'flu jab time

Not at all Elegran - there are cases of people with offices in Harley Street, London selling crackpot treatments. josephinejones.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/live-blood-quack-errol-denton-fined-19000/
There seem to be more of them in the USA (where the term "snake oil" originated) maybe because a/ there is no NHS and health care is fragmented and unaffordable for many. If people cannot afford the recommended operation they might resort to (cheaper) quackery. b/ it is a rich country in which there are big profits to be made selling quack cures etc
Regarding vaccination there is a very vocal anti-vaccine movement in the states. In other countries the anti-vaccers tend to be of the "alternative" persuasion. In the US there is also a strand of extreme right wing anti-state-control-ism with a generous dash of conspiracy theory. The kind of people who stockpile guns and emergency supplies in the cabins in the backwoods.

Thanks for that Anno (and later the same from Elegran). Now that would be a breakthrough.

Trouble is there are so many claims that promise but then nothing more is heard of them. Hope this isn't one of them.

I've not had a flu jab as I'm not old enough but DH always has one. last year was a disaster - he felt really ill and went to the docs, who said he had developed flu so I'm wondering if it is worthwhile - I think when the time comes I'll consult - I'm not for taking medication unless it is really necessary

Jess there are people who are sane and sensible, even some of this site, who have reasons for avoiding certain vaccines.

I don't know what your definition of 'alternative persuasion' is but it would be helpful to know so I can now add that to my understanding that these grannies, who I now know to the closet extremists and survivalists.

..my understanding that of these grannies..

...who I now know to the be closet...

Fat fingers or grey matter not awake this morning?

Ayse One experience of DH getting a flu virus which the jab had not prepared him for is not enough to abandon all other years. there are many strains of flu, and they alter often. The vaccine is prepared for the strains that are predicted to be prevalent that year. some years the predictions are better than others, and some years that current vaccine doen't protect from the one that hits an individual.

Anya There are medical reasons why some people are advised not to take the vaccine - and so there are people who assume that therefore the vaccine itself is the bad thing.

Flu carries off far far more people than the few who have a bad reaction to, say, the preservative in it or the base in which it is mixed, and flu become epidemic or pandemic when it whips through the unprotected, then reaches and kills many many more.

Elegran I know all that.

I'm simply pointing out to Jess that her demonising of those who may not want to have the vaccination is OTT!

I should clarify Anya that I was agreeing with Elegran regarding quacks and the dangers of paying heed to them. As a relevant example of quackery I was referring to those who take an anti-vaccine stand rather than those who decide not to have a particular vaccine. There is a lot of general anti-vaccine propaganda on the 'net and it is primarily aimed at parents. They propagate unsubstantiated scare theories, anxiety is raised in many parents and the results are whooping cough and measles outbreaks in various countries where the diseases were previously eliminated.
Vaccination has saved countless young lives and I can't have any sympathy with those who preach this dangerous and unscientific nonsense.
There is an example above of one of the quack preachers raising doubt about flu vaccine amongst older people.
If you give a vaccine to a large % of the over 65s in a country a % of those are going to already be infected with a flu-like illness of some kind in the week they get the vaccine. So some of them are going to get ill and may blame the flu vaccine. Doesn't mean the vaccine gives anyone flu.

Your views on people who don't want to have vaccinations are well known Jess but there are those whose experience has lead them to take an anti- vaccine stance.

There is a UK government fund for vaccine damaged children and adults. If you have had a child severely damaged by a vaccine then you might easily take an anti-vaccine stance.

We all know the benefits of vaccination, so I wish people would stop trotting out the facts and figures as if we were idiots. But it is a sad fact that some people react so severely to certain vaccines that they are left with severe physical and mental handicaps. To dismiss these inevitable casualties of a mass vaccination strategy is bad enough, to call their carers 'quacks' for taking an anti- vaccination stance is appalling.

You could get a payment if you’re severely disabled and your disability was caused by vaccination against any of the following diseases:

diphtheria
haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB)
human papillomavirus
influenza, except for influenza caused by a pandemic influenza virus
measles
meningococcal group C (meningitis C)
mumps
pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 (swine flu) - up to 31 August 2010
pertussis (whooping cough)
pneumococcal infection
poliomyelitis
rotavirus
rubella (German measles)
smallpox - up to 1 August 1971
tetanus
tuberculosis (TB)
You may have had a combined vaccination against a number of the diseases listed. For example, you might have been vaccinated against DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) or MMR (measles, mumps and rubella).

You may also be able to get a payment if you’re severely disabled because either:

your mother was vaccinated against one of the diseases in the list while she was pregnant
you’ve been in close physical contact with someone who’s had an oral vaccine against poliomyelitis

This is copied from the government website. But be warned you're only entitled to compensation if you are at least 60% disabled.