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PSA: Get a flu shot if you can

Katy

By Katy,
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Katy

Katy

Posted
Posted

This year’s strain is bad. Worse than (vaccinated) Covid for me & DH. The kids all got flu shots at their physicals and they’ve had 2 days of sniffles . The only time I’ve had a worse flu was 5 years ago, and that time I was pregnant and afraid to take anything. 

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Kassia

Kassia

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Oh, I'm sorry you got sick.  Thanks for the warning.  I had mine a week ago and am pushing DH and the kids to get theirs ASAP.  Hope you and DH feel better soon.  Every time I think of skipping my flu shot I remember how miserable I was last time I had the flu (2004) and don't want to ever feel that way again so I get it.  

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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Oh no.  Did you not get the flu shot?  I am glad the kids are not very sick.  That is so hard to handle if you are sick too.   I hope that means the shot is working well this year. 

I just got 4 kids and myself the shot over the weekend.  I kind of wish we  had done it earlier, but I was spacing it from the covid booster because of the reaction I had last year.  Last kid is going tomorrow. 

Ugh we so don't need a bad flu year and wave of covid at the same time.

Edited by mommyoffive
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Pawz4me

Pawz4me

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I don't know if this is the CDC recommendation or just something our hospital system is insisting on, but ours says you either have to get the Covid vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time or space them at least thirty days apart. Which makes no sense to me. But we didn't want to get them at the same time, so now we're in the waiting period until we can get the flu vaccine.

I hope you feel better soon!

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Kassia

Kassia

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15 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I don't know if this is the CDC recommendation or just something our hospital system is insisting on, but ours says you either have to get the Covid vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time or space them at least thirty days apart. Which makes no sense to me. But we didn't want to get them at the same time, so now we're in the waiting period until we can get the flu vaccine.

I hope you feel better soon!

I haven't heard this.  Very interesting.  I'll have to keep that in mind when timing DH's shot then and try to convince him to get both at the same time.  He has bad reactions to vaccines so I don't know how he'd handle two at once.

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Katy

Katy

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1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh no.  Did you not get the flu shot?  I am glad the kids are not very sick.  That is so hard to handle if you are sick too.   I hope that means the shot is working well this year. 

I just got 4 kids and myself the shot over the weekend.  I kind of wish we  had done it earlier, but I was spacing it from the covid booster because of the reaction I had last year.  Last kid is going tomorrow. 

Ugh we so don't need a bad flu year and wave of covid at the same time.

I can’t get the shot anymore. I had a bad reaction to one of my 3 work-required shots for the flu pandemic in 2008 I think. I’m at high risk for Guillain-Barré syndrome as a result. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get them again when Moderna makes a combination flu/covid MRNA version.

DH just hadn’t gotten his yet because we’ve had wave after wave of viral gunk since we put our kids in public school. Plus I don’t think we’ve ever had the flu this early before. Usually it hits in January. 

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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31 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I don't know if this is the CDC recommendation or just something our hospital system is insisting on, but ours says you either have to get the Covid vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time or space them at least thirty days apart. Which makes no sense to me. But we didn't want to get them at the same time, so now we're in the waiting period until we can get the flu vaccine.

I hope you feel better soon!

Anyone have more info on this???  I am not finding anything on my search.

I asked the same question to the pharmacist at Walgreens over the weekend (that I wish I would have asked last month) and they said they prefer to space out the covid and flu vaccines 14 days if you don't do it on the same time.

Can You Get The Flu Vaccine And Covid-19 Booster At The Same Time? (forbes.com)

COVID-19 Vaccine and Flu Shot Spacing: Is It Needed? | University Hospitals | University Hospitals (uhhospitals.org)

Should you get your Covid booster and flu shot at the same time? (cnbc.com)

Spacing Out COVID and Flu Shots Could Provide Better Protection (health.com)

 

 

 

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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8 minutes ago, Katy said:

I can’t get the shot anymore. I had a bad reaction to one of my 3 work-required shots for the flu pandemic in 2008 I think. I’m at high risk for Guillain-Barré syndrome as a result. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get them again when Moderna makes a combination flu/covid MRNA version.

DH just hadn’t gotten his yet because we’ve had wave after wave of viral gunk since we put our kids in public school. Plus I don’t think we’ve ever had the flu this early before. Usually it hits in January. 

Gotcha.  I hope you both feel better soon.  

Yes, from all the news I saw on the Flu it is supposed to be hitting earlier and the thoughts are it is going to be a bad flu year based off of Australia. 

Experts Are Predicting a Bad 2022-2023 Flu Season: How to Prepare Now (yahoo.com)

This year's flu season expected to be a doozy. Here's where to get flu and COVID shots (yahoo.com)

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kbutton

kbutton

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22 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Anyone have more info on this???  I am not finding anything on my search.

I can't find anything either, but I wonder if it has to do with interrupting/overwhelming the body's response to the first vaccine, whichever one you get first. For instance, maybe the body starts the same process of reacting to the vaccine at the same time when you get them both, but if you get them at different but close timeframes, you're making your body sort of restart the process while interrupting it? 

Just a guess. 

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Jean in Newcastle

Jean in Newcastle

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

I don't know if this is the CDC recommendation or just something our hospital system is insisting on, but ours says you either have to get the Covid vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time or space them at least thirty days apart. Which makes no sense to me. But we didn't want to get them at the same time, so now we're in the waiting period until we can get the flu vaccine.

I hope you feel better soon!

I doubt that it's a CDC recommendation.  I just got the flu vaccine two weeks ago and the Covid vaccine yesterday.  Absolutely no issue with spacing them that way.  (And I got it at the hospital.)

Edited by Jean in Newcastle
typo
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scholastica

scholastica

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1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

I don't know if this is the CDC recommendation or just something our hospital system is insisting on, but ours says you either have to get the Covid vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time or space them at least thirty days apart. Which makes no sense to me. But we didn't want to get them at the same time, so now we're in the waiting period until we can get the flu vaccine.

I hope you feel better soon!

Can you just go to a pharmacy and get the flu vaccine?

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scholastica

scholastica

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11 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I couldn't in my case because my insurance is stupid and isn't accepted at all pharmacies.  It was better to go to the hospital associated with my insurance because there was no chance of an issue. 

That’s a real pain. We’ve had insurance like that before, too. It stinks.

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wathe

wathe

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From NACI:

  • COVID-19 vaccines may be given at the same time as, or any time before or after, other vaccines, including live, non-live, adjuvanted, and non-adjuvanted vaccines. 
  • No specific safety concerns have been identified when routine vaccines are given at the same time or within days of each other; however, there is a possibility of increased temporary side effects when a COVID-19 vaccine and another vaccine are administered at the same time or within days of each other.
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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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3 minutes ago, wathe said:

From NACI:

  • COVID-19 vaccines may be given at the same time as, or any time before or after, other vaccines, including live, non-live, adjuvanted, and non-adjuvanted vaccines. 
  • No specific safety concerns have been identified when routine vaccines are given at the same time or within days of each other; however, there is a possibility of increased temporary side effects when a COVID-19 vaccine and another vaccine are administered at the same time or within days of each other.

Thank you for that info!.

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ScoutTN

ScoutTN

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2 hours ago, melbotoast said:

I discovered today that cvs allows you to book groups up to 4 people in one appt slot. Everyone is scheduled now!

ETA: You can schedule flu + covid booster together.

Good! I’ve had mine, but will take my kids Friday.

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bookbard

bookbard

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We had a very bad flu season this year, but apparently *fewer* people got vaccinated for the flu than usual - that's the outcome of all the anti-vax whinging. NB, far more people died from Covid over the same period than the flu, so rest assured, Covid is still far more dangerous. Masks and hand-washing and clean air should protect you from both, if you can get them.

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HomeAgain

HomeAgain

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1 hour ago, melbotoast said:

I discovered today that cvs allows you to book groups up to 4 people in one appt slot. Everyone is scheduled now!

ETA: You can schedule flu + covid booster together.

Thank you for mentioning this!

I got my 12yo and I an appointment together: the flu shot for him and the flu + covid booster for myself.  It'll be so much easier than driving back and forth to different appointments.

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Dmmetler

Dmmetler

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My student who works at St. Jude told me back in September that they’d already had to admit more kids due to Flu than they usually do before Jan, so get it as soon as possible. I usually get one early (Sept/Oct) and one in Janonce they’ve adjusted for the strains (and to keep immunity up), at my immunologist’s suggestion-the worst flu I ever got was in April. 

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Garga

Garga

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Got the flu shot just over 30 days ago. Was planning on getting the newest covid booster tomorrow night. I didn’t even realize that that would be good timing (if it’s true we need to space them out.)

I need my dTap next month and then I’ll FINALLY be old enough for my shingles vax in December! 

 

I’ve been feeling like a newborn, having vaccinations every month or two.

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Mom_to3

Mom_to3

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39 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

My student who works at St. Jude told me back in September that they’d already had to admit more kids due to Flu than they usually do before Jan, so get it as soon as possible. I usually get one early (Sept/Oct) and one in Janonce they’ve adjusted for the strains (and to keep immunity up), at my immunologist’s suggestion-the worst flu I ever got was in April. 

Just a note - they only adjust the strain for the US once a year before the fall (the next strain adjustment is for Australia's season - but we don't receive that here). It still can make a difference to get another shot later in the season, as immunity doesn't last long.

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Katy

Katy

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2 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I should note that I get my Covid and flu shot separately because I have immune system issues. And for awhile (as in over ten years) I couldn’t get a flu vaccine either. So it makes extra sense for me to separate them. 

What enabled you to get them again?

1 hour ago, KSera said:

Has there been any early indication yet about whether this year’s flu shot is a decent match? It might be a little early for that, but I thought that we sometimes got early indications in the US based on how it was doing in Australia.
 

Judging by my kids, it’s a very good match. We’re sick and the kids feel great, with the exception of the 5 year old picking his nose more often. 

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Pawz4me

Pawz4me

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2 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I should note that I get my Covid and flu shot separately because I have immune system issues. And for awhile (as in over ten years) I couldn’t get a flu vaccine either. So it makes extra sense for me to separate them. 

At first I thought this might be why my PA advised a wait time between the two. I’m on a medication that suppresses my immune system. Since Covid they’ve added all sorts of red letter warnings on the EMR system about that, so it’s a very prominent part of my chart. But the way she and the nurse talked gave me the impression that they’re making everyone wait. 

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Jean in Newcastle

Jean in Newcastle

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17 minutes ago, Katy said:

What enabled you to get them again?

Judging by my kids, it’s a very good match. We’re sick and the kids feel great, with the exception of the 5 year old picking his nose more often. 

Once I started to take an immunoregulator, we did an in hospital flu vaccine trial with emergency services on standby. I passed. 

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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  • My sister and her kids had the flu about 10 days ago, and it was BAD. Like fever hit 104 in one kid, 103 in the other and my sister, very weak,no appetite, one was throwing up, just totally miserable. 
  • I had my flu shot, but kids are behind on other stuff due to pandemic and ped was very insistent we do a different shot first (Dtap), so kids have flu shots scheduled for later this month. Praying they can avoid flu until after that, but DH took DD12 to Halloween Horror Nights last night and between exposure to thousands of people and staying up 6 hours past her bedtime I'm worried. (she did mask, but still, that's 12 hours of exposure to people)
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catz

catz

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2 hours ago, ktgrok said:
  • My sister and her kids had the flu about 10 days ago, and it was BAD. Like fever hit 104 in one kid, 103 in the other and my sister, very weak,no appetite, one was throwing up, just totally miserable. 

I'm so sorry, I hope your sister gets well soon!  

This is what the flu has been like for us every time.  High fever and absolutely miserable for over a week.  When at the beginning of covid people were saying it's "just the flu" I figured they must not have experience with the flu because it's awful!  (and in no way am I trying to compare covid w/flu especially for the high risk/unvaccinated).

My teenager had covid recently (3x vaxxed) and it was much less severe than our bouts with influenza A/B.

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Jean in Newcastle

Jean in Newcastle

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27 minutes ago, catz said:

I'm so sorry, I hope your sister gets well soon!  

This is what the flu has been like for us every time.  High fever and absolutely miserable for over a week.  When at the beginning of covid people were saying it's "just the flu" I figured they must not have experience with the flu because it's awful!  (and in no way am I trying to compare covid w/flu especially for the high risk/unvaccinated).

My teenager had covid recently (3x vaxxed) and it was much less severe than our bouts with influenza A/B.

I think that a very mild comparison can be made for immunocompromised people with unvaccinated flu and unvaccinated Covid.  Though while both can cause severe complications like pneumonia, which can cause death in that population, Covid can cause a lot of other vascular and other issues that I don't believe are caused by the flu.  And Covid seems to be able to have more catastrophic effects on some younger people.  (At least that's my takeaway from the past few years.)

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