Flu vaccine push already underway; first batch causes seizures in children

I'll be the first to say that I'm in favor of vaccines - for illnesses that are likely to cause death or very serious problems AND that have been properly tested and put through all the safety measures. If you're in a very vulnerable population or have other conditions that could cause the flu to have serious effects on your health, I would encourage you to get a flu shot.

But I just think they're unnecessary for the majority of people. In my almost 30 years on this planet, I have never had the flu, and I have other chronic illnesses that supposedly make me much more vulnerable to it. I don't know anyone who hasn't had a bad reaction to the vaccine, either. For most people, the flu is simply a nuisance - it's not a fatal disease. I guess I just don't see why we need to develop a vaccine for it - there are other much more serious illnesses we could be focusing on.

I worry about the effects that vaccinating (and over-medicating) against fairly minor illnesses could have on the viruses themselves. We're doing battle now with antibiotic-resistant strains of disease because people run to the doctor as soon as they sneeze and beg for antibiotics that may not even be effective against whatever they have (not to mention all the antibiotics that are pumped into the farm animals that we eat). Vaccines are typically only effective against a specific strain of an illness, so as soon as another mutates, we need another vaccine, and the virus may mutate faster than we can develop and properly test the vaccine.

Okay, that was a lot longer than I thought it would be - I tend to ramble, sorry. But like I said, unless you're in a vulnerable population, I just don't think it's necessary. Just use common sense and you'll probably be fine. Stay away from sick people (and sick people - STAY HOME FROM WORK! And bosses, let them stay home!), wash your hands, eat right (and take vitamin supplements if your diet is lacking or you have malabsorption problems like I do), and let your body do its thing. Your immune system only gets better with practice.

That's the problem , when these vacccines and other drugs, i.e. chemo drugs, the HPV shot etc, are being rushed to market (can you say kaching!!) there is no way all the safety nets are in place. There is not time for long term safety and effectiveness.. esp with flu shots. I understand alot of people say, Oh the flu shot has been incubated in chicken eggs for years it's safe Well guess what, they are starting to experiment with incubating it in different tissues and organs of other hosts and also those chicken eggs are only screened for the top contaminants.. they couldn't possibly test for every virus and bacteria and other contaminant, it would take way too long..