[ExSoldier]

See, I thought that ordinary flu shots don't work on the Avian Flu. There is something called Tammiflu that is supposed to have been effective in helping folks survive, but the strain seems to have grown resistant to this. My doctor told me that I should NOT be getting a flu shot until I'm in my late 50's and that's ten years away. I may get one this year, anyway. Just in case.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I won't tell others what to do about flu shots, but I have never had one and am twice as old as you are.

There is no perfect answer to the question, but I do not understand how they give a shot for last years variety of flu and expect it to protect for this years variety?

With most medicines, if you read the insert that come with it and tells the bad effects, you wouldn't want to take it.

So many of the new drugs, say they will harm the liver, my daughter in law took it all the time, for colds, the doc would do tests on her liver and say ok, so far, have some more.......

Theresa is now dead one year, with liver cancer that spread every place.

I am taking meds now, and it does not make a lot of difference at my age and shape.

[Domestic Church]

"My doctor told me that I should NOT be getting a flu shot until I'm in my late 50's and that's ten years away. I may get one this year, anyway. Just in case."

Get one. If the H5N1 does spread, it will be hard for the Docs to differentiate between plain old flu and this killing machine until it's too late. If you do get sick and you've had the flu shot you stand a better chance of getting more aggressive treatment to stop the cytokine storm H5N1 triggers as they will rule out plain old flu as the culprit. If you don't get the shot they will most likely wait and see what happens for another day or so and you'll have a 60% chance of being a goner if you are in your prime, hardy and hale.

http://content.nejm.org/content/vol352/issue18/images/large/02f3.jpeg