Fed up of hearing about the flu

[SpoonBaloon]

I know I’m being unreasonable but am I the only one who’s getting wound up by the constant coverage of the flu on every national news outlet?

It is December. Of course the flu is going around! Every winter we hear about the NHS being overwhelmed.

I can accept minor coverage but it’s been the main story for days on end and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop! And I know the flu kills and people need to be aware to take precautions but surely people don’t need it to be pointed out to them that they have an increased chance of catching the cold or flu in the run up to Christmas?

I was deathly ill with it last year but luckily have managed to avoid it up to now.

Well, it's not compulsory. If you prefer, don't have it. Makes no odds to me. I prefer to have it and know I've done my best to try avoid serious illness and to protect other people.

AHH you're ones of those.

And you take that to mean what?

It could mean the vaccine temporarily weakens the body and so they are highly susceptible to the flu, or it could just be a coincidence

And the study was exposed as a bit shite.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/faustfiles/115110

Or you can try this: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/14/what-vaccine-sceptics-mistake-about-cleveland-clinics-flu-vaccine-study

12 to 14 days to work? The last flu jab I had 'worked' within hours. I had the worst case of the flu I have ever had in my long life, I was hospitalised for it. I still, suffer from the side effects that flu jab caused. That was the last jab I ever had,1983 was the year. I suggest you ask for the insert to the poison you all so willingly want to jab into yourselves. If people read an insert no one would EVER jab themselves again.

How is the tin foil hat? Nice and snug?

What part of the vaccine do you object to on the insert, out of interest?

Yanbu. They are scare mongering, like the media did with covid, when flu seemed to disappear....

For most healthy people flu is quite unpleasant but ok, I had it once and would prefer not to again. I dont have the jab and nor do my children, I'd rather have the illness once every twenty years tbh.

i had the flu jab on 1st november
i nearly always get the jab
i have never had the flu
it is my understanding that they use base the vaccine on the previous year's virus and cannot be 100%

i think they are hyping it up rather due to the threat of the doctors strike but also that it has come earlier than usual and dont know how long it will last

It does seem to have gone quiet in the news now, probably because there is nothing they can do more regarding the strike. They probably wanted the doctors to call off the strike last week which didn't happen

Poison? If the flu vaccine is poison, it isn't a very effective one given billions of people have had it over the years and come to no harm. Unlike flu.

Maybe because it's 24 quid and not that easy to access.

I think the biggest issue is the NHS has zero slack.
Every year politicians shit themselves because they know they will get the blame if people start dying in waiting rooms etc.

But they also know fixing it can't be done over night. Building more hospitals and getting more trained staff, is a long term programme, that needs doing and funding, and will take 5-10 years to actually get an extra bed and the staff to go with it.

Meanwhile they know they gave a good chance of not being re-elected in 5 years so by the time its fixed they'll no longer be in the hot seat. Someone else's problem.

Its almost like they need to take the politicians out of the NHS and have long term management, with agreements on how many beds per head of population we actually need. As opposed to how many can we get away with.

If you were any thicker you'd set.

Its almost like they need to take the politicians out of the NHS and have long term management, with agreements on how many beds per head of population we actually need. As opposed to how many can we get away with.

I completely agree with this. The issue is the lack of capacity and long-term thinking about the NHS. I think there's a difference in messaging between "avoid this illness because you'll be really unwell/will make others really unwell" and "avoid this illness because the health service can't cope", and people are fed up of the second one. It seems like the NHS is never not overwhelmed or "on its knees", and I'm not keen on being emotionally blackmailed by this blame-filled messaging that it's our fault if we get sick and put further strain on it.

It isn't a live vaccine so can't give you flu. Obviously you had a dangerous reaction but that's very rare. For most people, better to be vaccinated.

Tin foil hat? Don't understand.

@Needspaceforlego the irony that actually building more hospitals was somerhng Boris wanted to do until COVID came along

I read inserts on my medication all the time
It says risk of anaphylactic reaction, cancer and parasitic infection
I choose to inject it every 4 weeks because it changes my life

This year's flu is much, much worse than previous years. My healthy SIL and niece were seriously ill with it, and are still feeling the effects almost 2 months later.
It killed my father in 3 days.

Allowing the natural immune system to work as designed is more powerful? You have to eat well and take vitamin C (oranges) and maybe a vitamin D tablet but nature knows best I think.

If any non-tinfoil hat wearers have been put off getting a vaccine because of the “we’ve run out everywhere wah!” messaging, just to say I found a choice of 10 local pharmacies with a range of appointments tomorrow. Worth checking.

NHS is putting on loads of extra vaccine clinics.

https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/