Fed up of hearing about the flu

Thanks for the explanation (I asked all the way back on page one what the point of the vaccination was if it doesn't actually protect against the problematic strain).

I'm by no means an anti vaxxer but I now consider myself skeptical (and very jaded!!) after Covid. I just don't feel the same level of trust.

I wonder if this sort of feeling - on a greater scale - is why flu vaccine uptake has been lower over the past few years? We no longer trust the people telling us to vaccinate and we no longer trust the stats the media pump out?

In a random distribution you may get, for an unknown - or sometimes known, reason, a cluster.
It could be that that Welsh town was unlucky.
It could be that they had an older population or a population that had a mindset of "carry on" and tended to leave it too late. A proportion of the town related and had a genetic susceptibility. A mutation which caused worse symptoms. A low vaccine uptake. Local medics giving bad, or now outdated advice etc. Lots of potential reasons why there might be a cluster.
In our area I know of 4 nursing homes. Two got hit very badly at the start of covid. One got hit in the second wave. The other managed to escape almost unscathed. They all had similar restrictions, similar residents etc. No obvious reason.

But if you are looking at the population and the number of people who caught covid, you will get clusters.
A good statistician will take account of other factors when looking at clusters, and there may be some just simply because it was random.

Think of holding a hand of nuts. Throw them in the air and let them land. You won't have a neat one per every square. There'll be points with 6 on top of each other, places that one is entirely on their own etc. You might be able to say "there's lots there because that's where my hand was when I through them upwards." "There's not many there because it's further out". But there will also be ones that appear to have no reason why there's a little pile etc.

I remember when norovirus went through the kids' school. 20 classes, and 18 of them had days of being in single figure attendance. One of the other two got down to about 15, the other had hardly an absence. No obvious reason - there were several siblings who had it, they hadn't been kept separate from other classes, no obvious reason.
You can get these odd anomalies, especially in things like medicine which is an inexact science as the human body is an individual.

I wasn't sure if that is what you meant or whether you were talking about strain on NHS etc.

The flu and other viruses will always do a good job of transmitting themselves, regardless of whether we are "over-populated". Look at 1918.

I am in Wales I recall the death rate in one Welsh Town was incredibly high. One block of flats three generations of a family in separate accommodation died. There was a similar result in a block of flats in Tower Hamlets. DS at University said it was the same in the halls in Leeds.

Look at intensive farming of birds chicken, turkey. They can infect each other in hours.

We get a lot of day trippers from the cities who bring their unvaccinated dogs. A vet friend says there's a surge of diseases every summer because of this. She advises walking your pets in areas the tourists don't frequent

Oh well, just been trying to book a private flu jab for the past couple of hours, but nothing to be had. Me and dh will just have to take our chances 🤷‍♀️

Isn’t it obvious? More people, more transmission? Why do you think the worst faring areas during Covid were densely populated?

Personally had it once, made me ill for days so unless something drastic changes with my health and I become immunocompromised I probably won’t have it again. The flu vaccine is never hugely effective as the strain they use for that particular year is always an educated guess based on the Australian flu season. There’s plenty of time in the months after production for mutations to occur here in the UK. I always react severely to vaccines (documented inflammatory issue) and therefore the small benefit isn’t really worth it for me

What is a side effect of ignoring over-population?

And I hate to do this but people want to further overpopulate our already very-very-crowded country. This is yet another side effect of ignoring overpopulation.

If you had the flu you would be in bed.

This has to be one of the most spouted myths of all time.

Both my dds have it atm (so assuming I'm next...)
Both young and healthy - they are SO ill.
In fact I'm trying to get dd2 seen today.
Only older dd vaccinated (younger dd didn't qualify for a jab..)

Good post, thank you. I had the vaccination Wednesday. Felt rough yesterday, but fine today.

I think things could get really bad after Christmas.

My DH is a respiratory consultant in the South West of England, where apparently we're 2 weeks behind the national surge. But there are no beds, and that's now...all being taken up by flu. This is flu, confirmed on swab, strain H3N2, so not covid. The paediatric dept is transferring children to two hospitals an hour in each direction, away.
So the young and elderly are both falling like flies, but he's coming home and saying young, fit people are being admitted too.
Vaccine uptake among eligible groups, children, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions is v low.
My daughter is a secondary school teacher and her school shut. This is real.

The flu vaccination definitely ameliorates the worst of the symptoms, and may prevent hospitalisation, but it's true it's mutated. The WHO maps the strain each year and develops the vaccine, but by the time flu gets to the UK, this happens. It is still worth getting the vaccination. But it takes 10-14 days to kick in. You can't get flu from the flu vaccine either. If you do, then you've probably come into contact with it or be incubating it before the flu jab has kicked in.
Or its not H3N2. Admittedly, you can feel slightly under the weather after it, any more, and you've either fallen prey to true flu, or it's another nasty virus.

Anecdotally, I've worked in secondary and primary care for 35 years. I've had flu twice, both times in my 20s and early 30s and both before vaccination. But have been vaccinated since. Oh, my goodness. It is not possible to put into words how hideously ill I was. I've never felt worse.

I don't think there is any other conspiracy agenda going on. People are being exhorted to get the jab, because it helps, both in the spread, and in hospitalisations. But it's also incumbent on people to behave responsibly and keep away if they are feeling ill, wash hands, wear face masks ( although, the blue paper ones are not very effective tbh). I get frustrated at some of the 'stoicism' that some people can exhibit. Its not just about you!

I'm trying not to think about it.

We're in a small health board in special measures for the last decade. The Welsh government gave them an extra 112 million. There's a row about the fact that they spent it on outsourcing to the private sector for services because of the length of the waiting lists.

It’s not an update. Just a marketing video for stand up to cancer

Super flu, alleged imminent war with Russia and the king announcing an important update about his health. What a morning of headlines.

I believe we may have had it last month in our house tbh. I thought it was covid, it definitely wasn’t a cold. Started off with youngest DS vomiting which we obviously thought was just a standard stomach bug, he had a raging temp and the typical cold symptoms too. Then it spread around the house and everyone had a temperature which just doesn’t happen to us as adults at all, plus cold symptoms and body aches but no stomach issues for us. 13yo DD had to be off school, she could barely get out of bed with it.

I hope it was that and it’s over and done with. They’ve all had the flu jab, I’ve never bothered having one. Only had bad flu once about 20 years ago.

The problem is this messaging is causing people to panic. Three people at work this week have had colds and are going on that they “have the flu” - no, you don’t. If you had the flu you would be in bed.

Perhaps some people who've had COVID a number of times are being slammed by the flu because their bodies have already taken a beating. My son at university has had it four times over the years. The last time being the worst.

Get vaccinated and stop worrying

It'll take time to sort out the NHS...after 14years of the Cons...but it is not being privatised now, yes PS hospitals are being used but Reeves budget has put in an extra 29bn into the NHS... with howls of protest from those that use it the most... the over 50s.

Pay needs to go up but my DD is mid 20s & on 38k, HCP's can get promotion, if they want the extra responsibility.

Recruitment freezes are happening because the NHS needs reform, its no point employing the wrong people.

If the Resident Doc's except the latest offer, the qualifications and cost barriers will be reduced.

Plus side is there has been a massive surge in people seeking private flu vaccines, that might mean less admissions in January....

I agree with everything except your last sentence. I'm at the tail end of Boomer, and neither me nor any of my Co-Boomer friends wanted anything like the current situation.

A lot of it though is causing people that should be at home in bed to go and overwhelm A and E and the GP surgery thinking they are going to die when they need to be at home in bed resting, keeping it to themselves and it will run its course. Obviously if you have a sick child you may have to go but media putting out dramatic headlines like mutant flu are not helping anyone.

@GlomOfNit I know you have one now but did you try small private pharmacies ?