Flu season - who's catching?

[kevo_55]

I always get a flu shot.

Then again, I'm also a hypochondriac. 

 

[Master slacker]

... i.e. the weather vs. something you virtually have more chance at winning the lottery than gaining actual protection from a flu shot)...

 

[csb]

Our office had two guys fall to strep throat last month, but so far we've been pretty healthy. I also am in a separate building on complex that has 16 people total, so we tend to be pretty isolated. I also have a very firm "TAKE YOUR SICK ASS HOME" policy. 

 

[knight1fox3]

CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the influenza (flu) vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.

Source: CDC (and if you say we can't trust the CDC because <conspiracy theory>, then I guess we are done here.

"Recent studies show....."

Please advise when more definite and accurate information is available such that the phrase above can be revised to, "Recent studies CONFIRM..."  And I'll also expect the corresponding technical report with supporting data to review accordingly. Thank you in advance. :thumbs:

 

[JayKay PE]

Man, everyone getting really intense over if the shot works, whereas I'm still marveling over how tiny the single-serve shots are and how quickly I got my shot at CVS.  

 

[Ble_PE]

"Recent studies show....."

Please advise when more definite and accurate information is available such that the phrase above can be revised to, "Recent studies CONFIRM..."  And I'll also expect the corresponding technical report with supporting data to review accordingly. Thank you in advance. :thumbs:

The real question is whether flu shots are Tony Horton approved.

 

[Master slacker]

Well, immunization manufacturing relies heavily on an egg-based process.  Eggs have lots of protein.  Therefore, I would assume Tony would approve.

 

[Dleg]

"Recent studies show....."

Please advise when more definite and accurate information is available such that the phrase above can be revised to, "Recent studies CONFIRM..."  And I'll also expect the corresponding technical report with supporting data to review accordingly. Thank you in advance. :thumbs:

It's all right there in the link, doctor. Including links to each of the several studies they used that back up those numbers. So please go ahead and review and get back to us with what the researchers did wrong. Better yet, talk to your expert friends - it looks like most of the studies were performed in your neck of the woods.  

 

[knight1fox3]

It's all right there in the link, doctor. Including links to each of the several studies they used that back up those numbers. So please go ahead and review and get back to us with what the researchers did wrong. Better yet, talk to your expert friends - it looks like most of the studies were performed in your neck of the woods.  

I'll be sure to do that. But as mentioned previously, you have your data and I have mine. This is akin to arguing politics in hopes one of the participants is going to change the other's mind. That's not going to happen on this end for the record. Though I wonder how/if the flu strains differ some between regions (i.e. yours for instance) of the world.

 

[Dleg]

I'll be sure to do that. But as mentioned previously, you have your data and I have mine. This is akin to arguing politics in hopes one of the participants is going to change the other's mind. That's not going to happen on this end for the record. Though I wonder how/if the flu strains differ some between regions (i.e. yours for instance) of the world.

Well see that's the beauty of science. You can prove things. You can't prove things in politics.  Now, the science of epidemiology might seem foreign to an engineer, but it is indeed a science, but one that comes with confidence intervals, because biology is a lot less predictable than gravity and electrons.

Again, if you read up on the process from the actual people who develop the vaccines (hint, hint, read the CDC web page I originally linked to) you will see that - as I stated in my first response - the flu vaccine can only provide protection against three or four strains of flu at a time. The CDC, working with other health organizations world-wide, uses surveillance data to make their best professional guess as to which three or four strains will be the most prevalent the next year. So yes it is indeed a factor of where you live and which strains are circulating, and no they don't always match up. And for certain types of flu viruses, the vaccine is less effective because mutations occur so rapidly in nature that the actual strain that circulates may not be affected by the vaccine. All of this equals "sometimes the flu vaccine will not prevent a person from getting the flu" but none of it equals "the flu vaccine is not effective". 

 

[wilheldp_PE]

the flu vaccine can only provide protection against three or four strains of flu at a time. 

That always confused me.  Why is it only possible to protect against a few strains?  Why couldn't you get multiple doses, with each protecting against a different set of 3 or 4 strains?  

Another thing that concerns me is that there seems to be an ever-expanding list of influenza strains.  Are we causing influenza to mutate by developing vaccines?  Is it possible for influenza to mutate to be resistant to all forms of vaccine (kinda like antibiotic-resistant bacteria)?

For the record, I'm not taking a side in this debate.  These are just questions I've always had about the flu vaccine.

 

[knight1fox3]

Indeed. As a point of clarity, to quote D's previous post, "and no they don't always match up.", should be changed "and rarely if ever do they match up." :thumbs:

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

@Dleg your comment about continually developing antibodies was something I hadn’t thought about before. However, also according to the CDC, immunity to the string you are vaccinated for wanes over time (sounds like after about 6 months in most cases), which is why it’s necessary to continue to receive the vaccination every year. So, if a specific string comes around years after being vaccinated for it, it would logically follow that the body might not be able to fight that specific string any longer. Am I missing something?

 

[Dleg]

I think it's not a matter of losing immunity over time, but to the virus mutating over time. If I understand it correctly. But those mutations are natural, not caused by the vaccine. I believe some types of flu mutate less and your vaccinations stay "good" for those types, but that i stretching the limits of my engineer's understanding and I may be wrong on that aspect. The CDC page I linked to had an explanation of all of this.

But since we're talking anecdotally, I have not had a severe cold or flu since I began getting the yearly vaccinations as a requirement for my job. Seriously - even when literally everyone else in the office has been sick, including this year both in Alaska where I was before and overseas where I moved to. I don't know if it's just me or the vaccine, but I feel like I got sick more often before I began getting these every year.

 

[P-E]

I’ve had a couple bad colds since getting vaccinated every year since 2009.   Haven’t got the flu though.  

 

[Master slacker]

In the amber corner, weighing in at 20,213 posts, wearing blue shorts, the Jedi of Juke, the Crew of Brew, YOLO with Solo, it's KNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTFOOOOOX!!!

And in the green corner, weighing in at 15,575 posts, wearing brown and green shorts, the Master of Monsoon, the Saipan Tsunami, the one and only Tropic Thunder, it's D(eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)LEEEEEEEEEEEEG!!!

 

[JayKay PE]

 

[knight1fox3]

LOL! That's awesome.

 

[csb]

And the crowd goes wild!

 

[knight1fox3]

And the crowd goes wild!