coffee_black

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Posts by coffee_black

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  191

  Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

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  coffee_black

  EP 1) The family member was diagnosed by her Dr. (as stated above) 2) We live in the same house, and I am in contact with her every day.

  Coffee
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  191

  Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

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  coffee_black

  Exactly. That's why I made a suggestion to report back to this thread when the flu season is over. I think it will be interesting!

  Coffee
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  191

  Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

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  coffee_black

  EP, several co workers have had it , whom I have been in close contact with...sharing phones etc, and one family member who lives in the same house who was diagnosed with the current strain of the flu. The family member had it a month ago. No one else in the household got it...and no one else was immunized. The household member is a teacher...of very young children.

  jgnat It's a moot point anyway.. since there is only enough vaccine to immunize 46% of the population in the US. 50% coverage is unrealistic....and of those who receive the vaccine can only count on it being 62% effective...well those odds don't seem too impressive.

  Maybe the percentage is different in Canada.

  Coffee
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  36

  Hello

  by sherry11 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been lurking here for a few months now.

  i did lurk a few years ago as well.

  i would like to introduce myself.

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  coffee_black

  Welcome aboard!

  Coffee
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  191

  Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

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  coffee_black

  http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaxsupply.htm

  How much influenza vaccine is projected to be available for the 2012-13 influenza season?

  At the current time, six influenza vaccine manufacturers are projecting that as many as 145 million doses of influenza vaccine will be available from currently licensed manufacturers in the U.S. for use during the 2012-13 influenza season.

  http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

  U.S. 315,185,800 taken from the above website…the current US population

  It is interesting to note that everyone in the US is being pushed to get the shot, but only 145 million doses are projected to be available in the US. The population of the US is more than double that. So at best, less than half of the population will be vaccinated for the 2012-2013 flu season.

  For me, let’s just say that since I don’t fall into any of the target populations on the World Health Organization immunization recommendations list….(link below). I have adopted the European “wait and see” approach as jgnat calls it.

  http://www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2012/april/1_Background_Paper_Mar26_v13_cleaned.pdf

  I will continue to rely on my own strong immune system which has kept me safe from every strain of flu I have ever been exposed to for 60 years (except one, when I was 8 years old) I think that’s a much better efficacy rate than any shot ever produced.

  If the purpose of a flu vaccine is to get one’s own immune system to produce antibodies against the flu virus… and my immune system has clearly demonstrated that it has already done that … (I have been exposed several times in this flu season, and I have not come down with the flu…not even the sniffles or a stomach ache or even a headache) …then how is the outcome any different? How does that put anyone around me more at risk? How am I more of a carrier than someone who has had the shot? It’s about the immune system fighting the virus…right…the shot doesn’t produce some invisible shield around you, does it?

  Coffee who hasn't considered herself part of the "herd" since leaving the borg.
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  191

  Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

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  coffee_black

  jgnat said: Keep in mind that the best protection for the vulnerable is an immune population around them.

  Please back this up.

  jgnat also said: It seems that Europe has adopted a wait-and-see approach, and that they are holding back because of cost

  That is only one concern that is noted in the article. They also state:

  That's because global health experts say the data aren't there yet to support this kind of blanket vaccination policy, nor is there enough money. In fact, some scientists say the enthusiasm for mass vaccination in the United States may hurt efforts to create a better vaccine.

  Sammilee

  Coffee who is not about to eat a ton of onions... Just going to rely on my immune system, which has been pretty trustworhy thus far in keeping the flu away.
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  29

  "I just want to keep them alive."

  by cedars in

  1. social
  2. family

  does anyone ever feel this way when they see older family members (parents, grandparents etc) growing old or experiencing failing health?.

  do you ever feel that you should be able to somehow keep them alive - and feel frustrated and hopeless that you can't?.

  cedars.

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  coffee_black

  I have an aunt who is 90. She's a little spit fire. Worked up until a few years ago when her eysight went. She has beaten Lung Cancer Over 15 years. She's in remission from non Hodgkins Lymphoma... and had heart surgery almost a year ago. Never gives up. She's determined to reach 100. I think she will. I will miss her terribly when the time comes. She was never a dub. (her sister, my mom was, and she passed in 1977)

  Coffee
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  191

  Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

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  coffee_black

  Justitia said

  If you had read the WHO's report you would (hopefully) have noticed that it was making recommendations for countries with less medical/economic resources, which means they need to prioritize their populations to best allocate those scarce resources.

  Yes, I did notice.... but it is not all about resources. Not a single European Country shares the level of promotion of immunization. The WHO doesn't just make recommendations for poor countries.

  http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/17/health/flu-vaccine-policy/?hpt=he_c1#cnn-disqus-area

  From above link:

  "That's because global health experts say the data aren't there yet to support this kind of blanket vaccination policy, nor is there enough money. In fact, some scientists say the enthusiasm for mass vaccination in the United States may hurt efforts to create a better vaccine."

  Coffee
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  191

  Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

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  coffee_black

  Jgnat,

  What do you think of the World Health Organization's position on "priority Population" immunization? Why do you think the rest of the world isn't as intent on getting the entire population immunized? Hope the link works for you now.

  Coffee
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  43

  What is your daily commute, and how long does it take you

  by coffee_black in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  mine is 25 miles each way.

  it can take anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half each way depending on traffic.

  there is no way way to get here by public transportation.. sigh~ .

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  coffee_black

  Xanthippie said

  When I got home feeling very sorry for myself I checked my emails and I have had one from Save the Children with an emergency appeal for Syria. Chilldren whose families have fled the war are sleeping on the cold ground in the snow in just the thin clothes they fled in!

  So true. A few years ago, my grandson (then 14) walked from Orlando Fl to Washington DC during his summer vacation to call attention to homeless children in the US. There are far more of them than you could imagine. He stopped at shelters along the way and got to meet many in that situation, and brought that experience to DC, where he met with some senators and congressmen to try to change things. I got to share some of that with him. I will never forget that. You are so right. We have so much to be grateful for.

  Coffee