Ebola is back and speading - again

Ebola has spread beyond the designated infection zone of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu, with new cases springing up in Ituri province, just 31 miles from the Ugandan border.

In case you missed this in the papers over the current pearl-clutching political 'news'.


An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in two eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a major international trading hub with almost a million residents, Congolese health officials said Wednesday. Health officials in Butembo, a city with close links to neighboring Uganda, said they had confirmed that a man who died at Butembo University Hospital had tested positive for the virus. The Congolese health ministry said the man had contact with an Ebola patient in Beni, a city about 25 miles north of Butembo where almost two dozen Ebola victims have been identified,

 

This could be a really bad cold and flu season.

 

Got my 'supercharged' old fart flu shot Friday. This year is really going to be a doozy, Alaska already has had a lot of reported cases.

 

I got my 1st flu shot last year , made sick as a dog for 3 days . Figured I'd take my chances like always . Can anyone give me a good reason to " get " the shot . I don't usually get sick often .

 

Some Doctors refuse to take them?

 

Never had the flue since I started taking the shots.

 

Couple years ago, I skipped getting a flu shot.
Was sick for a week and lost 17 pounds.

I'm going to admit I'm old - collecting SS old. But, I'm not stoopid. I got the upgraded vaccine because getting sick sucks to no end and dying is even less fun. Last year, a relatively 'mild' year for most of the US , over 100 people died each week from the flu - mostly the elderly. I'm lucky so far, I guess, the vaccine rarely bothers me.

I see discussions here about being prepared for the "next pandemic" - well, influenza is halfway there, every year....

 

Yes, you are a year older now and more susceptible to dying from the flu if you catch it and I figure you want to make it to your next birthday too.

I got my supersized anti shingles shot a while back too.
Never had shingles and once you do get it it's yours for life and very painful.
Super sized because you get two injections and it is about 90% effective, where as the older variety is only 40%.
Double up and double down.

 

Does this shot normally make others sick ?? I've heard that the flu shot may help in 7 of the 20 strains of flu going around . This number is just an example of what I was told. Just wondering what my chances are of getting sick if I take the shot again , or if it'll actually help keep me from getting sick. If I get sick from the shot , then get sick from 1or more of the other 13 strains , then that's twice as sick as what most people get.

 

Well, the alphabet agency(s) said they are beneficial, so....there's that.

 

I do not know of anyone that has gotten sick from a flue shot. Flushed and feeling a bit low for a day or two maybe.
I still remember laying in bead for a couple of weeks to weak to get up from my last flu, sometime back in the 70s. No Thanks!

 

Think I've had the flu at least twice in the last 30 years,I may of had it a couple of years ago also?
Seems to be affecting me less and less?

 

Please ,,,do not think I'm trying to discount your responses or experiences ,,,,but my 1st and only flu shot ,,,,I was not just flushed and a little low ,,,I was balls to the wall sick for 3 days. I say it was like having 7 to 10 days of sickness cramed into 3 days. Now if I knew I was going to be sick for 2 weeks , and I had a choice to do it all in 3 days ,,, then there's no question , but if I'm going to knowingly get sick by taking a shot ,,,,or maybe getting sick in 6 months ,,, then ,,that's where the questionability comes in .

 

The only times I have ever had the flu were the times I had a flu shot.

 

Of course the only certainty to know what happened is if we were able to be tested each time we had the flu and find out if the sickness we had was a strain in the shot or one of the other 6 odd strains the shots do not cover each year.

The other part of this is that often when shots are taken many then take chances by location and crowds being "certain"they will not get the flu.

In Flu season i\I'm more careful of the flu by watching the state coverage reports. This means I do not go out any place I do not need to be.

 

Efficacy is minimal to questionable, at best. Research, even cursory, is suggested. Pharm Co's don't make this crap just for the good of humanity.

Should You Get a Flu Shot?

...latest article I've read, there are many more.

 

In response to your last sentence ,,,,,,I do not go anywhere I do not need to go . I'm a loner , do not like crowds or being around people I do not know . Only go to stores during the slow hours ,,,, and if the parking lot looks to crowded ,,,,it'll wait for another day .

 

I feel like crap a day or two after my annual flu shot. If I didn't work at the hospital I wouldn't take one.

However, hospital policy makes life a real PITA if you don't take one ( N95 mask worn whenever on the property), and there's a real threat of catching the flu from a patient since I occasionally have to go in patient rooms.

 

Vaccines are ok if you know who made them and where ! On the cheapest, but more side efects way or the best posible ?
[/aluhead on ] For the ebola outbreak, we need patients to test our antidotes. [ /aluhead off ]