Quote:
Originally Posted by golfing eagles
Bill is 100% correct. We got sidetracked with COVID and a new type of vaccine that some considered controversial. But every year 35-70,000 Americans die of the flu. Not during COVID, of course, since it all got coded as COVID for $14,000 extra/patient.
The flu shot is a "traditional" vaccine---and except for some intranasal forms is a dead virus, not a live attenuated one. The most likely "side effect" of a flu shot is a sore arm. Period.
As far as RSV goes, when I was practicing it was a disease of young children, possibly a few immunocompromised folks. I never saw a case in and adult in 30+ years. Now that some company invented a vaccine, we are being told that seniors are at risk and should get the shot. From my perspective, the jury is out on that one.
Bottom line, IF I were to give advice, which I don't do, it would be to unequivocally get your flu shot.
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When you were practicing, did you not get the memo that virii are able to mutate? I mean, you started 30+ years ago, supposedly. There are all kinds of virus strains now, that didn't exist 30+ years ago, or 20+ years ago, or even 5 years ago. The flu is one of them, and every year, the vaccine is adjusted to cover the newest strains they're able to catch while developing the new vaccine. That's why it isn't a one-and-done vaccine. Because every year, the flu is a little different from the year before.
RSV was only known to affect infants - at first. Now, 30+ years later, it's also known to affect the elderly.
To those who actually don't know, rather than those who insist they do know:
RSV isn't a sickness. It is a virus that CAUSES sickness. You can have RSV and not ever get sick. Or, you can have RSV and die. There's an inbetween as well: you can have RSV and just assume it's a cold, nothing more or less. That is the MOST common experience with RSV no matter what age you are. But some people die. There are more people who die with RSV when they're infants, immuno-compromised people of all ages, and older adults, than any other demographic.
Whether big pharma, the CDC, the American Lung Association, or your local supplement store is telling you this or not, it's just how it is. You don't have to like facts, but them's the facts.