Flu Jab

[JanieJ]

Hi all,

I am on 100 mcg Levothyroxine. I have never a flu jab before but does anyone know if there is any reason why I should not one?

Many thanks.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Every member will have their own views

I just had my first ever flu jab yesterday..... very easy and no after effects apart from slightly sore arm. Arm now recovered

Decided it would be a good idea ......in readiness for getting Covid vaccination in next couple of months (hopefully)

[JanieJ in reply to SlowDragon]

Many thanks. I know it's not a live vaccine but am hearing of people with reactions afterwards! Have you had the pneumonia vaccine as am also wondering about that as well?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to JanieJ]

Yes I had pneumonia vaccine last year

[Anthea55 in reply to JanieJ]

Worth having the pneumonia vaccine - pneumonia is nasty. When I had it it was only being offered to specific age groups, so take it when offered. I don't know if they still do it that way.

[JanieJ in reply to SlowDragon]

Can I also ask? I am just about to order blood tests as I cannot get F3 done with my GP. I've was diagnosed a long time ago but feel I may not be on the correct dose as I have not felt the same since it was reduced considerably a few years ago and now suffer with several problems that I wonder could be related. I have all my vitamin results and TSH and FT4 but do I need to get a test for TPO and TG as has been suggested, if I have been treated for Hypothyroidism for over 45 years and apparently in an MRI scan during a medical, I was told there was no sign of my thyroid? I apologise if this seems a stupid question! I was happily medicated until this so didn't question anything until recently and am still trying to get my head round it all! Many thanks.

[bantam12]

I have one every year, better safe than sorry !

[JanieJ in reply to bantam12]

Many thanks , that gives me confidence to go get one! Have you had the pneumonia vaccine as well? I have only just heard about it and that it gives lifelong protection and am wondering if I should get that as well?

[bantam12 in reply to JanieJ]

Haven't had pneumonia one yet but will do.

[Hidden]

Take 125 Levo. Have flu jab every year and have had pneumonia jab and shingles jab too. No problems. Di

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

JanieJ

I had the flu jab for the first time, plus the pneumonia jab, when I was diagnosed with COPD a few years ago. I had no side effects from either of them.

I have never had a flu jab since - personal decision.

There are so many strains of flu and it mutates every year. The flu jab only covers 3 or 4 strains which the vaccine manufacturers have to guess every year and the jab may not cover the strains present that year. I prefer to do everything possible to support my immune system instead. I have never had flu in my life.

Similarly, there are different forms of pneumonia and the pneumonia jab can't protect against all of them. Despite having the pneumonia jab I had pneumonia a couple of years later.

I have been offered and refused the shingles jab.

I won't be at the front of the queue for the Covid jab, besides hypothyroidism I have 3 other medical conditions and from what I understand the vaccine has been trialled on healthy people only so how people with certain medical conditions will react is yet to be discovered. I am happy to wait and see. It now seems as though Covid is mutating as a new variant has already been discovered in the last few days.

Everyone has their own opinion and reasons for having any particular vaccine or refusing it. It's something you have to consider and make up your own mind about.

[Wetsuiter in reply to SeasideSusie]

i saw someone from trials say on the news that it wasnt just 'healthy' people. Sorry, my brain fog prevents me from giving further detail

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Wetsuiter]

Well, as one of the first things they decided soon after rolling it out was

"People who suffer from ‘significant’ allergic reactions should not take Covid vaccine, UK regulator warns"

independent.co.uk/news/heal...

then I'm happy to await further developments before making the decision as to whether or not to have this vaccine.

[Anthea55 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I was offered the Pfizer jab, but will wait for a different type as I had a bad reaction to a dental jab a few years ago.

[Kelly2]

Hi. You can have the flu jab.

[penny]

I don’t have the ‘flu. jab and won’t have the Covid one until it has been trialled for a much longer period of time and even then it may be that I conclude not to, but then I’m not at high risk. According to an article in the BMJ the Pfizer vaccine has a NNTV of 256, so for every 256 people vaccinated 1 may have lesser symptoms. (I think that it was 256 or thereabouts.). This is from the viewpoint of a shaky memory so do research it.

Vaccinations are a personal decision and should stay that way, in my opinion.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to penny]

Here's a link to that information (a response to the article)

bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m43...

......... The Number Needed To Vaccinate (NNTV) = 256 (1/0.0039), which means that to prevent just 1 Covid-19 case 256 individuals must get the vaccine; the other 255 individuals derive no benefit, but are subject to vaccine adverse effects, whatever they may be and whenever we learn about them……We’ve already heard that an early effect of the vaccine is “like a hangover or the flu.” ............

From the few people I have spoken to, people seem to think the vaccine will prevent them getting Covid whereas I have read somewhere that it wont prevent you getting it but possibly you will get a milder version.

It's understandable that a solution needs to be found quickly but there still seems to be a long way to go.

[penny in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes, I’ve heard people say that the vaccines confer immunity whereas the end-points of the trials have been a lessening of severity of symptoms; it does not stop people infecting others nor does it stop people from catching it. From this article; the ‘absolute’ risk reduction, which according to Dr Kendrick is what we should be looking at, is 0.4%. Doesn’t sound as impressive as 90%, does it?

In a way, the solution will find itself in that corona viruses tend to be seasonal and constantly mutate; their object is not to kill their host. We have had a whole raft of corona viruses over the years without any of this panic. What I find difficult is separating the wheat from the chaff in government figures. What with ‘cases’ which are actually ‘infections’ and hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ when they are at seasonal average, this is fear-mongering on a grand scale. What is the actual excess death rate for Covid-19? The PCR test is unreliable and gives many false positives, and false negatives; The death figures are for someone who tested positive within the last 28 days, which could mean something or nothing, they may well have died of other causes but the death is logged as Covid-19; did they die OF covid or WITH COVID? There is no separation in the figures published. Looking back at previous influenza years we have had many tens of thousands of deaths in the winter but there were none of these present measures imposed.

spectator.co.uk/article/how...

ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulation...

How can one make a value judgement without all the data?

[hyporeb in reply to penny]

well said.