Flu vaccination, yes or no.

[Bird]

I got the shingles one thinking my insurance would cover. Nope, Medicare doesn't pay for it and that is the gateway to my good insurance. I do not understand why medicare won't cover a shot that is so highly recommended.

When we got the shingles shots at the pharmacy, we paid $50 each. The pharmacist said Medicare and our supplement would pay the rest. We later got letters from United Healtcare that said they didn't cover shingles vaccination, BUT since they had been late getting the new published rules that year, they would pay this time. Surprised me, to say the least.

 

[Bird]

Chicken pox vaccine wasn't available until 1984...
Varicella vaccine - Wikipedia

I had chicken pox as a kid in the early 60's and it was miserable. But thank goodness you can only get it once... until I got it again on my 21st birthday in 1982... and it was even more miserable than I remembered. Doctor says "Boy, that's rare!" Thanks doc. So, instead of free bar drinks on my 21st birthday, I spent the evening sitting in a chair with my friends drinking beer and laughing at me while my mother put calamine lotion on me in places I couldn't reach myself.... ahh, good friends, good beer and good fun!

So now doc says I'm a prime candidate for shingles. Yea! :laughing:

I remember hearing that the more you are broken out with chicken pox, the easier it is on you. I know I was really covered with it, and it didn't bother me at all. I'd forget that I was supposed to be sick and want to do things I wasn't supposed to do. And the reason I remember that I was 7 year old at the time is because I had younger brothers and sisters, and since the family didn't want them to catch it, I went to stay with my grandparents in town. And I had a bad toothache so the local dentist, Dr. Ball, didn't want me to come to his office and spread the chicken pox, so he came to the house and pulled a jaw tooth. I really hated that needle he stuck in there to deaden it. That was my first experience with a dentist and it was many years before I got over avoiding them at all costs.:laughing:

 

[Looking4new]

And I had a bad toothache so the local dentist, Dr. Ball, didn't want me to come to his office and spread the chicken pox, so he came to the house and pulled a jaw tooth. I really hated that needle he stuck in there to deaden it. That was my first experience with a dentist and it was many years before I got over avoiding them at all costs.:laughing:

I still avoid dentists at all costs. Mine was a butcher. he called himself a doctor, but I didn't. He would freeze my face to drill a cavity. The freezing hurt more going in than the actual drilling did. 3 times I tried it and each time it hurt. I put a stop to him freezing my face for a filling. Fast forward 20 years and I got all my teeth out and haven't seen a dentist since. Life is great after I eliminated that problem. And yes I can eat anything including raw pecans and walnuts. I am nudging 71 and still have no intentions of getting teeth.:laughing:

 

[newbury]

Maybe we need a thread about dental nightmares

<snip> And I had a bad toothache so the local dentist, Dr. Ball, didn't want me to come to his office and spread the chicken pox, so he came to the house and pulled a jaw tooth. I really hated that needle he stuck in there to deaden it. That was my first experience with a dentist and it was many years before I got over avoiding them at all costs.:laughing:

One of my early experiences involved the "town dentist" who invariably pushed the needle in until it hit the bone, then along the bone before he injected. It went on for many cavities as a teenager and still hurts just thinking about it.

 

[NorTracNY]

When I had kids, I looked heavily into the flu shot. I expected to see data on the number of flu outbreaks/deaths versus the number of shots given or the percentage of the population. I couldn't find it at all. I then started ready the studies published on the vaccine. From the CDC website, I found a study that estimated for every 28 flu shots given, 1 less case of the flu occurs. It was also pointed out that when H1N1 came around, they beleived that because so many people had naturally weaker protection from the flu because of the vaccines, that the virsus was causing more deaths.

Then I found that neither our kids doctors, nor our doctors were recommending it. I don't know why anyone would get the shot unless they has a comprimised immune system.

 

[Bird]

Then I found that neither our kids doctors, nor our doctors were recommending it. I don't know why anyone would get the shot unless they has a comprimised immune system.

Why anyone would get the shot? Because I've had the flu and don't want to do it again. And every doctor I know not only recommends them, but administers them. I know . . . you can say they make money selling them. I get mine at the pharmacy instead of the doctor's office though.

 

[ttriff]

Hospitals require their employees to have flu shots or they can't go to work.

CDC article about flu shots...

"reduces the risk of flu illness by about 50% to 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are like the vaccine viruses."

" studies have found no evidence that repeat vaccination results in a person being less-protected against flu."

Vaccine Effectiveness - How Well Does the Flu Vaccine Work?

 

[murse72]

hospitals require it because obama care forced on hospital employees so drug companies can sell more vaccines

 

[newbury]

Why anyone would get the shot? Because I've had the flu and don't want to do it again. And every doctor I know not only recommends them, but administers them. I know . . . you can say they make money selling them. I get mine at the pharmacy instead of the doctor's office though.

I think "they", in my case Kaiser, makes more money by just giving me a "quick" shot at a "clinic" AND NOT having me drag in and spend an hour of their staff time and resources because I caught a bug.

 

[PJSprog]

Chicken pox vaccine wasn't available until 1984...
Varicella vaccine - Wikipedia

I did not know that. I do distinctly remember, though, my Mother throwing a fit every time I contracted something major, complaining about paying doctors for vaccinations that weren't working. Maybe it was just a standardized rant for her. :laughing:

My chicken pox revealed itself on Xmas morning one year. Think I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. I'll never forget the look on her face (nor the noise she made) when she saw me getting out of bed, covered with them.