A while back, I was told by someone in the medical community, that since they don't know what type of flu virus will be prevalent during the upcoming flu season, they make an "educated" guess as to what the virus might be since they need a lead time to make the vaccinations available.

I'm 64 and have never had a flu shot. Have I gotten sick from a flu in the past? Yes. But since I haven't taken them I have built up immunities, and can't remember the last time I caught the flu, even though everyone in my household caught it (up to 5).

if you don't trust the CDC, you have a simple solution: don't f--kin take it.

I got one flu shot, swine flu, years ago, and thought I would die. I found out I was allergic to eggs and my brain swelled. Every year my doctor, who never met a drug he did not like, offers me the shot, and is reminded of my allergy. A friend took the flu shot a few years back, became paralyzed, and spent months in the hospital rehabbing. I always think of Gate's remark about thinning the population, "Vaccines are the way to go." Eerie.
A few years ago, my husband went through Atlanta when H1N1 was popping up, came home with it. Gave it to me. When I talked to our doctor, he said no, if we had nausea, it was not flu. I gave him an article saying it certainly was part of H1N1. I told him I was not coming in, as there were sick people in the office, and I could not take any of his anti-flu meds, as I was allergic to penicillin., That was the only flu I had in years, and we did survive it.
It is not just flu vaccines, it is cures for a lot of diseases which will never happen. Charter fund raising organizations for specific diseases collect billions of dollars to find cures, yet curing them would mean they would lose their charters and the billions that went with them. Follow the money.

But you don't know how many actually got the flu, and how many people avoided getting the flu because of the vaccine.
the fact, you are more like to get the Flu in the 21st century than you were prior.
Is the vaccine effective? hard to say. Will it harm you?? I dunno.
If you live in rural America, I'd say you don't need it. If you have kids in public schools, or work with people with kids, I'd say you should consider it. The problem is, there are too damn people in the world and many are disgusting pigs.
I'd have less of a problem with the flu shot if I had trust in the government.

Pertinent Excerpt:
A 2012 Scientific American article addressed the paucity of evidence behind pretentious CDC vaccination claims. According to Cochrane Collaboration research referenced in the exposé, vaccines approved for children under the age of 2 “are not significantly more efficacious than placebo.” For older children, "the shot reduces the absolute risk that a child will catch the flu by about 3.6 percent, whereas the live (inhaled) vaccine reduces the absolute risk by about 17 percent."
Adults under 65 "have about a four percent chance of catching the flu if they don’t get the vaccine and about a one percent chance if they do."

For adults over 65, there is only one vaccine that has been shown to protect against infection or death, "an inhalable vaccine that contains a live, modified version of the virus [wait for it . . .] which is not approved in the U.S. for adults over age 50."

Regarding claims that vaccination slows the spread of flu virus, "there are no data showing that this is true."

Haven't taken flu shoot since 2003 and no flu since. Make sure Vitamin D, 25(OH)D, level is between 50-80 ng/ml and 1 to 2 tsp of Now Foods liquid omega-3 per day.

"Is the flu vaccine lobby that powerful?"

Yes. It's the most powerful lobby in American history. I know - I have cashed in on it.

"At times like these, when men's fat little comforts are threatened you can be sure that science is the first thing they abandon." I'm typing that out of memory. Anybody else remember it from Atlas Shrugged?

I have used Colloidal Silver for about 20 some odd years. Have not had the flu or cold in about 8-9 years. Reason I got sick I had quit making my Silver. Two of my youngest grandchildren caught a bad cold and flu from school ( usual place) and came and visited me. They were sneezing, coughing all the affects of the disease. The very next day I felt like someone dropped an elephant on my chest. Had chills, fever, coughing, sneezing and head ached. Should have gone to the Dr. then, but I waited. Few days later went to the Dr. he said I had Bronchitis on the verge of Pneumonia. I have taken the flu shot before, but I do not trust any of the vaccines out there. He gave me some Tylenol and I went home. That is when I remembered my Silver again and I made me some started a regiment at 60 ppm. Was not long and I was back to health. Go to Roby.com you can check out the machine to make it a pennies on the dollar. I still drink it to this day and do not get sick at all. I drink 40 ppm now and it works. Remember the old wives tale "Born with a silver spoon in your mouth". It meant those back in the day that owned silverware would stick a silver spoon in their childs mouth and make them suck on it to receive silver from the spoon. Roby.com check it out.

When I was in the US Army I was REQUIRED to get a flu shot every year and I immediately came down with the flu within a day or two after getting the shot. Since I left the Army in 1991 I have not had a flu shot and nor have I had the flu. Of course I cannot say with certainty why that happened but I can say that I will not be getting a flu shot in the future.

Well, I don't know anyone who gets the flu that that does not get the flu. the response is 'Its only for a day, it would be a week if I didn't take the shot." bull hockey. the people I know who don't take the flu shot (like me) usually don't get the flu. of course they usually exercise, watch what we eat, and take vitamins (10000 IU of Dr. recommended vitamin D due to low D in blood tests).
I also have the pleasure of testing my immune system weekly because my job (yes I am a producer like most on this site) takes me to different cities weekly in aluminum tubes with 130 of my closest (sic) friends with all kinds of crap. I think that has helped me build a pretty robust immunity to most flavors of flu. Anyway my point is if our society would take a look at lifestyle changes like getting off the couch or out of the video game chair the flu and other diseases might be less of a problem. diseases don't like heat and when move you body stays warmer hence less sickness. just my theory and experience.

I watched a friend die of H1N1. She was a vibrant, intelligent, charismatic martial artist. She was 26 years old. Our work pays for flu shots - and we get them, remembering and missing our friend and colleague.

Vaccines work. After improved environmental conditions (ie clean water/clean food) they are the major reason that our life spans have extended to the point that we are now running up against our life expectancies as our limiting factor. This was not the rule in prior eras: in Rome, the average plebeian life span was about 26 (a young man actually extended his probably life span by joining the military!); in the US in 1900 the average life span was about 45.

Antibiotics come right after vaccines in terms of saving lives.

Everyone has agenda; any tool can be misused...but medical technology has wrought wonders in our modern world. It should never be forced on anyone - but those people who make use of it should also be able to enjoy the benefits of their choices.

Jan

I take Vitamin D, 5000 IU per day. Most flu infections affect me no more severely than the common cold used to--and the common cold's effects are now limited to a few hours of throat irrltation.

Oh hell. I got a flu shot this year for the first time. I'm as good as killt now. "Dead man walking. We gotta dead man here!" -Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile.

I was surprised to find there really is a Scientific American article in 2012 reporting on this. It says the data supporting vaccines is based on meta-analyses, data from multiple studies, which are often problematic. Now that the consensus is that the flu vaccine saves lives, we cannot ethically do blinded studies. There is a chance that the flu virus is less effective than we think.

This is not the same as saying there's a CDC conspiracy. The evidence still points to the vaccine being worthwhile, but it's not nearly as strong as I thought. It will be interesting to see what happens in future research.