Damn that flu bug!

So much is compressed into that "62%" number. The average flu vaccine is less effective than that in geezers, more effective in young adults, and probably less effective in kids. If many of us were vaccinated, fewer of us would get the flu.

FluMist works better in people who have had limited exposure to the flu--kids. Adults seem to shut down the live vaccine too fast and not to get full immunity.

If you aren't allergic to eggs, snag a vaccine. What the hell. As Dr. McQ so notes, even if you are infected, it will mitigate. Also, accumulated vaccinations (or infections, if you insist) over various flus can give you cross-immunity that will help minimize the effects of strains that you haven't seen.
 
is it true that if you got vaccinated early in the season you might need to get another? I got mine in mid-October I think.
 
originally posted by maureen:
is it true that if you got vaccinated early in the season you might need to get another? I got mine in mid-October I think.
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Nope, you're done.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by MLipton:
Ack! That's terrible, Pete (and quite the bummer, Maureen). SFJoe's got his ear to the ground on this one, but the reports I've heard suggest that this flu season is more widespread at an earlier stage than is the norm. The flu vaccine ain't perfect, but it sure looks like the prudent thing to do.

Mark Lipton
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The flu is getting great press in the last week, and this season is a bit worse than some recent ones--it's H3, not H1, and perhaps more prevalent. "The worst season we've seen since 2009," said the mayor of Boston.

But it's not Contagion. Get vaccinated, it is a decent bet if not a total promise of safety. If you have a fever over 100* and a cough, get to your doctor in the first day of symptoms and get some tamiflu.

Otherwise, drink lots of water and eat your greens.
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I had intended to add to this that even an average flu season kills plenty of people.
 
Brad, it's a tiny needle - you won't feel it if you look away.

Try getting a cortisone shot in your foot - now, that's painful.
 
originally posted by Yixin:
But then you won't be anti-fragile! (for those who might get the reference)
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In order to offset the effect of the vaccine I augment my anti-fragility by traveling to Italy where anti-fragility is considered part of the social norm (bacio bacio).
 
originally posted by MLipton:
I'll expect VLM to chime in about free riders any time now, but IMO there's no excuse for not getting vaccinated unless you have some pressing medical reason for not doing it. There's even an inactivated nasal mist for the truly needle-averse, though it's not as effective as the injection, I'm told. I started getting vaccinated when our son was born and, in the 9th year now, I've only had the flu once since then (in the notoriously ineffective vaccination season of 2009 or 2010).

Mark Lipton
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If you don't get vaccinated, you're an asshole.

If you don't wash your hands frequently, you're disgusting.

If you're a grown-up, and you don't get the shot, I don't really know what to say to that.

We are currently funded by NIH, along with other groups around the US, to pursue new avenues of vaccine design. The vaccines are tri-valent, meaning they are against the 3 viruses deemed most likely to be circulating in a given season. As far as production is concerned, I'm not sure what funding is out there for that. We don't do any work on that of which I'm aware (which doesn't mean we don't). Unless a novel influenza emerges (like the H1N1) the vaccine is mostly pretty effective for those in the middle of the distribution. For those young and old and infirm, it's much less successful, which is why getting your vaccination is so important. Herd immunity protects those fro whom the vaccine is less effective or are unable to get a vaccine. If you don't get vaccinated, you are partially responsible for the deaths of others, there is no other way to look at it.

FWIW, Taleb says to take all advantage of modern medicine if that's the fragility reference.
 
A friend posts today to facebook:

"Love my lab - curious as to what cold/flu is going around the lab? Culture it off and and it for identification - rhinovirus 13. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and popping vitamins to keep from getting sick..."

A reminder that getting an upper respiratory infection doesn't mean you got the flu.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
A friend posts today to facebook:

"Love my lab - curious as to what cold/flu is going around the lab? Culture it off and and it for identification - rhinovirus 13. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and popping vitamins to keep from getting sick..."

A reminder that getting an upper respiratory infection doesn't mean you got the flu.
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The circulating strain is an H3N2, not sure the isolate. Vaccine was well targeted, just not best case effectiveness and not enough people get the vaccine.

I did some asking and we don't systematically look at production methods, but do do some proof of concept. Industry partners are working on new, scalable methods.
 
I have a FB "friend" who in recent months has become a rabid anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. Does anyone have a good bite-sized phrase I can use on his posts to prove that they're safe and don't cause autism? (I don't want to start paraphrasing whole books by Ben Goldacre.)
 
If he's all lit up about thimerosol, the reply is this: it's out of production now so why aren't autism rates declining?

[ Said as the uncle of an autistic preemie... and you know how many shots they get. ]
 
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