Firestormm
Senior Member
- Messages
- 5,055
- Location
- Cornwall England
Yup. But why is it still a numbers game? Why do we have to gamble and play the odds when scientific research could hold the answers if anyone cared to look?
Time and cost I suppose. And the desire to save lives. I would imagine the early vaccines had far more serious side-effects than those that are produced these days - though I can't prove it of course. Hard quantifying risks such as side-effects even of pharmaceutical medication.
They list just about everything on a pill packet, including the very symptoms you are trying to escape. It can seem a hard choice, can't it? I have had the flu vaccine in recent years, I didn't this year because I forgot and was lazy, or too busy - I forget which.
But if you believe your ME was triggered by a vaccine it must be a hard decision to have further vaccines and there is a lot of fear being attached to them in general - also a lot of nonsense I think - if you choose to seek it out.
If I had kids of my own, I would have them vaccinated, no question. I think childhood vaccinations are very important. But the flu vaccine remains one considered only necessary for 'at risk' groups:
Flu jab for people with medical conditions
The injected flu vaccine is offered free of charge on the NHS to anyone with a serious long term health condition. That includes these types of illnesses:
This list of conditions isn't definitive. It's always an issue of clinical judgement. Your GP can assess you individually to take into account your risk of flu exacerbating any underlying illness you may have, as well as your risk of serious illness from flu itself. The vaccine should always be offered in such cases, even if you are not technically in one of the risk groups above.
- chronic (long-term) respiratory disease, such as asthma (that requires inhaled or tablet steroid treatment or has led to hospital admission in the past), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchitis
- chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
- chronic kidney disease
- chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
- chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease or motor neurone disease [ME used to be listed here in previous years]
- diabetes
- problems with your spleen – for example, sickle cell disease, or if you have had your spleen removed
- a weakened immune system due to conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or as a result of medication such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
If you live with someone who has a weakened immune system, you may also be advised to have a flu vaccine. Speak to your GP about this.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/who-should-have-flu-vaccine.aspx
About this year's flu jab: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/flu-influenza-vaccine.aspx