I decided to give myself the flu shot. That was the one and only time I came down with the flu. And I was all set to blame the blasted flu shot. For forcing me to forgo a week of gainful employment. And seriously hampering my retirement plans.
HOWEVER .....The day that I was going to give myself the flu shot I got busy at the last minute, and ended up not having time to shoot myself. ( It is sooo frustrating when the doctor screws up your appointment - especially when you are the doctor ! )
And the very next day - right after I DIDN't give myself the flu shot I came down with the flu.
And hence had a week of agony in bed to ponder an interesting fact. Intellectually I know that flu shots don't cause the flu. ( They can't - the virus in them is dead and chopped up into little texas-chain-saw-massacre bits of virus. ) But if I had actually given myself the shot, instead of missing out on it at the last minute, then I would have been pretty convinced - against all logic - that the flu shot had fouled me up. And once I get a stupid idea into my head it is hard for me to change it !
And if I can be that stupid, then so can anyone. But that doesn't make them right.
Flu shots do not cause the flu. I know. It happened to me. Really !
It is because of one time ( of many ) when I decided to give myself the flu shot. That was the one and only time I came down with the flu. And I was all set to blame the blasted flu shot. For forcing me to forgo a week of gainful employment. And seriously hampering my retirement plans.
HOWEVER .....The day that I was going to give myself the flu shot I got busy at the last minute, and ended up not having time to shoot myself. ( It is sooo frustrating when the doctor screws up your appointment - especially when you are the doctor ! )
And the very next day - right after I DIDN't give myself the flu shot I came down with the flu.
And hence had a week of agony in bed to ponder an interesting fact. Intellectually I know that flu shots don't cause the flu. ( They can't - the virus in them is dead and chopped up into little texas-chain-saw-massacre bits of virus. ) But if I had actually given myself the shot, instead of missing out on it at the last minute, then I would have been pretty convinced - against all logic - that the flu shot had fouled me up. And once I get a stupid idea into my head it is hard for me to change it !
And if I can be that stupid, then so can anyone. But that doesn't make them right.
Flu shots do not cause the flu. I know. It happened to me. Really !
Do flu shots have side effects ?
Absolutely. Just like beer does. But I am not giving up beer.
Everything has side effects. But the key to making an informed decision is to balance whether the dangers of the flu shot are greater or lessor than the dangers of catching the flu.
Flu is way more dangerous that a flu shot. The flu killed twenty million people in one go. Most of them healthy young men. So if you think you don't need a flu shot because you "never get sick", or can "shrug colds off" then you are seriously underestimating the flu.
Which makes the one in a gazillion long shot of having a serious side effect from the flu shot a good risk to take.
Flu shots are a teeeeeensy bit risky. Real flu is hugely dangerous, and sometimes massively fatal. Best case - you miss a weeks work. Worst case - you die in agony, drowning in your own secretions.
The choice is yours !!!
Everything has side effects. But the key to making an informed decision is to balance whether the dangers of the flu shot are greater or lessor than the dangers of catching the flu.
Flu is way more dangerous that a flu shot. The flu killed twenty million people in one go. Most of them healthy young men. So if you think you don't need a flu shot because you "never get sick", or can "shrug colds off" then you are seriously underestimating the flu.
Which makes the one in a gazillion long shot of having a serious side effect from the flu shot a good risk to take.
Flu shots are a teeeeeensy bit risky. Real flu is hugely dangerous, and sometimes massively fatal. Best case - you miss a weeks work. Worst case - you die in agony, drowning in your own secretions.
The choice is yours !!!
How risky is the flu this year ?
The flu often starts in Australia and then works its way west . Sort of like Mel Gibson. The 2107 flu in Australia looks like a bad one. But Australia also has a totally different immunization policy than Canada. Not as good. So just because it looks a bit bad in Australia doesn't mean it is going to be really bad here.
But ... would you want to risk your life on it ?
But ... would you want to risk your life on it ?