They have a very good record of getting the strain(s) right for the seasonal vaccine. Most seasons more than one strain is included. In 2003 the vaccine was less than as effective as it usually is due to a couple of the strains mutating slightly from those used in the vaccine.

There were a couple of missmatches in the 1970’s

Can you explain what science they use as they pick from the thousands of strains, however many months in advance of the “flu Season”? How much success have they had in picking out these strains compared to the past when no vaccine was available? How much has having the vaccine reduced the number of cases and deaths from the flu since its introduction? We havent had a “pandemic” influenza outbreak in years, yet is this really due to our prognosticating pharmacutical companies, and not the general improvement of health and safety that has come from simply growing wealthier as a nation?

        Jhonny Paranoid said:

I prefer MADtv

Reading the rest of your commentary, I’m not surprised.

I don’t mind to miss a few days of work.

I’d wager this is an instance of someone not really knowing what the flu is. A lot of people get a bad cold during flu season and miss a few days of work; ergo they’ve had the flu, at least in their mind. But actually having the flu will set them straight. It’s not just a runny nose and sinus headache. The flu is body aches and fatigue that keep you bed-ridden. It is nausea and vomiting. It is feverish chills. The complete funk and ague of the actual flu will make you wish you were at work on your worst day. And it literally kills those who are too weak to weather it.

If to you “having the flu” means that you’re heating up a bowl of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup and plopping down on the couch with a box of Kleenex and checking out the daytime TV, then I’ve got a dollar on a dime that says you’ve never had the flu.

        Jhonny Paranoid said:

I prefer MADtv, I don’t know if it’s still on though. And… I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but lately flu vaccines do more harm than help (unless we are talking about a pandemic vaccine). I think that we don’t need a vaccine unless the flu strain is deadly. I don’t mind to miss a few days of work. If we keep making vaccines for regular flu we are just making the thing mutate into something deadlier. Plus, the swine flu vaccine killed a couple of hundreds more than the actual disease, so… I don’t know what to think. My mom’s friend died from an allergic reaction to the thing, I don’t want to get the shot.

First I dispute your claims that the vaccine is regularly deadly. I’ve heard of only the most rare serious reactions. Sorry about your mom’s friend, but do you know if they were allergic to any of the ingredients to begin with? If so they should not have been vaccinated. I’m quite sure that I am not, so I don’t worry about that.

Now as for the flu and its deadliness or lack there of: I’m 27 years old and in excellent health. I’m not at all worried that the flu would kill me. However, it could kill my grandmother, and since I see her from time to time I don’t want to see her die of the flu and have to live with the guilt of being the one who transmitted it to her. Nor do I want to kill any other elderly or immune-compromised individuals by allowing my body to be used by the virus as a means of replicating.

        nondnabased said:

never had a vaccine in my life. kids? never as well(12,15,18yrs). ive never been sick in my life nor have my kids…..weird huh?

Not weird. Just stupid.

“Never wore a condom. Never got a girl pregnant. I guess condoms are bull**** and I shouldn’t bother with one”

“Never had insurance. Never needed it. What’s the point of insurance?”

“Well I drive drunk all the time and I have not been involved in an accident. I suppose driving drunk is not dangerous at all.”

“I never wear my seatbelt and I’ve never been killed in a car accident”

Look, there’s a good chance you won’t get a major infectious disease if you’re not vaccinated. Even in the years before vaccination infectious disease killed many, but it didn’t kill everyone. Some people, through sheer luck, managed to not get a serious infectious disease.

Today there is “herd immunity” which basically means enough people in the population are smart enough to be vaccinated to keep most disease from ever getting enough hosts to become a big issue. Idiots like yourself are the reason herd immunity is not universal, however. Thus the danger to the unvaccinated, while still relatively low, is higher than it has been in decades.

I should mention though, herd immunity does not protect against all vaccine-preventable disease.

Meningococcal can be transmitted through contaminated food or acquired from “healthy carrier” hosts. There is still a large portion of the population not vaccinated against it and there is also a possibility of the bacteria existing and spreading outside human hosts.

Haemophilus influenzae is an opertunistic enviornmental pathogenic bacteria. It is often acquired from non-human sources of the bacteria, so herd immunity offers little protection.

The big one is tetanus. Herd immunity is useless against tetanus.

I’m vaccinated so I don’t have to worry about it. If I step on a rusty nail that is infested with tetanus bacteria all I get is a puncture wound and a sore foot that heals in a week. You step on the same nail, you get lockjaw, muscle spasms and possibly death. The same for your kids. Your stupid and reckless decision has only not bitten you because you have not had the misfortune of stepping on a dirty nail or shard of glass or something….. YET

I suspect that the item in question we are examining here was vetted so that it would not offend ether side in the vaccination debate, and that unfortunately has become typical of that network.

Stupid sketch. Not unlike a lot of the Air Farce’s later humour. Not particularly funny, not particularly well-executed.