Thousands line up for flu shots as epidemic spreads
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REDMOND, Wash. - The flu is now officially considered an epidemic in 47 states - including Washington state - and clinics here are overflowing with some patients seeking relief and others seeking prevention.
One of them is Corina Wilson, who has gone well beyond feeling "under the weather."
"Wednesday I just started feeling like crap. And by Wednesday night I took myself to the emergency room," she says.
With achiness, a fever and a cough, Wilson is one of hundreds of patients flooding Western Washington hospitals with the flu.
"We've had a tremendous number of people coming in," says Dr. James Kriseman of the Overlake Medical Clinic in Redmond.
Kriseman says as each week goes by the number of patients with flu-like symptoms doubles.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, this time last year most of the nation had minimal flu impact, including Washington state.
But this year the first week of January had 23 states with high to moderate impact. Since late December, six people have died in Washington because of the flu.
Pam Roselle isn't taking any chances.
"My friend convinced me it's a probably a good time to get one because of all the stories we've been seeing," she says.
And although the CDC considers the flu vaccine only 62 percent effective, doctors still say it's the best defense against the virus.
"It is a very good safe thing to do for everybody to do from 6 months of age to well into our seniors," says Kriseman.
Despite reported shortages in some parts of the nation, Overlake says there's plenty of the vaccine ready for the taking here.
"I have a lot available. I have like a 105 available, so we're just waiting. And it only takes 10 minutes, and you're in and out," says Maritza Dooley of the Overlake clinic.
One of them is Corina Wilson, who has gone well beyond feeling "under the weather."
"Wednesday I just started feeling like crap. And by Wednesday night I took myself to the emergency room," she says.
With achiness, a fever and a cough, Wilson is one of hundreds of patients flooding Western Washington hospitals with the flu.
"We've had a tremendous number of people coming in," says Dr. James Kriseman of the Overlake Medical Clinic in Redmond.
Kriseman says as each week goes by the number of patients with flu-like symptoms doubles.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, this time last year most of the nation had minimal flu impact, including Washington state.
But this year the first week of January had 23 states with high to moderate impact. Since late December, six people have died in Washington because of the flu.
Pam Roselle isn't taking any chances.
"My friend convinced me it's a probably a good time to get one because of all the stories we've been seeing," she says.
And although the CDC considers the flu vaccine only 62 percent effective, doctors still say it's the best defense against the virus.
"It is a very good safe thing to do for everybody to do from 6 months of age to well into our seniors," says Kriseman.
Despite reported shortages in some parts of the nation, Overlake says there's plenty of the vaccine ready for the taking here.
"I have a lot available. I have like a 105 available, so we're just waiting. And it only takes 10 minutes, and you're in and out," says Maritza Dooley of the Overlake clinic.
Take your vitamins and minerals. Eat healthy. Forget the flu shot. Vaccines weaken your immune system. Even if you get the flu, take care of yourself and you will survive and be stronger for it. Get plenty of sleep, drink tea with lemon and honey, keep on vitamin C, etc. Slow life down and stay home from work.But, this is just my opinion i guess.
All I know is I got the flu shot and I don't have the flu.
oh and i doubt it's "thousands" lining up to get the shot. Â I know you editors just try and make it sound like everyone is rushing to get it, why don't you editors do a story on the DANGERS of getting the flu shot, and how many people have died annually who have gotten the flu shot? Â Please do some real stories, not a bunch of propaganda. Â I bet the annual number of people dying and getting side effects from the flu shot is worse than the number of people who have actually died from the flu. Â And another thing, most of the people who have died from the flu have underlying conditions that you forget to even mention. Â Gotta love the scare tactics here. Â Did the CDC tell you to write this story?
@Claire2342 Okay, so how many people have died annually from getting the flu shot? Please give actual numbers, and tell us your source for the information. By the way - if someone who dies from the flu has an underlying condition - what difference does that make? They're still dead.
They are just trying to scare everyone into getting the shot. Â What a bunch of propaganda. Â I know several people who have gotten the flu shot and have gotten deathly ill. Â Not only that, but think about all the other crap they are injecting into your body. Â
 @Claire2342 There are plenty of viruses that can make you deathly ill other the influenza. I personally want to at least ward off the influenza virus. if they had a vaccine for all the other viruses I'd be happy to get those two so I'd never have to be deathly ill.  Although it sounds like in your case maybe you shouldn't get it because you know some people say that vaccines are only a way for the government to inject microchips into us so they can watch our every move. Sigh.
 @Julia  @Claire2342 Actually, Julia, if you care to read your package inserts from your vaccines, you will see the ingredients likely contain mercury or aluminum (known neurotoxins), formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) and DNA from other species of animals and some contain aborted fetal tissue--not to mention potential contaminants (consider the SV 40 virus). They are not tested in conjunction with other medications nor are the tested over the long term. Studies have shown that if you got seasonal flu shot, you were more likely to get swine flu (look it up). So if down the road, you contract cancer or alztimer's or narcolepsy, etc, no need to ask "why?". But they sure are profitable!  So yeah, good luck with that. I'll stick to keeping myself healthy. No shot for years& no flu for years (true influenza is actually an extremely rare disease in otherwise healthy adults).Â
 @Claire2342 you can still get the flu even if you have the shot.. it's only for certain strains.. doesn't stop you from getting all of them... AND... when you get a flu shot it takes 2 weeks before it's effective, so some people could already have the flu and not know it and the shot won't help.
My employer pays for my flu shot every year so I get it and I cannot even remember the last time I had the flu other than a little nausea for a day or two.
 @firetrail The nausea for a day or two is most likely a different virus. Influenza is usually fever, aches, sore throat, sometimes a cough. But then there's the million other viruses that cause cold like symptoms and stomach symptoms ... I am around little kids so I seem to catch all of those every year. But I haven't had influenza for years since I've been getting the flu shot and that's nice. There is a nasty virus going around this year that has flu-like symptoms but is not actually influenza (a blood test will tell the difference). I wonder if all the reported cases of the flu had blood tests or if they're just assuming other nasty viruses are influenza and that's why it's "epidemic proportions"?
What I find so interesting is that on a talk radio show last week the CDC was saying that the reason the flu is so widespread this year is that this years flu shot does not contain the components for the strain of flu everyone has this year.....so people are running to get a shot that doesn't even contain this years flu strain....but then, I have never had a flu shot and have never had the flu. My husband had to have the flu shot every year when he was in the Navy...every year he got the flu. Since retiring two years ago, he has not had the flu shot and guess what? No flu!
 @k_did The problem with your logic or lack there of is that you have little understanding of virology. First, in any given year there is multiple strains of the flu circulating any a given community. By getting a flu shot you are protecting yourself and others from being susceptible to the majority of circulating flu strains. Secondly, to tell if someone actually has the flu and doesn't just have a cold requires a specific diagnostic test. So saying that your husband got the flu every year he got the shot is supported by little factual evidence. He most likely just got a cold and called it the flu by ignorance. Spreading misinformation like your ramblings is actually harmful to public health, I suggest you refrain from making any further comments.Â
@GOCOUGS @k_did These people have their personal preferences and are willing to take responsibility for their choices/consequences so I don't think it's really necessary to throw the ignorant word around. What they choose to do is their own business.
Every year panic. Â The stats on the 6 that died need to be considered to know the true reality of how bad it is. Â No one wants anyone to die of the flu but it is important to realize there could have been contributing factors other than just the flu. Â
I will leave my immune system alone and let it do what it has done naturally for centuries. Â I would rather not have my immune system dependent on a chemistry lab and require shooting up every year to prevent me from getting sick. Â No thanks. Â The body is built to deal with these kinds of things on its own. Eat health exercise and get your proper vitamin intake and you will be find. Â This "flu epidemic" is just another scam as far as I am concerned.Â
 @The206 Taking vitamins is another scam.
 @Tacobender50  @The206 What the heck? How is taking vitamins a scam? Some people fail to get the daily intake of certain vitamins because of dietary restrictions.  Vegetarians, for example, constantly need iron supplement.  And if you give some idiotic answer of "vegetarians are stupid," I can tell you that some people are allergic to meat and seafood.  It's rare.  But it happens. How are these individuals going to live a (close to) normal life? Vitamins.Â
 @Hikingwithdogs   Yeah.. next time you copy something, you might put "quotation" marks around it~~
 @Hikingwithdogs  @sabbametta Also, you are pretty disrespectful stating that I should "do some research and don't talk about  things [I] am not informed about."  Why? Because you just copied and pasted word-for-word from a random website. You really think you are THAT informed about vegetarian diets just copying and pasting from a website? It's shameful trying to pass information as if you are an expert. Let me throw the question back at you then: Do you honestly think you yourself get all the necessary nutrients in one day? If you think you do, let me see your degree in dietitian. Wait, it must be from the University of Phoenix, plagiarizer!!!Â
 @Tacobender50  @The206 healthy life. Where everyday isn't a constant battle to feel non-fatigue from malnutrition. Â
 @Hikingwithdogs  @sabbametta Oh, anyone interested...copy and paste the posting into google.  This person copied "word for word" from a website. The website that pops out isn't even a credible resource.
 @Hikingwithdogs  @sabbametta Maybe you should learn not to plagiarize websites.  I, too, know how to google.  In terms of vegetarians, I was talking about female vegetarians.  Not every single woman is going to sit down and eat dried beans and dark green leafy vegetables during their periods. Want to know how much blood is lost? Maybe you should become a female and find out...
@sabbametta Dried beans and dark green leafy vegetables are especially good sources of iron, even better on a per calorie basis than meat. Iron absorption is increased markedly by eating foods containing vitamin C along with foods containing iron. Vegetarians do not have a higher incidence of iron deficiency than do meat eaters. Maybe you should learn about nutrition before you start writing. It's like saying vegans don't get enough protein in their diet. Do some research or don't talk about things you are not informed about.
 @sabbametta  @The206 Whats a normal life?
 @The206 goodluck with that
seriously. if people in seattle had some decency by covering their mouths when coughing, limit talking when sick (or feeling like crap) or wearing surgical masks in public when exhibiting coughing symptoms, there wouldn't be all this panic to get the flu shot in our city.  literally, some person just today started coughing like crazy without covering their mouth standing two feet away from me.  it seems that either people are just extremely selfish (and mean) in this city or ignorant of the fact that viruses/bacteria can travel airborne over 100 feet in all directions after the ill person coughs.Â
 @sabbametta you said it... "selfish, ignorant"  Yesterday I was at a grocery store and in one isle, 3 people were coughing all over everything.. not covering up their mouths.. I held my breath and got the hell out of that isle. Meanhwile... in that same store, there is section where they make sushi, and the cook was standing over it constantly hacking/coughing at it~~ I have now one person in my family with an immune compromised system, so I can't afford to get sick!!  People just don't care.
 @Aras  @sabbametta One of the reasons they don't care is because of vaccines.  People get the vaccine and don't practice proper sanitation because they then think they and their kids are immune. Â
Isn't this the way Obama started his first term with a flu epidemic.
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Just saying!Â
 @Tacobender50 your sombrero is too tight my friend
 @TruthinAdverts Mi sombrero no señor.
Mi pantaloons see.
Flu schmooo ... if you eat healthy and have a healthy immune system, Â there is no need for flu shot. Â That's 1 out of 100 though. Â Haven't had one in 20 years. Â Â
The first two places I went to get a shot today were out of the vaccine- so if you choose to get one you may want to call first and check...
 As well as an annual flu shot, it's a good idea to keep Pneumovax up to date as well and pertussis too. Â
Just wondering why this epidemic is so bad if more people than ever are getting the flu shot? (and I'm not against getting vaccinated, just thinking out loud)..
 @tallgirl It's a marketing campaign. Just like the swine flu was. (propaganda to make certain people a lot of money).  "News" is not really news anymore.
 @tallgirl It's because people don't stay home when they're sick. The flu shot does not prevent you from spreading illness if you're sick. Nor does the flu shot guarantee that you won't get sick if you are exposed to someone who is sick.
 @domino  @tallgirl I got sick and I did stay home for the concern and well being of others.
 @tallgirl Because this flu season hit early, and most people hadn't gotten their shot. That's why.
 @DT  @tallgirl No.  flu season hit early because Americans are becoming more selfish.  Have you been on Seattle Metro buses?  A lot of passengers just cough without covering their mouths.  If they do cover their mouths, it's with their hands. What happens?  They use the infected hands touching places like rail handles.  That increases the risks of a healthy person getting the "flu."Â
I thought I just read yesterday that the flu wasn't as bad as previously thought in Washington and was on the wane. Not sure what to believe at this point. It does seem like there's some media manipulation going on.
Seems the media is over-hyping the flu this year. You are just as likely to get the flu with a shot as you are without. It has also been documented that in some cases the flu shot can trigger the flu in some individuals. The only statistics that "prove" flu shots are beneficial are those funded by the same people who make the shots. These pharmaceutical companies are making a killing off all of the fear. I've never had a flu shot and the last time I had the flu was probably about 20 years ago.
 @Jason7784 Ummm okay. Another paranoid heard from.  The flu shots work. Period. Ask a real doctor who treats elderly patients how many of their patients have died from the flu after receiving a shot, and how many haven't.  Sadly, the internet allows some really stupid information to be passed along to gullible people. Â
 @DT The CDC stated that the shot is only 60% effective and not always for Seniors. Sadly, you are misinformed.
 @DT I stand corrected by another poster that's 1.5% out of 100, doesn't add up to 60%.
 @DT  @Jason7784 At a 63% effective I'll pass. Just because you get vaccinated doesn't mean you won't get the flu, so you can't say the "flu shot works" when 37% of the people vaccinated still "get the flu". Those Stats are  from the  CDC and not "just my opinon".
 @Jason7784 On a related topic, look up the Tuskegee Experiments and the syphallis experiments in Guatemala, which ultimately the CDC/US admitted to and apologized for. Look up the WHO sterilization tactics in Mexico City & Manila via a tetanus vaccine campaign. What else are they doing that hasn't come out yet. "Sheeple"....sadly true.
 @Jason7784 that is flu not flue ;D
 @Jason7784 I agree. I haven't had a flue shot since 1988 because my family all had the flu and had their shots while I did not get sick and did not get the shot. It might be prudent for people to research on boosting their immune system and taking care of themselves after becoming ill instead of being afraid of their own shadows.
 @NWNative Â
The "60% effectiveness" claim is a total lieÂ
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The "control group" of adults consisted of 13,095 non-vaccinated adults who were monitored to see if they caught influenza. Over 97% of them did not. Only 357 of them caught influenza, which means only 2.7% of these adults caught the flu in the first place.
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The "treatment group" consisted of adults who were vaccinated with a trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine. Out of this group, according to the study, only 1.2% did not catch the flu.
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The difference between these two groups is 1.5 people out of 100.
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So even if you believe this study, and even if you believe all the pro-vaccine hype behind it, the truly "scientific" conclusion from this is rather astonishing:Flu vaccines only prevent the flu in 1.5 out of every 100 adults injected with the vaccine!
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Learn more:Â http://www.naturalnews.com/033998_influenza_vaccines_effectiveness.html#ixzz2HqGOHrzM
 @NWNative  @Seahawker lol.  62 percent. How many people were in that report? 100?
Considering that the CDC receives funding from a number of pharmaceutical companies one has to question the accuracy or even the legitimacy of those numbers. DT, I formed my beliefs and opinions on the documented information available, not from some tin-foiled hat looney. Just because someone believes something different than you does not make them paranoid.
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Maybe, instead of assuming everything the government tells you is true like most sheeple, you should do a little research. Look up the Gulf of Tonkin incident. While it may be unrelated it shows just what kind of lies the government is willing to tell to get what they want.
 @Seahawker 62%.  IMO those are good odds. Â
 @DT  @Jason7784 Excuse me.................. "62% effective".