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?

Dh had flu when he was in his mid-20s. Incredibly fit, ran marathons, never caught colds. It floored him completely, he had such a high temperature at one point he was hallucinating and needed an inhaler for months afterwards. The flu isn't just a bad cold, it's its own terrible virus.

I’ve had flu several times and it’s horrendous. Vaccination is well worth it to me. Yes I’ll still get colds, which are caused by completely different viruses, and yes it’s possible that there will be a flu strain this year that isn’t covered by the current vaccine. But it’s still worth it, because I can reduce my risk of being really quite ill by having one jab.

I've had flu three in my life. I'm 50.

The first two times were pretty awful and I remember them distinctly.

The last time - 2017 - I couldn't get out of bed for 4 weeks and had to be carried to the toilet.

I lost my hearing and only partially recovered it and have had to wear hearing aids since.

I've had the flu jag every year since with gratitude as I never won't to go through that again.

The jag decreases my likelihood of contracting flu, and reduces the impact if I do.

The flu is not a heavy cold. It's an entirely different virus.

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?

It might stop you or a loved one dying! Do you know that people die from it every year don't you???

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

I believe I have only had flu once (not tested) and that was about 30 years ago. It was horrendous and I would hope to avoid it again if I possibly can, or minimise the possibility of it being so bad.

These last few years due to medical issues I have been entitled to free flu (and now Covid) vaccines annually. I have them both booked for this Friday. DH gets his paid for by his employer, or if not then he pays for himself at the local pharmacy.

I would say that the flu jab works. Perhaps you haven't had flu because the vaccine has stopped or reduced to asymptomatic?

Like a lot of posters I started getting a flu jab after having flu one year. It came on so fast that I was fine at lunchtime and by half way through lesson 3 which was approx 40 minutes later I had the shivers by the time I got home I just managed to get into bed before I passed out.
I'm not surprised that other sufferers thought about dying, I was so ill I lost whole days.
Only time in my life I was too ill to phone in sick to work.
Every year lots of people die in the UK from flu. I myself prefer not to dice with death.
I work with lots of young people who don't have vaccinations, I notice their sickness rates are higher than mine.

Most people who are infected with flu are asymptomatic. The jab will help lessen your symptoms should they develop and will help protect others. Have it or don’t have it - lots of good reasons to do it, but obviously it’s a matter only for you.

The flu vaccine ‘works’ against the specific strain it is developed for. It will not be effective against a ‘cold’ virus, still less reduce the effect of any influenza you have contracted. When it works , it stops you getting that strain of flu.

The nonsense promulgated about the Covid vaccine somehow ‘reducing the effect’ (how would anyone know how ‘bad’ it would have been?) has a lot to answer for.

I also get flu jabs through work. One year I didn't get it because I was on maternity leave and I caught the flu. Spent 3 days unable to get out of bed.

Flu is awful. My mum had it the only year she didn't have the jab. You can't physically stand, are sick and literally bed bound for 2 weeks. I noticed she never missed the jab and hasn't had it again. I make sure I had it too.

It might stop you or a loved one dying! Do you know that people die from it every year don't you???

We have paid for DH to have it privately in predicted bad years - as house full of asthmatics.

Unfortunately our GP never been great with kids and flu vaccinations - it was a relief when schools started doing them - but when they hit 16-17 years old they are not at school but college and our attempts to get them done at local chemists have been hit and miss - they need extra training to give injections in that age range and even making it clear when booking several times got there and the staff member who can do it isn't there.

We don't see nearly as much flu as there used to be when I was young and I presume its down to the jab. I haven't had flu for years and I'm happy to never have it again . I honestly would have been happy to die and it took weeks to really recover and I was young and fit then .

I had flu for the first time when I was 29. It's nothing like a cold, and it's so much worse. When I eventually had it, I understood how people can die from flu. Just take the jab, because flu is horrific.

If you'd had flu you wouldn't hesitate having the vaccine in future. You feel like you're dying. It's not a cold.
Every year the vaccine is made to target the most likely strain of flu to cause an epidemic that year.
It's not just yourself you protect, but also more vulnerable people you might come into contact with.

I didn't get it because I'm scared of needles. Then I got flu. I get it every year now, without fail.

You can’t know how unwell an individual would have been if they weren’t vaccinated but you can look at differences in symptoms/outcomes between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, taking into account other factors that will affect how a person responds to an infection (eg age, health) to see what effect vaccination has on reducing symptoms or influencing outcomes, @Allthegoodnamesarechosen.

Vaccines don’t always stop you becoming infected but they can reduce symptoms.

In the 2023 to 2024 season:

• 42.8% (503,499 out of 1,176,102) of all frontline health care workers (HCWs) in NHS trusts with direct patient care received the influenza vaccine in England: a decrease of 7.1 percentage points compared with that seen in the 2022 to 2023 season (49.9%)
• the response rate for the final survey was 93.6% (218 out of 233) for NHS trusts and 9.9% (642 out of 6,459) for GP practices, a higher response rate than the 2022 to 2023 season
• this is the third consecutive season to show a decrease in the vaccination of frontline HCWs, and is the lowest uptake since the 2010 to 2011 season
• seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in NHS trusts ranged from 7.1% to 82.2%
• the proportion of NHS trusts that achieved vaccine uptake of 75% or more was 1.3% (8 out of 228 organisations submitting data)
• the highest vaccine uptake in NHS trusts by staff group was 48.7% in all doctors and the lowest vaccine uptake was 38.2% in total support staff
• the highest vaccine uptake in GP practices by staff group was 68.8% in all nurses and the lowest vaccine uptake was 59.0% in total support staff

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seasonal-influenza-vaccine-uptake-in-healthcare-workers-winter-season-2023-to-2024/seasonal-influenza-vaccine-uptake-in-frontline-healthcare-workers-in-england-winter-season-2023-to-2024

There's a lot of NHS staff offered free injections by NHS who don't take it up.

So I don't think we need to guilt trip the Op into taking an optional jab and trying to work out if it's worth it to her. (Probably is but still worth thinking about)

Interesting.

I'm not in a high risk job but they want to keep us in the office so they pay for it for us, I'm not anti-vax by any stretch of the imagination nor do I question it in that sense, I was just genuinely curious about how it works!

I got the flu vaccine once in 2011 while pregnant and was horrifically ill after it. Our daughter had it once when she was 4 and ended up in hospital a week later with 'the flu.' Haven't had a vaccine since. Had my second actual flu this year - the first was in 1997, and just stayed in bed, ate garlic and drank loads of water. My mother is 83 and doesn't get the flu vaccine - the last one she got was in the 1990s and was very ill after it. She is a big socialiser and is fine.

SmileyHappyPeopleInTheSun
People who work for the NHS are just people, the leaders in the various parts of the NHS spend lot of time creating campaigns to try to persuade staff to take the flu jab, because flu is dangerous. I have seen the research that some hospitals have done. The uptake reflect the uptake of vaccination rate across the UK population, not surprisingly.
The low take up is not a reflection of scientific uncertainty or any doubt about the vaccine itself, it is a reflection of all the intersecting beliefs and behaviours of british people. Not linked to valid risk taking assessments.
Or as my dad would have put it when I defended doing something stupid by saying everyone else does it. " if everyone else jumped off a cliff would you.".

The lady doing mine in boots did say people have got tired of vaccines since Covid so stopped having the flu jab, I guess it's a society wide thing unfortunately

I’ve had flu twice (I’m 60), my husband four times (65) and it’s awful. His led to pneumonia twice. We were relatively young then and didn’t have jabs.

Anything that will either prevent or reduce symptoms is very welcome. We all get our jab, the children have had them since young too. Adults now, they still do. Never had flu.

I started getting it the year I got pregnant and get it every year since. So does my child. My kid’s cousin got it so bad ended up in hospital at 2 yr old (no underlying health issues).

I was just pointing out that there are many others offered free flu injections who don't take it up so the guilt tripping some posters were trying is frankly inappropriate.

I'm not sure why the NHS staff are just people means - I know they are just people I wasn't thinking they were lizard people ffs but they are a large group offered the vaccine in higher risk area than most of population and take up in monitored.

I was not implying there was anything suspect about flu injections - especially as I have serval times said probably in Op best interests - and said I have it every year and clearly said my kids have it and some years DH.

I'm not anti vaccination in any way shape of form so don't know why you are trying to imply I am.

However there is a risk to every vaccination - just really small - and a risk to not having it. Where op lies on that depends on many things unique to her and her situation. Saying otherwise and implying a 70 year old risk for flu is same as mid 20 years old is just rubbish.

Op could probably skip flu injection this year and be absolutely fine - but taking it reduces her risk of getting flu and not being really ill.

Some years I have a bad reaction to flu vaccination end up ill afterwards - its rare not clear it's the vaccination and in my case clearly better than flu - it's not as clear cut in Op case (or all NHS workers cases) - and it's disingenuous to imply it is.

If it was vital she have it NHS would be offering it free - for her its her employer doing so - it's a nice to have but she under no obligation to have it.

I've had flu once
Had norovirus for 2 days and then woke up thinking I didn't feel sick, wait why is it so hot?!
I couldn't stand the duvet touching me, hallucinating, sweating. 2 weeks in bed and the GP did a home visit which I thought were things that didn't exist
Never ever want that again, I lost 18lbs between the flu and norovirus