A government plot? Really, these people need to be educated, not spending their life watch junk television or listening to to fools on the internet.
They get sick, and my insurance will pay their bills, because they're to stupid to take care of themselves.
28
Oh for heaven's sake! Seriously? She thinks flu or the flu vaccine's a 'govmint' plot for population control? This is the world's most technically advanced country in the 21st century, right? I am in despair about the general level of scientific knowledge in this nation. Well, all I can say is that if it IS a 'govmint' plot, it's not working very well, because there'a a lot of seriously deluded people out there still.
36
It is important to know the symptoms of the flu as opposed to a cold.
The flu:
1. has a fast onset
2. gives you fever
3. gives you the chills
4. makes you feel very weak
When you first have these symptoms go to your doctor, a walk in clinic or the emergency room. Make sure you are given Tamiful as soon as possible. Then stay home in bed, stay warm and drink plenty for fluids. Adults should take aspirin with a full glass of water and children should take Tylenol.
In addition, ALL children should be required to get the flul shot every year. Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children are committing child abuse!
18
I am dismayed at the 'blame the victim' attitude of many of these responses. My husband, who had his flu shot, has been sick for a week. Remember, 70% (at LEAST) of the people who got the shot will still be vulnerable to getting the flu. This article misses the point. We need more and better research to make a more effective vaccine and we need more public health messages that tell people to stay at home when they are sick. And we need to support workers who stay at home and not punish them for not being at work--whether they make 9 bucks an hour or if they are in high paid jobs. Flu doesn't discriminate and when the big one comes, we will see how unprepared we really are.
23
The US is the most borked healthcare system in the western world. The "richest" nation (actually the poorest if you look at debt ...) can't provide frontline medical prevention.
The system doesn't want prevention. The system wants sick people. Or healthy people with insurance.
Hospitals over charge for everything. Prices are higher than they need be and many "items" in a patients "stay" invoice are not even provided. Or worse, never needed in the first place.
Then the insurance companies bilk everyone both ways (over charge for premiums while doing their best to duck payments).
Finally, there are the pharmaceutical companies. The arch bilkers in the US system. (Valeant anyone?).
So, low wage labourers are afraid to lose hours and end up spreading disease even more. Pathetic.
As to flu vaccine, the myths about it are astounding. But then in a culture that dismisses science and embraced conspiracies, what should we expect.
(Full disclosure: I don't get the annual vaccine - but when I hit 60 I'll get in line for it even though they seem to target the wrong strains more and more ... or is that just an impression?).
10
I think people would be less suspicious of vaccines if our health care industry was not profit driven. It's hard to trust people who profit when we get sick. If we're serious about increasing trust, we should take vaccine development out of big pharma's hands and fund their development publicly. The opioid epidemic is proof that Big Pharma is willing to hurt the populace for profit. Why are we surprised that people don't trust vaccines?
20
I have a good friend who steadfastly refuses to get flu shots....I mention it every year and every year I get the same answer; nope. He never gives a particularly good reason other than he’s very smugly stubborn. I get a shot every year plus have an advantage, to a point, that I’m retired and live alone in the woods with a cat....and I avoid human contact as much as possible during the flu season. I just stay in my house, write bad poetry, and go out for the occasional drive and that’s it....I can go a week and not see a soul. That would bother some, I actually like the solitude. Between the shot and solitude I’ve been fortunate...and flu free so far.
17
instead of inflating the voracious military budget, let's spend much more money of finding a universal flu vaccine. we need a Dr. Salk!
13
This is just the start of worse flu seasons to come. We have passed the point of where we can quickly create a flu shot based on an accurate or even estimated prediction of which strains will arrive. Rapid mutations are epidemic due to increased world travel, cutting down of rain forests, and yes, even Climate change whereby icy tundra revived by receding glaciers releases more organisms that have not seen the light of day in centuries.
15
Flu vaccine seems very effective in preventing for most years/strains and I follow medical advice and CDC recommendations. I wholeheartedly support these efforts to protect public health.
I also can't help but wonder: Due to the nature of the influenza virus, is it outsmarting/mutating faster because of our efforts? Looking at increased severity of outbreaks these past few years and assuming vaccination rates have gone up significantly the past ten years.
4
Dr. Google, as we in the health profession like to say, has caused a lot of problems. Misinformation being at the top of the list. But, since looking up your symptoms on the Internet is free, and visiting your primary care physician is not, you can do the math. Another reason we need universal healthcare.
69
With regard to your reference to "Dr Google," I have to say I for years believed the person to ask was the health care professional. But feeling increasingly frustrated by lack of time and answers I was getting from health care professionals, I finally, reluctantly, started looking things up on the internet (not regarding the flu, but on other medical issues and on issues like whether it was time to switch doctors, physical therapists, whatever.)
I'll never forget the night 10-12 years ago when I was in an ER with my late mother. This was the ER of the hospital that likes to remind us it is "#1 in New York, #6 in the Nation." The resident who was seeing her made a reference to something I didn't understand and when I looked puzzled he snorted "don't you ever watch TV?" He was referring to something from some prime time medical drama I'd never heard of, much less seen. So I guess you could say it works both ways.
10
I spoke with a very educated friend who does not believe in the flu shot. Does not believe what CBS or NBC tells us. “It’s all hype,” she tells me. No one is really dying she told me she looked it up and that the media is hyping it so then more people go to the emergency room. I asked Did she get the flu shot? They don’t believe in it. She has never had he flu before. She does not understand that this is serious and can be often prevented. And people die from it. She thinks rest and drinking enough fluids will stop you from getting the flu and dying. I did not try to explain facts about biology. People don’t listen anymore to facts and reason. I feel bad for doctors having to deal with this all the time. Her child goes to private school. I wonder if he has been vaccinated at all. I did not ask.
52
To the author, this sentence is problematic: "Experts say the vaccine, which contains killed virus or just viral particles, cannot cause flu."
Sometimes facts are just facts, and need to be stated as such without equivocation. The implication here supports the insanity of these interviewed patients.
Insurance companies should deny coverage for flu-related care if you didn't get (the free!) vaccination without medical exemption.
15
People get the flu because of ignorant people like Ms. Rogers who believes the garbage on social media. like flu is a government plot. How many of their co-workers and passers-by did they infect?
55
In addition to flu shot, people need to stay home when feeling sick, and get in the habit of washing their hands often and thoroughly. Wetting your hands under water and wiping it dry isn't going to do it. Use lots of soap and hot water and vigorously rub the front and back of your hands and rinse well. When your sick and stay home from work, also stay away from other public places, mainly grocery stores and restaurants. We all must do our part and not pass our germs to one another.
14
I find it really hard to feel sympathy for people who refused the flu shot without a valid medical reason.
36
Put the ones who didn't get a flu shot in separate tent out in the cold. There is no way anyone "forgot" to get a flu shot. We need a better system of flu prevention than leaving it up to the smarter more responsible and letting other nincompoops make others sick and killing some including children.
13
There are loads of people I know who have had the flu this year, and every single one of them had a flu shot. Which tent do they go in?
12
This is about the expected and well known in advance, annual winter flu season.
Imagine if it were truly a severe, unexpected contagion?
Our hospitals and medical clinics would never be able to handle it.
15
This article misses so much. More than encouraging people to get their flu shots, what is needed is the overall infrastructure to allow people to maintain health - especially healthcare available to all and decent sick leave policies. The deficiencies of the US 'system' only greatly worsen the chance for a bad virus to wreck havoc among the populace.
16
Why so much fear mongering about the flu shot? If it’s only 10% affective this year it’s likely there is a slew of people who did receive the flu shot but still got sick. It seems a selective group of people were interviewed just to make a point that the flu shot is “a must” ... the NYT has really been pushing this fact all winter. Give it a rest! How about an article on how the flu works so people understand to stay home when they’re sick and take some accountability to stop spreading it.
12
It amazes me that anyone finds an excuse to not get a flu shot but I know quite a few people who have done exactly that, so shame on them. People who do not get a flu shot endanger not only themselves but everyone around them-it is a selfish act. If you read John Barry's "The Great Influenza", or Laura Spinney's "Pale Rider" you will become a true believer in flu shots and you will understand how easily a pandemic could, and very likely will, happen again.
17
Let's not understate the role of greed in spreading the flu, shall we? A few years ago I was in a Starbucks and the poor barista waiting on me was coughing violently. I was concerned not only for her, but frankly because she was coughing all over my order! I said, why don't you stay home? You get sick days, right? She laughed and said, Are you kidding? I was appalled that Starbucks, one of the biggest and most profitable corporations in the world, didn't pay their workers when they got sick. Simply outrageous.
34
Very few employers offer sick days at all. Starbucks pays around $9/hour in my state. Any shop you go to is more than likely to pay their employees bare minimum or just over. Retail/food service is an awful industry.
4
Everyone gets vacation time whether that's unpaid or paid it must be taken. Nobody wants to spend their vacation time sick. I know places with 4 weeks paid Y time and everyone goes to work sick. Time off is for fun. Even if businesses have sick days people won't "waste" them when they're actually sick. The greed is everywhere.
1
On the other hand, starbucks does provide healthcare for workers, the part time ones. By the way, what happened to ivanka’s great plan to improve benefits for working mothers and women? Went the way of melanis’s bullying campaign?
10
Highest ever recorded? Seems like the Spanish Flu of 1918 hospitalized a few more folks than this year’s.
7
A friend in Maryland was sent to the hospital by her physician for urgent cardiac symptoms. Because the hospital was overrun with flu patients she spent literally all day in the ER--without being offered a mask or other protection--waiting for a bed. Then she really got sick.
11
Here is a non-expert's simplistic understanding-- ready to be corrected-- vaccines are designed precisely to cause the immune to react-- to wake up, essentially, and send a call to arms, so that the body recognizes the viruses next time, and is ready with an army to combat the virus infection. The "call to arms" for the entire body can cause a mild local response at the injection site, and an occasional couple of mild aches and pains for a few days, but those just indicate that the body has mounted an immune response to the vaccine-- ready to do future battle if actually needed against a live virus.
14
I have had both the responses you describe -- usually a sore lump at injection site and in one case, several years ago, mild aches and pains for a couple of days (which is why I now try to get my annual injection when I know I have a couple of quiet days ahead with few plans).
6
Great plan for trump to decrease CDC epidemic funding by 80%. That'll help fight the flu. Let alone Ebola or another SARS or MERS outbreak.
26
With the Trump administration slashing the CDC budget by 80%, I doubt we will have any program whatsoever to develop a universal flu vaccine. So much for MAGA.
34
Indeed, and I'm not surprised we (at least I) haven't hearding anything from the CDC regarding the current flu outbreak. I have heard plenty from local officials, but nothing from federal officials.
4
80% of the children who have died from the flu this season did NOT get vaccinated. Perhaps the worst of all fake news is fake medical news, particularly reports that downplay the upside of the flu shot. Yes, the shot is not perfect, but it is totally safe and if can either block the flu or minimize the symptoms. Plus, fewer people overall would get the flu if everyone got vaccinated. The anti science bias permeating the country about vaccines and climate change will be the death of us.
34
I got the flu shot this year and I still got the flu. I'm on day 4 of fighting this beast and slowly starting to regain energy. Stay healthy everyone.
5
“Financial need, medical experts say, plays a big role in spreading flu: many Americans go to work sick because they cannot afford to miss days. Mr. Moyer had been ill for two weeks.”
The US might be the wealthiest country on Earth, by this is just another example of why it is not the “Greatest country on earth”.
A country ought to be judged on how well it looks after it’s most vulnerable, not how well the wealthiest do.
47
Great comment. Sadly , you are correct .
3
My Curry Protection System still seems to be working. The flu has been trying trying trying to catch me. Today I woke up with a sore throat and fatigue. Had my Emergency Green Curry and feel like I have outrun it again.
1
I wonder if the feelings of fear and anxiety over the GOP released memo on the Russian investigation were as strongly felt over this year's influenza outbreak, would more people become alarmed and get the flu shot?
The average American can do very little to combat or ease the first scary scenario, but every American can do something to ease and lessen the second - please get a flu shot now and every year. Thank you.
4
Ok, there needs to be a full scale public health information campaign about the flu shot. No, it doesn't cause flu. It's given at a time of year when people pick up colds and laryngitis. When you get the flu, you'll realize that what you thought was "the flu" before ain't the flu, son.
It doesn't cause Alzheimer's, it doesn't cause autism. In years when the shot isn't very effective it can still prevent you from dying from the flu.
I had Hong Kong flu in 1968. I've never forgotten how sick I was. Starting in the 1980s I worked in hospitals and we were required to get the flu shot. It was free, so I got it every year. I still get colds, sinusitis, a nagging cough in winter. But I've never gotten the flu.
People, make it easy on yourselves. If you can get a flu shot for free, take it. All of my friends in health care have been getting the flu shot for 30 years and we are not drooling, forgetful invalids. The flu shot hasn't rendered us brain damaged or given us multiple sclerosis or whatever disease the internet claims is being spread by the flu shot. Just get it and make your life a little bit easier. Most people who are very ill with the flu didn't get a flu shot. More and more people are declining flu shots and more and more people are becoming very ill when their illness could have been less severe.
And the lack of paid sick days in the US is disgraceful for a so-called first world country. Shame on our so-called leaders who have so little regard for our citizens.
43
Most ever hospitalizations and this has only been tracked for 12 previous seasons? That doesn’t make sense given that flu scares are relatively common, at least in my 50 years. It’s a bit sensationalistic when all the stats mean is that this is the worst flu season in a little more that a decade. Why hasn’t this been tracked for longer.
1
How sad that the young woman profiled is more willing to believe baseless social media spew than information from the doctor from whom she seeks help. It's as if she doesn't understand what the doctor did to become a doctor. Why not just go to Facebook for treatment.
47
I have a dear friend, younger than I but considerably less healthy, with severe COPD. Her physicians have informed her that this year’s influenza could kill her. She’s retired, so she doesn’t have to go to work. She got a flu shot thereby snagging some limited immunity for herself and contributing to herd immunity. She doesn’t go out much, except to church and the supermarket. She carries hand sanitizer, and makes a point to stay clear of anyone who seems ill. However, influenza victims are contagious for at least 24 hours BEFORE the show any symptoms, and for a minimum of 5-7 days once they become symptomatic.
She lives in a working class community where employers generally not only do not provide health insurance, and do not provide “sick leave” but who make a practice of firing workers who don’t show up.
Do the math on how many of these minimum wage, on-call, no-benefits employees are going to stay home voluntarily; they’’ appear at their jobs as long as they are on their feet. They don’t have any choice.
What are the odds she’s going to escape unscathed?
12
The Trump administration cut funding for flu and other diseases like Ebola since they don't believe in science. I hope Ebola won't be the next thing to hit the US.
12
Thanks, NYT, for another article portraying us here in PA as a bunch of ignorant rubes. When articles like this, while seemingly about "the flu," contain not-so-subtle jabs at the populace, it's no wonder we have such a divided political environment.
2
Ummmm. No . You’re over personalizing this.
It could be any state.
Hey, they can come to Ohio where I live for that matter.
Getting the word out here is essential, that’s the point.
6
Conspiracy theories have real consequences. In this case it's public health consequences, but they are not benign on other topics either--food, voting, and government.
We have to get a grip on harmful nonsense. Ironically, "inoculation" theory in science communication might help.
9
It just astounds me that there is so much misconception about the flu shot. The anti-vaccine people have really spread so much untrue information that some people don't know what to believe. Most of the people that are mentioned in this article wouldn't have seen the inside of an ER if they had received the vaccine.
24
We are sold a largely ineffective flu vaccine and then sold medical services when it doesn't work. There is a lot of money being made off of this flu epidemic.
9
Actually productivity at work is diminished across the workforce during an epidemic, therefore businesses may be losing money, in addition to everyone being scared and not going out to shop. Not to mention the people (the LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE myself included) who just don’t go or can’t afford to see a doctor over the flu, that also aren’t contributing any money to the “lots of money being made”. Finally, lives being lost costs a 911/EMT bill that no one can pay, in addition to a county burial or cremation so, no. You’re completely wrong. Next un-thought-out, anti-establishment, anti-science comment?
3
I am just getting over this nasty infection. I took as many precautions as I could including the vaccine, but since I am amongst people all day as I knew it was just a matter of time. I am most concerned about the elderly and the very young. Goof luck to everyone.
16
If flu shots are only 10% (Australia) to 50% effective (best rate) people will always be getting the flu because it mutates constantly and not always in predictable ways. What about the studies that show that people who get annual flu shots become MORE susceptible to the flu in following years if, for example, they miss or forget that year's shot. That's because a person never develops any kind of natural immunity with vaccines and is virtually defenceless against the following years' strains. And how can medical staff recommend getting a vaccine this year when it is clearly a failure as a match and too late in the season. Where is the sense in that? If someone offered you a bet with only a 10% chance of winning, would you take it? Especially if it increases your chance of losing the next year.
3
Vaccines work PRECISELY BECAUSE they turn on the body's natural immune system and encourage it to build up an immunity to diseases to which it has not yet been exposed in the surrounding environment. The vaccine contains a dead or attenuated version of the disease, which will not make you sick, but does prompt the immune system into action. So your statement is completely wrong. I sure hope you have been vaccinated against polio, rubella, diptheria, measles, mumps, and other potentially fatal or physically devastating diseases, because you certainly don't want to build up your "natural" immunity to polio by being exposed to it through the environment and suffering the life-long consequences.
7
Hogwash . You’re reading online too much .
Even if it doesn’t prevent the flu it lessens symptoms .
Leave science to the scientists or take a class in immunology
13
The influenza vaccine will never be perfect but if we all got them, there would be very little flu. I tell my patients that the vaccine is like a speed bump, not a wall. The flu will not hit as hard, and if every street had a speed bump, there would be much less damage from speeding cars.
85
The "speed bump" theory only works if the strain of flu you caught was in the vaccine you received, and you developed some level of immunity to it. If the strain you caught was not in the vaccine, or if you developed no immunity to it, there is no speed bump. With all the complaints about "misinformation", it's worth noting that the medical community is guilty of some misinformation of its own.
2
This article reveals one major way our government and business leaders are failing to support its citizens, despite the best efforts from medical professionals. While we can’t change the way patients think, we can remove the financial burden that prevents low income workers from staying home when sick. Why aren’t our leaders stepping up during a public health crisis?
71
Also, I live in the Lehigh Valley. Bethlehem, PA borders Allentown. While Ms. Rogers’s attitude seems extreme, it’s not entirely surprising given the anti-establishment streak in the culture.
Also, our school district made it slightly more challenging for students to get the flu shot. Rather than offering it during school hours at the schools, it was offered only on a Saturday at one of the high schools. So, kids whose parents were unable to drive their children to get a shot on that day may have been inconvenienced enough that they didn’t get one at all. Add this to the spray not being offered this year anywhere, general suspicion towards the medical (or any) establishment, and you have fewer kids being vaccinated. Our state also allows religious/philosophical exemptions from vaccines in general for school children.
As for our family, we are fortunate to have means enough to stay home if necessary, and at least 2 of our major health networks have virtual options to contact PCPs. The other major network here, St. Luke’s, offers a way to video conference with a doctor, which hopefully saves patients from infecting others while getting a prescription for Tamiflu.
19
If they refuse to have their children inoculated, they are placing the children of other parents at risk of infection, and should be barred from attending classes until inoculated and given a clean bill of health.
7
Understand your stance and on it's face seems more than reasonable - people that need to stay home with the flu need assistance if work doesn't cover leave. But, in practice, millions would stay out with the flu for the pay and fun. I know you don't believe me as you assume no one takes advantage except evil rich people, but that is a falsehood. Just ask anyone in HR about fraud and abuse. BTW, the flu has been around for centuries, it will be around until humans are long gone. It is a fools game to think one can control or counter nature. Get the flu shot (it's free across the country) and implement basic sanitary actions, like washing hands and cleaning surfaces.
1
The CDC is failing America by relying solely on the flu shot and not on other wise practices. I had a flu shot, like every year. But I still was careful, staying home for weeks on end. Because I thought I was protected by a flu shot (in the fall), I went to an RV show in early January. It was the only time I'd been outside my home in weeks.. and I caught the flu. I've been sick ever since. If the CDC had widely publicized that the flu shot is only about 10% effective this year, I would have avoided the RV show (which was the only time I was out of the house so the place where I caught the flu). The CDC should tell people.. get a flu shot. But in years like this when it's only 10-20% effective, don't assume it will work. Avoid crowds if you can. Wash your hands. Wear a face mask if you have health problems. Avoid being around other people as much as possible. The flu shot is important but the CDC is over-selling it. In years like this when it's iffy, the CDC should be pushing other measures. Crowded events (like an RV show) should be full of hand disinfection stations and with posted warnings. Some schools should be closed. People should be given ALL relevant information. Most of all, what this year shows me is that the US is totally NOT ready for a pandemic. Yes, get flu shots. But if they aren't working, the CDC should be proactive about telling people to take other measures. Flu shots are part of the story but the CDC needs to be much more forthcoming.
43
Moral: RV shows are attended by anti-vaxers and should be avoided - for many reasons.
4
Your immune system gets built up by exposure. If you live as a shut-in you are going to have a weaker immune system so when you venture out the likelihood of you getting sick from others germs will increase. You did not mention whether or not you have an underlying health condition that keeps you indoors but if not, I don’t know why you have imprisoned yourself in your home.
2
So you don't go to the bank or go grocery shopping or anything like that? You literally stay in your house 24 hours a day except to go to an RV show? In my experience, banks and supermarkets are prime places for viruses. Think of all those people pushing all those buttons on the ATMs. And if your supermarket is anything like mine, you have likely seen checkout clerks wiping their runny noses with their hands before giving me my change with the same hands.
5
It deeply saddens me that there are so many misconceptions about the flu and the flu shot. My 6 year old son and I get it every year. We get the shot to protect ourselves, and to contribute to heard immunity--that is, to protect others in our community who are more vulnerable than us. It is such a simple thing to do that makes the world a better place.
171
I concur Natalie. I just wonder if the individuals, especially the children, who have died from influenza this year had the flu shot or not. My physician always said the flu shot would not necessary prevent someone from getting the flu, but the symptoms could be greatly reduced.
Something so simple like a flu shot, which costs nothing in many areas, could help this illness from becoming an epidemic. This isn't rocket science - just preventative measures for one another throughout the country.
Sincere condolences to those who have perished and good luck to those who have come down with the flu.
58
According to a report I saw on TV today, 80% of the children who have died of the flu did not have a flu shot.
10
What amazes me more than anything else is the total ignorance surrounding the flu and the flu vaccine. It's as if some people were raised in a vacuum never hearing how deadly this disease is. I and my immediate family members got the vaccine in early October. I am a senior with some chronic illnesses so I take extra precautions such as more frequent hand washings, drinking plenty of water and staying away from crowds. Hopefully I will come out of this epidemic unscathed.
9
Influenza strains can change after vaccine selection, around Valentine's Day for Northern Hemisphere. A universal vaccine is a noble goal, but a more immediate one may be changing the way the vaccine is produced for a faster more efficient vaccine production and distribution. Both could be worked on in parallel, but requires funding.
88
I go to a Gold's Gym in South Carolina and I wear gloves and wash my hands before and after because students who use the gym do not wipe down the equipment and I have never seen the gym personnel sterilize the equipment. Further, gyms in SC are not required by law to have automatic external defibrillators and Gold's Gyms do not to the best of my knowledge.
23
It's the same in New York City. It always amazes me to watch people get off equipment and either not wipe it down, or wipe the seat off! How about wiping the parts of the equipment where you had your hands, or that you sneezed on? I once challenged a guy at my gym who I saw just wiping off the seat (as if we all rode our bikes in the nude) and asked why he didn't wipe down the handlebars and other parts where he had put his hands (the same hands he likely didn't wash after going to the bathroom) and he said "but I didn't sweat!" As if that had anything to do with it. Then he added something to the effect that the subways are much dirtier than the gym!
I think we desperately need classes in basic hygiene.
I wipe down my equipment before and after I use it with those wipes they have at the gym.
1
Another thing I try to do as I make my way around town is carry a pack of "nice n clean" antibacterial hand wipes with me. I find they are good for both wiping off my own hands and face and for wiping down surfaces I encounter (like tables at Starbucks, the library, and other places).
An Open and Honest Plea to my Fellow Americans:
Please DO NOT use social media as a source for news. That is precisely what led to the disaster last November.
Tamiflu DOES NOT cause hallucinations. The flu shot DOES NOT give you the flu. Nor does it cause Alzheimer's, though Ms Rogers may well wish to visit an internist considering she may be show early indications of the insidious affliction.
The flu shot is NOT a government plot for population control. But, if anyone has any other other ideas concerning that particular issue, please --- LET'S HEAR IT!
I am 61 years old and I contracted the flu a few days before Christmas. I had to see my primary care physician for another reason a week or so later, and she assured me, as I thought, that my condition was viral and thus needed to take its course. My health has improved, but I am still not 100%.
DO NOT GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM for the flu unless you are elderly (over 70), a child or immune-suppressed. Let's leave the ER for those with actual emergencies. (Though I suppose one could argue our entire health care system is on life support.)
As long as insurance premiums rival mortgage payments as the largest monthly expense Americans have to face, folks will continue to use the emergency room for non-emergencies.
I didn't expect Trump would fix the Affordable Care Act. But I also did not expect he would do everything in his power to make it LESS AFFORDABLE. Gee thanks.
229
I am 70 and had a flu shot, finally, in mid-December after someone I know (a health care professional) came down with verified flu after getting a flu shot earlier in the season. I wanted to do everything I could to minimize my risk.
Almost two weeks ago, on a day that had started fine, I came home, took a nap and woke up to chills and fever. Have only had flu twice in my life but both of those times it came on very suddenly, like this time, with fever. I started taking lots of fluids, soup, ibuprofen, etc. and thought I'd give it a day or two before I went to the doctor. On day 2 I had mild diarrhea, but by the night of day 2 I felt a lot better. On day 3 I felt so much better I went ahead with plans for that night. Then a couple days later I was achy and feverish again, then not, then on again. But by now whatever it was is pretty much over. Had no sore throat, sneezing or any of the things I have gotten with strep throats or colds, so wonder if this was one of those milder cases of flu they say you may be lucky to get if you've gotten the shot. If so, I'm glad, as I have the feeing what I got wasn't, at least so far, nearly as bad as it could have been.
30
"Tamiflu DOES NOT cause hallucinations."
From the official prescribing data
(first three items listed):
"Adverse Reactions:
- delirium
- behavioral disturbance
- self-injury, incl. fatal..."
So, the FDA appears to disagree with you.
As a doctor, I've never seen these reactions, but they apparently occur often enough to have achieved prominent billing in the list of side effects.
I agree with all of your other points, though, and would distill them to two points:
1. Get your flu shot
2. If you get the flu, stay home and rest, unless you become severely ill, in which case see a doctor right away. DO NOT go to any public place, including a doctor's office or hospital, where you will inevitably spread the flu to others.
Can't wait to get up bright and early tomorrow morning and see a few dozen people with the flu who should have stayed home...
4
I had the flu and had to go to urgent care and then ER because I was severely hydrated due to uncontrollable vomiting. So you can’t make a blanket request for us not to go to ER.
1
In California, the flu season has not peaked. What really burdens hospitals is that too many parents still use the ER in lieu of a pediatrician. They don't want to have to make an appointment, so in they take their kids for colds, knowing they will be seen first in most ERS. Then they get angry when the doctors recommend over the counter cold medications for their cold. In the mean time, flu patients sit in lobbies,or corridors, or worst of all give up and go home,risking their lives. I had both influenza A & B, and it took me 2 days to see any medical professional. But I was lucky and finally saw a doctor;my coworker went home and now is in the hospital,having developed pneumonia while waiting to be seen.
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How about an “urgent care” clinic? I’ve been to one several times when I couldn’t get in to my regular GP...a “boxer’s fracture” from a slip on the ice; a respiratory illness which wouldn’t go away, and caused a new fever at the 3 week point (it had become a horrible sinus infection); pink eye; and once, a dog bite (from our own dog) that suddenly looked really red and swollen. All things that needed attention sooner than my GP could give it, but none requiring a real
ER.
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If you can't afford the insurance to see a physician, you don't see physicians. I was that way for almost my entire career as a cook and later chef because back in the 80s and 90s many restaurants didn't provide workers much of anything, certainly not insurance. I'd wager it is still much that way today.
So, when you get really sick and finally have to go see someone, guess where you go? The ER.
So don't blame the sick people.
Blame Republicans, Trump, and a lot of Democrats too who do not want to support Universal Healthcare for all Americans.
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Only problem with that is people don’t have health insurance in America, and some urgent care visits are not only exceedingly long considering the service provided, but can be much more expensive. For instance, Med Express, an urgent care provider, charges $200 up front to be seen, then you pay for any medications or supplies to take home. A self-pay visit to a PCP can range from $50-75 in the same plaza. The ER on the other hand, can be covered by the hospital charity fund.
The worst flu season in memory is happening under Trump appointed leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control. The CDC failed to determine which strains were most likely this year, so vaccines are particularly ineffective. Trump has so weakened the healthcare system that 3 million people lost healthcare this year. Trump takes credit for a year in which there were no commercial airline crashes. He must also take the blame for the deadliest flu epidemic in decades.
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Excellent comment, and while many will say it’s unfair to blame the Trump administration for the failures of the CDC this year, the Trump administration makes a practice of taking credit for progress/advances/good things in which it played no part.
At a minimum, I would say “take credit for another administration’s efforts” then “take the blame for another administration’s failures.”
However, that isn’t what has happened: it isn’t even taking the blame for its own failures.
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That is one of the more partisan and delusional comments I have ever read.
The decision regarding this year's flu vaccine was made in February 2017, less than one month after Trump took office. Not a single policy had yet to be put in place regarding the CDC, NIH, or any public health organization. As best I remember, all public health related organizations were still being chaired by Obama appointees since Trump had not yet made any appointments himself. Neither had a single step been taken for or against the health care system as a whole or the ACA specifically.
And just where does that 3 million figure come from? ACA is still in force. The exchanges are still operating. Those who can not afford health insurance are still being subsidized. I can not think of a single policy of the Trump administration that has forces anyone off their health care plan.
To blame Trump for ANYTHING surrounding the current flu season is simply a lie.
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Trump has never taken responsibility for anything in his life - don't expect him to begin now...
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