Anyone had the flu jab and still got the flu?

[Awaywiththefairies078]

I’m suffering badly with the flu. I’ve not had the flu jab. AIBU not to have had it. Has anyone had it and still got the flu?

People have it and still get it. Depends on what strain you are immunised against and what strain you're exposed to.

No one promised you not to...

Sorry promised me not to what?

Usually if you get it after the vaccine it's more mild than if you haven't been vaccinated.

I'm just here for the inevitable, "you wouldn't be able to post on MN if you actually had the flu" brigade. 😒😉

I guess there’s no guarantee. As with most things

lol
oh trust me I’ve had it! Bed bound for two days. Now Having to let DH cook the dinner today when I prepared so much.

I am flu vaccinated and I have something like the flu at the moment. I'm still able to just about function with paracetamol on board. Anyone I know that is not vaccinated has been knocked for six by whatever flu type bug is going about. I'm talking a week or more off work and not back to normal for a month.

It seems as though the vaccine lessens the symptoms rather than stops it completely. Thats only anecdotal from my experience though.

Anytime someone posts on MN saying they have the flu people reply and say it's not the flu because they would be too weak to post on MN if it was. As if everyone gets it exactly the same. It's weird.

That may be true - but a very bad cold can be that bad and worse. When I had flu (and it was tested so verifiable - lots of viruses can leave you bed bound for two days including Covid) I was ill for three months! Two weeks unable to move, and it rattled on and off for several more weeks leaving me weak and exhausted, then levelled me with bronchitis. When I got Covid that was a walk in the park, compared.

That said, the jab only means that you hopefully don't get it as badly (like the Covid one), not that you are immune.

That is sometimes true. But the fact is that without being tested, you are ill with "something". Flu does not have a unique set of symptoms.

Yeah the “if you really had flu you wouldn’t be able to move” is said so often on here. But flu, like Covid, can affect people differently. Some people can be bed bound for weeks. Others can have very mild symptoms regardless if they’ve been vaccinated or not. Flu, just like Covid, can even be asymptomatic in some people. So saying if you have flu you literally can’t move isn’t actually true.

The immunisation is against the most prevamet strains of flu, but they are not the only strains around, so you can still get flu.

Yes. Had the flu jab (get it every year) but still got the flu this year. First time in my life. GP said there was a nasty strain this winter. Thought I would die. Horrendous. In bed for two weeks and still recovering now. Struggling to do most of my usual activities and tiring very quickly.

Wouldnt wish it on anyone.

I will stand corrected if wrong but I believe our flu vaccine is based on the strains that were prevalent during the last flu season in places like Australia who have an earlier flu season to us.

It is inevitably a bit of an educated gamble because viruses can mutate in all sorts of unpredictable ways. So, you can be vaccinated but the strain you catch may not be identical to the ones you were vaccinated against. All vaccines are based on probability and risk.

This is how it’s been explained to me. All the science is put towards predicting & getting it as close to the expected dominant strain for the flu season, but ultimately virus’ do what virus’ do.

I had both vaccinations and about 3 weeks later I went down with either flu or covid but I recovered quickly DH who hadn't had his jabs was ill for ages

The vaccine is only effective against certain strains. It's hit and miss.

I remember a respiratory consultant telling me that the flu vaccine was only x% effective. (Can't remember the figure but it wasn't as high as people may generally expect). As with other vaccines, my DM still got a bad case of shingles, despite having the vaccine.

I’m fully vaccinated for flu and Covid yet I had something akin to flu last week and it knocked me for six, goodness knows how much worse it would have been if unvaccinated.

Us, elderly dm rushed into A&E at doctor’s insistence on Monday. Like kennel cough/common cold, there are tons of flu varieties, you can’t be vaccinated for them all. She was covid/flu vaccinated, would apparently have died had family not found her as her oxygen was so low. She’s still on oxygen 2 days later, in hospital of course. Sounds ruddy awful.