To ask if the flu jab actually does anything?

[itwasnevermine]

Started getting the flu jab last year because my work pays for it, it's kind of expected that we do get it.

I've never had the flu (I'm 25), and spent all of last winter with pretty heavy colds anyway. So does it actually do anything? I don’t know anyone who's had true flu, I'll get it cos it's free but what am I actually getting it for?

This. Believe me if you ever got the flu you'd be thankful to be getting the jabs for free. I had it when I was a child and it's the worst illness I've ever experienced. A heavy cold is fuck all in comparison to the flu

Had real flu once in my life when I was 27. Got the flu jab every year after that and I’ll continue to. Was absolutely awful, never felt so ill.

I'm 50 and have only had flu 3 times (once as a child) but each time I felt so ill I actually wanted to die. (I also caught swine flu but that wasn't too bad!) It's nothing like a cold, even a really bad one. Was wiped out for days whereas I can usually push on through with a cold.

I started getting the jab about 15 years ago as like you, it is free at work. It will ward off the most prevalent strains of flu of that season - either completely or reduce the severity. It won't protect against all strains but honestly flu is so horrible, I still think it's worth it to minimise the risk!

Last year our unvaccinated niece and nephews all brought home flu (confirmed by hospital as flu). This passed on to multiple members of the wider family who had not yet had their flu jab last year. Those who had their flu jab did not become unwell.

Having now seen what actual flu looks like, having previously been of similar opinion “I’ve never had actual flu”. I will be ensuring I keep up to date with flu jabs.

I’ve had flu twice - I’m in my 50s - it’s absolutely hideous so I get the flu jab every year 😬

Many years ago my df got the flu jab for free because of his age, and that year dm, dsis and myself all caught flu. We were incredibly sick, it took me weeks to make a full recovery and dsis developed post viral complications. Df had a “touch of a cold” around the same time. I’ve had the flu jab every year since.

I got the flu hab a couple of years and I got terrible flu soon after. I stopped in 2020 and haven't had flu once since then!. My daughter got it recently and got a bit of flu which she then gave to me but it wasn't serious I'm never getting it again

Flu happens fairly rarely to healthy adults- a recent study showed that people usually get it about once per decade. It can be asymptomatic, but if you get a symptomatic flu you will know it, it's actually a pretty serious illness. It's not a cold! The flu vaccine tries to guess each year which strains will be most relevant, sometimes it's a good guess, sometimes it's not. However it is still worth getting the vaccine- there aren't any downsides, it's a safe vaccine with few side effects, and even a small reduction in flu risk is worth it.

The constant colds you're getting won't necessarily have much to do with flu, but it sounds like your immune system is struggling for some reason. Masking (with FFP2/3) on public transport is a very good idea. I never stopped masking and I can confirm masks do work!

I had flu for the first time a few years ago now and it wiped me out! I then started paying for flu jab each year. A couple of years ago I held off getting the flu jab following the covid jabs, but then came down with flu following a christmas party. There was a large group of us at this party and all of us came down with the flu 2 days later, apart from 3 people who work in NHS and had already had their flu jabs. I don't take the risk anymore!

I also now get annoyed when people have a cold and refer to it as the flu 😂

I've never had flu and I'm in my 50s. I have been getting the jab though because I was shocked at how ill my two friends were when they had flu. Both of them were in bed for nearly 2 weeks and had lots of other problems over the subsequent weeks. One of them had about a month off work.

I’ve had real flu a few times in my life, twice after having the flu jab. The last time I felt so bad (much worse than when I got covid post-2020), that I vowed never to have the jab again. I’ve never had flu since either (touches wood quickly!)

A quick google shows various studies. One recent one I scanned over says in adults 18-64 the flu vaccine is 36-55% effective.

You are fortunate not to have known the misery of flu which can keep you in bed feeling terrible for weeks and leave you low and depressed after the main symptoms have gone. Since you are prone to heavy colds, it can't be because of having a fantastic immune system or because of avoiding contact with other people, so perhaps you have just been lucky for 23 years! I've had flu every year for the last few years and it has been horrible.

It used to be a live vaccine so people used to get a "milder" version of actual flu. It's not live anymore

But I've never had flu in the 23 years before I started getting it, I just find it odd because is flu actually that widespread?

How do you know? Flu can be anything from asymptomatic through to fatal. People assume they haven't had flu because they weren't completely bedbound and having to crawl to the toilet, but that's not accurate.

My OH had never had a flu jab but I have asthma so always got one. He caught flu and was in bed for a week. I looked after him but didn't catch it.

He has the jab every year now!

Yes this is more or less my situation. I have always had a flu jab and slept next to my husband who had flu, without getting it.

This is not possible as the flu vaccine in inactivated! If it were a polio vaccine for eg and you had a compromised immune system this may be possible as it is a live vaccine. If you caught it then your dd had a cold which appeared shortly after her flu jab!

I've had flu twice. Once when I was 26 and I got post vital fatigue syndrome afterwards which was hideous. The second time I was 43 and I was in bed for 3 weeks. Crucially, I was off work for 3 weeks and as I was self employed I had no money which had quite the impact. I've had the flu jab every year since then. Proper flu really is debilitating. You can end up.with pneumonia from it. I know of someone who died of this in hospital aged 32.

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@OldieButBaddie but it does take two weeks to get into your system so the person you're replying to could've had it before the jab

Fair enough though to everyone, didn't realise it could be mild! I thought the point was flu was always awful but I've been educated

The risk to you from flu should be very low OP. Although the 1918 pandemic disproportionately hit people aged 20-40 I don't think that's happened since.

But by getting the jab you're helping others who are at risk. I think some people underestimate just how serious flu can be. We lost a family member to it. He was in his early 50s and although he was a smoker he had no underlying conditions and was considered otherwise healthy.

So thank you OP - and everyone else - who gets the jab.

www.gov.uk/government/news/18000-flu-related-deaths-in-past-2-winters-as-jab-uptake-falls

Because colds and flu aren't the same symptoms for a start. A cold will be streaming nose etc. Flu is more fevery, body aches, complete lack of energy.

A cold is NOT just mild flu! People who seem to keep insisting it is are bloody ridiculous.

You cannot contract flu but only experience a cold. That's not a thing.

I remember being surprised to learn, too, that flu can be mild - I also have a couple of memorably awful experiences with flu and assumed flu had to be like that, but no.

Re considering masking on public transport to avoid the heavy colds though - yes, go for it! I've never stopped masking in high risk situations since COVID started, and not only have I not yet had COVID, but also, I've had only 2 colds since the start of the pandemic (and in each case I know where I caught it, one at the dentist and one at an unmasked gathering of friends). I used to get a few colds every year that would lay me low - I've come to realise that for me (not speaking for anyone else of course) masking is worth it just for avoiding those, even without considering ongoing COVID risk.

I'm just honestly over losing a week of my life to feeling run down, then a good ten days after that hearing back up to normal.

I have had flu twice and it is really really nasty. People call a heavy cold flu, but they are not the same. I was bedridden for a week last time.

Believe me it’s worth it. I’ve just been researching a family tree where young people died from flu. It’s not a mild illness.