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Cold & Flu

Can you catch the flu from a flu shot?

Results so far:

Yes
64% 121 votes Total: 188 votes
No
36% 67 votes
Yes

Can you catch the flu from a flu shot? The question should be, 'Does the flu shot ever cause a case of flu'?

The truthful answer is 'Yes' it does. There is much debate about this because, and this is the main reason, the government and the flu vaccine makers want the answer to be 'No.' Few people would take the shot if they thought they would become ill with the sickness they are trying to avoid. But there is no doubt in my mind, and in the minds of many others, that it does in fact cause the illness.

Several years ago, before the flu vaccine was so widely given, before it was so widely recommended, there were more precautions. And if those precautions were followed, the warnings heeded, fewer people were encouraged to take the shot.

I was pregnant. I went to my physician for my regular checkup. After my exam, the doctor was standing with me near the reception area, talking. He was making jokes and laughing with me when a nurse approached. She asked me if I would step over to another area and get the flu shot.

Before I could answer, he said, "No, I don't want her to have it. She's pregnant."

Just after he stated this and she walked away, another nurse came up, grabbed my arm and poked in a very sharp needle. I was suddenly in pain and wondering what I had just been given. I asked the offending nurse, "What was that?"

Her answer, "A flu shot." And she smiled really big as though she had just won a jackpot of some sort. Her smile didn't last, however, as the doctor pulled her aside, an angry look on his face.

The next day, I had a high fever. I felt terrible and the feelings didn't improve over the next few days. Evidently, I wasn't the only victim of her kind of actions because it was announced on the radio that certain citizens should not be given the flu vaccine. Pregnant women were in that category.

I had the worst case of the flu I have ever had, before or since.

You, the reader, will hear that the flu virus is 'dead' and therefore cannot 'cause you to get the flu'. Or as this debate has been labeled, 'cause you to catch the flu' as though you might get it from the next carrier you meet.

You may even hear or read that there is no virus in the vaccine and therefore you 'can't catch the flu from the shot'. Those people who say this will also say that if you 'get the flu' after the shot, it really isn't the flu. It's only your immune system reacting to the shot, you're having an allergic reaction, or it's all in your head.

Both of these are giving you wrong information. And the main reason is, as stated above, no one would get the vaccine if they knew they were taking something that might give them what they were trying to avoid. Especially if they had been given the shot a year before and then became really ill.

Many doctors will advise their patients not to get the shot if they have been recently exposed to the illness. They must wait to find out if they have contracted the disease from the contact. If not, then they may take the vaccine.

There is great debate about vaccinations in general because some vaccines give the patient more illness than is warranted. Many are avoiding having their children take the normal course of these shots in an effort to protect them from things like Autism.

The medical community and the government wish for everyone to have the flu vaccines. It's a money thing for the medical community, from the vaccine manufacturers to the nurse who pushes the sharp needle into your arm. They are all in it for the money.

And the government? As with everything else, there is a certain amount of monetary incentive and a certain amount of 'do this because we have decided' among the reasons. Other reasons given have to do with having a healthy nation in case of attack of some kind.

There are those who are told not to take the vaccine if they are allergic to eggs or certain other substances. Why is this? Because the 'virus' is 'grown' in eggs before being harvested. Therefore, it is a 'virus' and then they attempt to stun it so it won't be able to grow inside the human body. The body then will identify the virus and make antibodies to fight the 'real thing' if the human comes in contact with the virus via another human who is ill.

But consider this fact: labs make mistakes. They may not be able to grow the virus and then kill it or stun it effectively. And it is also possible that a person is given a live healthy virus with the knowledge of the lab that manufactured it. Other methods are practiced by labs and by others who use them that the public would not stand for if the information was widely known.

Since I was given the flu vaccine against my own doctor's orders and against the published recommendations of the medical community and the US government, and became violently ill therefrom, I am confident I write with the truth on my side. And the truth says to me that one can, and may, become ill with the flu after being given a flu shot.

Learn more about this author, Summer Tyme.
Contact this writer Click here to send this author comments or questions.

No

Influenza is a viral disease. You can not catch a viral disease without being exposed to viable viral DNA or RNA in some form. As the influenza vaccine that is given by injection is a killed vaccine - there is no live virus present - it is impossible to actually catch influenza from a flu shot.

There is a type of flu vaccine that is not given by injection but rather is given as a nasal spray or mist. This vaccine contains a modified live virus so it is possible, in theory, for it to cause influenza if the virus were to mutate or if the vaccinated person were severely immunosuppressed. For a healthy person, the risk of getting the flu from even a modified live vaccine is extremely low.

While it is impossible to catch influenza from a flu shot (the injectable influenza vaccine), a number of side effects can occur. Soreness and swelling around the injection site along with muscle aches and even mild fever are very common. The influenza virus used to make the vaccine is grown in eggs, so people who are allergic to eggs should not be vaccinated against influenza. Anaphylaxis, which is a severe life threatening type of allergic reaction, is possible with all vaccines.

It appears that rarely (approximately one out of every million people vaccinated) Guillain-Barr syndrome may be a sequalla to the flu vaccine, however the link between flu vaccination and Guillain-Barr syndrome is not definite at this time. Guillain-Barr syndrome is a serious autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system.

It is important to weigh the risk of side effects accurately before deciding not to get a flu vaccine. Flu is not a benign disease - the risk of dying of flu if you contract it is significantly greater than one in a million. For most healthy people, the risk of not getting a flu shot is much greater than the risk of possible side effects.

No vaccine is 100% effective and vaccination against influenza is complicated by the fact that the virus that causes the disease mutates rapidly. Every year an educated guess must be made as to which strains of flu will predominate in the next flu season and the vaccine is modified to include the strains that appear to be most likely. If the influenza strains that emerge match the vaccine closely the vaccination may be very effective. If the guess is wrong and unanticipated flu strains arise, for that year flu vaccination may not be very effective.

Learn more about this author, Zachary Robinson DVM.
Contact this writer Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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