People who get flu shots: are they then not carriers of the flu to

[DebJ]

the rest of the population? Do they stop it, instead of passing it on? Or are they still carriers even with the vaccine?

I've never used flu vaccines. In 1968, I had the Hong Kong flu and strep throat at the same time....it was Christmas Eve, and I saw my parents (I was 12) putting gifts under the tree like they were in slow motion (I was on the sofa). Very strange. I was extremely ill.

Next time I got it was in 1989, I believe. Not as bad. Went to work. Ended up with bad bronchitis. Very sick first week, dragging the second.

Last December, I was very ill for a week, and could barely move for another week. I decided I'd get a flu shot the next year...getting older. Now, I guess I won't.
I never got one because my mother gets so sick with the shots, she hasn't had one since she was young (now 77)

BUT.....My point is this: if a large bulk of the population gets flu shots, is THAT what 'protected' me the 15-20 years that I did NOT get the flu? In other words, fewer people who would pass it on...but not this year?

[benburch]

1. Nope!

The vaccine is made from fragments of killed virus. It motivates the immune system but does not infect. The "Flu-Mist" nasal vaccine spray, however, is a weakened live virus, and so high risk people should not take it, but it is also very unlikely to either give you the flu or cause you to be infectious.

[DebJ]

2. I meant, after someone is innoculated, then say two months later

as the flu passes by them in other people, can these innoculated people still be a carrier of the flu to others?

[benburch]

3. No. The flu does not survive in their bodies.

So when they cough there are just the usual germs.

You are in more danger from the faucet handle in the restroom, where lots of cold and flu germs collect.

[Spinzonner]

4. Obviously you haven't heard about the new Zombie Flu strain

:silly:

[Ms. Toad]

5. If you get the flu shot and actually get the flu,

even if it is a mild case, then you can pass it on to others.

The flu shot only prevents the flu if this year's magic ball folks guess the correct strain of flu. If they are a long ways off, you might not get any protection at all. If it is close you might get partial immunity and have a mild case of the flu. Whatever you get from other individuals with the flu is an active virus, and you can pass it on to others.

If you get a mild case of the flu FROM the flu shot, that is not generally contagious as long as the vaccine was not made from live virus (I don't know the details about how the flu vaccine is made - in generally vaccines can be made from dead agents or from weakened but live agents). If it was made from live virus you could shed live virus and infect someone, although it is not very likely except for someone with a severely compromised immune system (AIDS, chemotherapy, or other similarly compromised immune systems).