I heard on one show, a Christian one, that the hype about the flu shot is just that, hype. It's not supposed to be an epidemic year and they're just getting people shook up for nothing. As ill as I've been, I refuse the shots because too many people I know who are close to me and have received them GOT THE FLU! Thanks but no thanks. I know they will be pressuring me to do it because of the dialysis but I keep praying that no weapon formed against me will prosper and that no plague will come nigh my dwelling. Seems to have worked in the past few years.
This is a common misconception among people. The "flu vaccine" is not intended to protect against the stomach flu. The stomach flu that adults get each year is a relatively mild virus and symptoms usually are nausea, fever,aches, and diarrhea. The stomach flu is caused by vriuses unrelated to influenza. The flu vaccine protects against influenza. Influenza can be a serious disease involving the respiratory system. Symptoms include cough, fever, runny nose, headache, and myalgia. Pneumonia can often develop. Basically, imagine a cold about 100x over. Influenza also worsens any cardiopulmonary conditions. Hospitalization occurs for about 200K people a year and about 36K die each year. If you have a weakened immune system, count yourself lucky that you have not gotten influenze.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the flu is that when someone is really sick, they say, "I have the flu." When really all they have is a bad cold. The actual flu and a bad cold are very, very different. I had a really bad cold two or three winters ago. I thought I was going to die. But, the doctor quickly told me it was only a cold, not "the flu." While a lot of people get the flu, a lot think they have it and really don't. While in the military it was mandatory every year to get the shot. I have been retired for 12 plus years now and have not had one since I retired. I also have not had the flu. So, go figure.