CDC says US flu season starts early, could be bad
December 3, 2012 at 11:01 am in Grand Forks Herald
Flu season in the U.S. is off to its earliest start in nearly a decade and it could be a bad one. Health officials on Monday said suspected flu cases have jumped in five Southern states, and the primary strain circulating tends to make people sicker than other types. Continue Reading
They use their scare tactics EVERY YEAR.
They’re as bad as the National Weather Service.
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One of these times they could be right, it may take another 25 years but they will say “we told you so”.
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I’ve never had a flu shot, never had the flu. I see no reason to treat it any different than any of the colds that pass through every winter. I have my own personal ways to treat them.
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Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple shot to prevent ignorance. If there was, then we wouldn’t be seeing people who are unimpressed by the body count accusing the CDC of “scare tactics.” Nor would we be seeing folks boasting that they never get immunized–all the time oblivious to the fact that their lack of immunity might mean that they will vector the virus to somebody else who might die as a result.
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Protecting ourselves against risks we feel relevant is the right and responsibility of every adult.
Enforcing un-wanted “protection” on other adults is the supposed “right” of every busy-body and Safety Na zi; but in the end it’s just unwelcome meddling in other people’s affairs. The USA is chock-full of unwelcome meddling at the Federal, State, and Local levels.
The CDC’s yearly dire predictions regarding Flu virus haven’t risen to the level of “Enforcement”…yet.
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Who said anything about forcing you Schurkey?
Like I wrote earlier, there’s no mandatory vaccination against things like ignorance (or conceit) — and I agree — even self-centered ignoramuses have rights.
As for “unwelcome meddling” — when a vulnerable child or senior citizen dies because some unvaccinated personal-rights-expert vectors an infection to them — THAT is unwelcome meddling!
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The standard cold virus is more of an issue than a flu virus, it just seems to hang around, the 2 are quite different on how they act. Normal winter, I never get sick. If A-lot of freeze, thaw, i just get a head cold. I know many that do not get flu shots, Not having ever had a flu, I see no reason to get a shot nor do I think anyone should be forced to get one. It should merely be voluntary.
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One major reason people do get the flu shot is to protect other people, particularly the elderly, who are extremely susceptible to severe consequences if they get the flu. The CDC estimates 90 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths are in people age 65 and older.
Pregnant women and children younger than 5 are also at an increased risk, as are cancer patients doing chemo and others with compromised immune systems.
If you got the flu, it’s quite possible it would barely affect you, and you might even mistake it for a nasty cold or one of the many other upper respiratory illnesses going around. However, during this time you could easily pass it on to someone who is vulnerable. The vaccine is highly effective, but not 100%, and not everyone can be vaccinated–some have allergies, for example.
The CDC has a lot of very good information about the flu and vaccines, although it doesn’t seem to have a good discussion of herd immunity, which is an important concept in vaccination discussions.
Here is the CDC’s flu vaccine page: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/index.htm
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Nice response Kari. It’s good to see an enlightened view for a change!
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