I went many years without getting the flu shot. I got them for a couple of years, by my arm would be extremely uncomfortable (not quite hurt), and since I sleep on my side, changing sides a few times every night…that discomfort translated to a few weeks of waking up every time I rolled onto the arm that got the shot.
Two years ago, I was in the hospital and was asked if I wanted a flu shot, by a nurse who phrased the question in such a way that I didn’t think I could say “no”. No problems. I figured that either changes with age, or improvements in the vaccine concoction, had addressed my old complaint
So, I got a flu shot last year when I got my third dose of Pfizer. Once again, discomfort and weeks of poor sleep.
Just on a hunch, I’m going to try to get the non-eggy version of the flu vaccine this year. If the long-term arm discomfort manifests again…I’m not certain that the likelihood of weeks of poor sleep is worth the reduced chance / potential reduced severity of the flu.
I’ve had the flu once, ironically in a year when I got a flu shot. It was definitely unpleasant. But weighing an apparently low chance of “definitely unpleasant” versus a near-certainty of weeks of being sluggish and grumpy…
I got the flu shot for the first time in 1997, because there was a big push by my employer and i felt like i ought to be a good example. I had a sore arm, but it didn’t prevent me from sleeping or anything. That year, everyone in my family got flu, except for me. I went grocery shopping for my parents, walked my sister’s dog, and kept our household running while everyone else was too sick to do stuff.
I’ve had the vaccine almost every year since. Including today.
I sporadically got the flu shot from 1997 - 2005… if I got around to it, if I could do it onsite at my employer, if, if, if. 2006 was when FAP came out and the reading on the 1918 influenza pandemic has motivated me to get the flu shot every year since.
I got the flu shot regularly when I worked in healthcare for a few years.
Since then I have gotten it sporadically, often when it was offered at my employer. I’m over 50 now and haven’t had a case of the flu for a long time, so I should get it more often now. I plan to get it this year. It was offered yesterday when I got my COVID jab, but I didn’t feel like double dipping.
I did. In fact, the two shots were so close to each other that the pharmacist used a single bandaid. So far, it seems fine. I’m more sore than i usually am after a flu shot, but less sore than after my last covid shot.
I gave my last blood donation earlier this week to the vaccine study i was in. I asked them if they thought i should be concerned about getting both vaccines at once, and the doctor i was chatting with said that most of the researchers in the group were doing them together, since it’s convenient. I figured if it’s good enough for a bunch of doctors who study vaccines, it’s good enough for me.