#Flu vaccine

[relaxedstyles]

[pixierainbows]

Pixie had to get 2 vaccines , covid and flu .

Is absolutely not what Pixie want . but .

Pixie be good and go with guardian Librarian and not object very much .

And . Pixie be very good tolerate getting both …

Because . the reward is . go gluten free Bakery and !!! get lots very good fancy tasty treats !!

but Pixie is hurt so much arm hurting not feeling good and so not can go walking with caregiver :(

[mindblowingscience]

Researchers have opened a new avenue in the attack against influenza viruses by creating a vaccine that encourages the immune system to target a portion of the flu virus surface that is less variable. Their approach worked well in experiments with mice and ferrets and may lead to more broadly-protective influenza vaccines and less reliance on an annual shot tailored to that year’s versions of the virus. Even with vaccines, influenza kills about a half-million people each year around the world. This new vaccine approach, described in the journal Science Translational Medicine, is part of a five-year-old effort to develop a longer-lasting universal flu vaccine that would be able to foil all versions of the virus.

Continue Reading.

[thebookishwallflower]

I want to make a post to inform people about the current situation with the bird flu (/avian flu/H5N1) outbreaks.

I don't want to cause panic but do want to spread information.

This is especially important if you live in an area that has a news system you don't trust to give accurate, timely, or honest news about something like a possible new pandemic, use your own judgement.

If that applies it is going to be very important to make sure you stay informed and follow these H5N1 outbreaks yourself and know how to best protect yourself.

I am no expert, but I do know a good bit about disease and influenza in particular, and have been following the H5N1 outbreaks as they've been happening, so under the cut I'm going to do my best to inform everyone I can.

Please stay safe, stay informed, and spread information, not germs.

What's bird flu and why do I care? (What's bird flu and why do I care?)

Avian flu and bird flu mean the same thing, an influenza virus that (primarily) infects birds. H5N1 denotes a specific strain of avian influenza. H5N1 can spillover (when a pathogen spreads from it's normal host organism to a new host organism) from animals to humans.

How could I get H5N1? (How could I get H5N1?)

Human to human transmission has not been observed yet (12/1/24) during this current outbreak. You can get this from contact with wild birds, especially water fowl, domestic birds, cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, and bats. It is also possible to get from raw (unpasteurized) milk and undercooked meat from infected animals.

What's the big deal then? (What's the big deal then?)

The common flu is not very pathogenic. How pathogenic something is determines how sick something makes the host, something that is highly pathogenic can cause severe disease. H5N1 is considered a HPAI, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

H5N1 is also a Type A influenza virus, most known Type A influenza viruses can infect birds. There is one Type A human flu in circulation at the moment, however it isn't very prevalent.

"IAV poses a significant risk of zoonotic infection, host switch, and the generation of pandemic viruses. IAVs can infect humans and a variety of animals, such as pigs, horses, marine mammals, cats, dogs, and birds (S1)."

IAV - Influenza A Viruses | Zoonotic infection - when an infectious disease of a non-human host infects a human host | Host switch - when a cross-species transmission of a pathogen can lead to successful, stable, and continuous infections

Every species the flu infects, the more strains that pop up under a sub-type IAV, the possibility for recombination increases. "Recombination occurs when at least two viral genomes [or strains] co-infect the same host cell and exchange genetic segments (S2)."

The flu is pretty good at recombination, when given the chance. It is also really good at mutating, and fast. If there were to be a recombination event and a new strain evolved (this would be called an antigenic shift) that was highly pathogenic, highly infectious (good at spreading, which H5N1 is), that could then infect humans and cause human-to-human transmission we might have a pandemic on our hands. This has not shown signs of happening during this outbreak*, this is what to look out for.

This (a recombination event) is what caused the 1918 pandemic during WW1. This pandemic killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people in 1918, in a world with a population of around 2 billion. 7.1 million died of COVID 19, as of 11/9/24 (S3), from a population of around 8 billion.

We know more, we are prepared, it's not guaranteed to happen, and it's not guaranteed to be as bad. But the possibilities are endless and it's extremely important to be prepared and stay informed.

So what do I do? (So what do I do?)

Again, stay informed, and that might mean checking independent news sources, the CDC website, and more, to keep yourself updated, especially if you know your local news won't do it for you. You should also familiarize yourself with the symptoms of influenza, if you have it, stay home.

Keep yourself safe, we had a pandemic already, you know the drill. Cover your nose and mouth when sneezing/coughing, wash your hands, sanitize your hands, and get your flu shot. And, in addition, avoid contact with wild birds, poultry, pigs, and cattle if you can.

In the event that this gets worse, social distancing is very important, being outdoors, wearing a mask, and all the stuff above, you can shed the virus for around a week before you start feeling bad. Keep yourself safe and don't infect anyone else.

If that doesn't sound like it'll do much, I promise you it does. Those are all classified NPI's (non-pharmaceutical interventions) and even epidemiologists were shocked at their impact and importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. They did work, and they were incredibly effective—as long as they were carried out.

I don't want to cause panic or worry anyone, but that is how information ends of suppressed. I want to make everyone aware of what we might face so that we can fight it and be strong and stay safe.

If anyone has any questions, wants any clarification, any corrections, or wants to know some good places to learn more about this stuff please don't hesitate to contact me (@'s, dm's, or asks), I will answer as best I can.

Here's the CDC's page covering the H5 bird flu current situation.

S1 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5578040/

S2 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7106159/

S3 - https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths?n=c

*with the exception of this coverage (as a possibility): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/19/bird-flu-cases-mutation-canada

[arctic-hands]

I will forever despise people who defend chickenpox parties–even the ones that happened pre-vaccine.

Because some parents decided to send their poxy son to daycare when I was ten–pre the vaccine being widely available–I nearly died from shingles when my immune system completely collapsed six years later and I horrifically contracted an atypical case of shingles. The pustules were everywhere on my body–down my throat, up my genitals, ON MY INTERNAL ORGANS. My skin underneath the pustules turned green. I was in the worst pain of my life and delirious with a fever. My hometown E.R refused to look at me for "just chickenpox". My mom called the hospital an hour and a half away and they told her to get me there ASAP. After I got there, the E.R team said that had she waited just two more hours to leave I would have been dead on arrival. I was admitted to the PICU and given a PICC line, and even after I was discharged I was still hooked up to an IV pole with acyclovir going straight to my heart for MONTHS. My academic life never recovered and this is a contributing factor in my dropping out the next year. I still have pox scars on my chest.

In contrast, when I got chickenpox as a ten year old I just had a mild rash on my stomach for like a week. My mother was sensible enough to keep me home that week. The parents of that boy weren't sensible, and I paid the price for it.

Anyway if you're a parent who doesn't vaccinate your kids I hope you get them removed from your "care" for your atrocious neglect. That goes for all diseases we have vaccines for, like covid. And if you intentionally infect kids "to boost their immune systems" because you're too stupid to look up how vaccines work? I hope you get your ass beat.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario residents who are six months and older will be able to receive their free flu shot and the new COVID-19 vaccine starting on Monday.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced the immunization program rollout on Sunday, saying people should make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations to stay safe and healthy during the season when respiratory illnesses typically surge.

Full article

Note: This is in effect as of October 30th

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[hidefdoritos]

Reminder to get your health stabs!

My pharmacy had a flu shot poster up today, so I asked for that and a COVID booster. Then the pharmacist recommended a new vaccine for pneumonia. Since I have frequent lung illnesses and already survived pneumonia once, it was an easy choice.

I went at lunchtime, had a mild fever for a few hours, took a couple ibuprofen, and was fine by evening. My shoulder is tender, like I pulled a tricep, but overall well worth it.

[jangillman]

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A post shared by Pieter Shapes (@pietershapes)

Lying piece of 💩🤬🤬🤬

[dr-robert-chase-apologist]

Taking a break from my usual fandom posting to tell y'all to GET YOUR FLU SHOTS.

I am typing this with one arm double the size of the other, tucked up close by my body, because of the flu shot. I am allergic to it. Every year since I was 4, the flu shot has made me swell up near the injection site for days, sometimes even as long as two weeks. It looks like there's an egg under my skin, and I can feel the fluid moving when I walk.

And y'know what?

I STILL GET THE SHOT.

Because I would rather be in pain than spread the flu. Because there are people in my community who could die if they got the flu. And getting the vaccine is a simple precaution I can take to reduce their risk of getting the flu. I do not want their death (or life-threatening illness, or long-lasting complications, or even just unpleasant sickness) on my conscience.

Vaccines work. When everyone gets them, the herd immunity can protect those whose vaccines weren't as effective, or those who can't get a vaccine (like those with severe egg allergies).

Unless you will go into anaphylactic shock from a flu shot, or your doctor has told you not to get it, you should go get your shot. It protects you, and it protects the vulnerable people around you.

At least in the US, the flu shot is offered for FREE at many large supermarkets (ie Kroger) and pharmacies (ie CVS), in addition to clinics and vaccination drives run by organizations near you. For more information or if you don't live in the US, you can check with your county/other local government's website. They should have a page directing you to places to get vaccinations.

[raleydrew]

Someone, please help, I've been given shots and I'm dying

[relaxedstyles]

Here we go ... 2.0! Just in time for Trump's return to office.

[thechronicpaingame]

Had my flu & covid vaccine yesterday afternoon and man are they hitting me hard this year. I think it's mostly the flu jab as I'm usually super and hit and miss with how it affects me. Covid I've always done okay with. Fever, aches, headache, crippling nausea, the whole 9 yards this year.

[im-adrienne]

The COVID and flu shots got me fucked up

Running a fever of 100.2, runny nose, wheezy, coughing, injection sites are hot, swollen and sore.

Feel like I got hit by a Mack truck. My hypermobile joints are SCREAMING.

This is why it's so important to get vaccinated because I do not want to get Covid or flu in full capacity. I really feel like Covid would take me out.

[bitstitchbitch]

absolutely wild that it is perfectly socially acceptable for me to take a sick day the day after getting my vaccines but less socially acceptable for me to take a sick day to deal with a fibromyalgia flare up. The pain and fatigue are approximately the same from the vaccine as from a bad flare up. But for the latter I would be going in to work, despite it happening far more often

[arctic-hands]

“I’m very surprised that anyone would call a state meeting, not provide an agenda for that meeting, not provide a written set of notes from that meeting,” said Kimberly Hood, who led the Office of Public Health, a subunit of the health department, from 2021 to 2022. “I think that, to me, it sounds like people are trying to avoid public records laws.” The policy change can be traced back to Gov. Jeff Landry (R), an anti-vaxxer who served as the state’s attorney general during the COVID pandemic, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Landry ally and Donald Trump’s pick to head up the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In his role as AG, Landry spoke at a state committee hearing in 2021 about his opposition to adding the COVID vaccines to the childhood immunization schedule. Kennedy testified alongside him, presenting false claims about COVID vaccines. As governor, Landry has signed five bills and two resolutions this year rolling back vaccine requirements, limiting the power of public health authorities, and questioning vaccine safety.

Jesus Christ

“It’s a medical marvel that we’re fortunate enough to live in a time where these vaccines are available to us,” she said, “and to not make use of that tool is unconscionable.”