Poll: When was the last time you got vaccinations?

[babinro]

I'm guessing it would have been in high school so about 20 years ago.

I have no plans to ever get another vaccine shot in my life. The main reason is laziness but I also feel that certain shots like the flu shot are 100% pointless. The flue constantly evolves with time and getting the shot doesn't prevent this sickness from what I've seen. If anything, people get sick from the shot and then proceed to get sick again later in the year.

It's important to note that I'm single without kids and I'm not exposed to kids in my day to day life. This adds up to very rarely getting sick. In fact, it's been at least 10 years since I've anything worse than a 24 hour stomach bug. Even those only come up every couple years.

 

[catalyst8]

I'm curious as to why I haven't seen the Oral Polio Vaccine/AIDS theory coming up yet in any of this 'anti-vaccine' flurry.

What 'anti-vaccine' flurry?

To address the OP, the last shots I had were about three years ago for typhus & whatever else to travel to South-east Asia. The doctor was kind enough to offer one for rabies too, so naturally I snapped that up as well.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

I'm fully vaccinated, except for the flu.

I forget when the last time was for me. Probably a regular flu shot or the Swine Flu shot.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

I got a flu shot in November. I can't remember anything else. Given how horrible my memory is, that doesn't mean I don't have other vaccinations. I got a bunch as a kid but I don't remember for what.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I had a flu jab this year.

I was also hospitalised by flu just after christmas, curse you flu you monstrously mutable malady!

 

[Dalisclock]

Being in the military, I get the flu shot every year and I've gotten vaccines for pretty much everything else. Probably my favorite was getting Smallpox and Anthrax vaccines at the same time around 2010. Anthrax isn't a big deal but Smallpox makes you contagious for a month(which is why they always did it when we put out to sea).

 

[Raggedstar]

I've had the normal vaccines. I wanted a co-op placement at a research hospital 3 years ago and they wanted me to get my MMR done again (since my measles titer was low). Had a bad reaction about 5 minutes after with muscle spasms and couldn't breathe (not anaphylaxis. Not sure what it was, but the doctor pretty much said "meh" and left me) and I was mostly out of commission for several days. In the past I've had nasty black-outs/fainting as well. Though generally I'm up to date for your standard vaccines, though my tetanus/diptheria expires either this year or next. Can't remember.

I've never taken a flu vaccine. That same co-op wanted me to (as I would be working with ferrets, and ferrets can become sick with the human flu), but they buggered up the paperwork they sent me months before and it didn't mention it until the flu shot wasn't distributed. Flu vaccines don't seem as effective as your core sets (I know how vaccines work and work with them every day, so don't lecture me) so considering my past, I tend to opt out. No HPV, but then again I'm asexual so I'm pretty low risk anyways.

Ironically, the only vaccine that hasn't caused me trouble was my rabies vaccine 6 years ago. Since I work with animals, it's recommended I get vaccinated (and let's be honest. Chances you'll die from the flu? Fairly low. Death from rabies? 99.99% chance you'll die a long, painful death of paralysis, seizures, and a bunch of other unpleasant symptoms). Doesn't make you completely immune, but definitely a better chance considering your only hope would be a million post-exposure vaccines given immediately after contact with an animal (bats are the most common carrier to humans and pets, and bites and scratches can be painless and invisible to the naked eye). It's a non-core vaccine for people and isn't typically covered by most insurance plans (for those Canadians, you'll pay a small fortune for a pre-exposure vaccine not covered by OHIP), but the good thing is that it's fairly long-lasting. It's not certain how long it lasts, but there are some people I know that were vaccinated in their teens or 20s and only get low titers when they're in their 50s (they recommend titers depending on your risk level). If you're not working with animals (and you live in the developed world), the best way to protect yourself is to have your pets vaccinated. It's mandatory by law in most places, and it'll save you a lot of headache if your pet bites someone or gets attacked by another animal.

 

[Pikey Mikey]

I got vaccinated against the usual stuff as a child (I think) got stabbed in the butt twice by my dad before we went to Thailand (I was around 6-7 years old I think and I pulled the needle out before he was done so he had to do it again =P (he's a doctor so he vaccinated us)). Also swine flu and maybe one more (if there's been a 'you should get vaccinated' then I've probably been vaccinated for it. Not that I bother with much of it, I leave that to my good father. So if he thinks/wants me to get vaccinated I've got no reason not to)

 

[ecoho]

lol I got all of them when I joined the army at 18. trust me getting them earlier is a lot better as you usually get them over a few years I got all mine within weeks of each other.

 

[Ryallen]

I got some sort of vaccination when I entered high school, but I don't know for what.

 

[Seishisha]

The last time i was vacinated was in highschool and that was atleast 12 years ago more likely 14, since i dont recall exactly how old i was when it happened i'll just guess and say 13. The shot was for turberculosis and another for meningitis some months later.

The nurse at the time stabbed the needle straight into the muscle on my arm and it hurt like a ************, since that day i have to look away from needles otherwise i tense up when im about to get injected, still got a pretty large scar from that needle which i understand is actualy very common from tuberculosis injections.

 

[Spider RedNight]

Last time I covered everything was in '12 when I was in MEPS for the Air Force. Haven't done it since but I've also only gotten sick once or twice. I think there's something in the water, I dunno.

 

[spartan231490]

There's a bit of a difference between the flu vaccine and the immunisation schedule most countries have for children.

Most people by adulthood are immune to a large number of previously potentially deadly diseases such as polio, measles, whooping cough etc. Because of vaccines.

actually not really. Vaccines are not permanently effective. Technically speaking, you need to get boosters for most of them every 8-10 years if you want to keep your immunity. This is actually a point of great concern for some diseases because it has resulted in a large and growing portion of the public with no immunity to these diseases. Most of which are worse if you contract them as an adult.

 

[WolfThomas]

There's a bit of a difference between the flu vaccine and the immunisation schedule most countries have for children.

Most people by adulthood are immune to a large number of previously potentially deadly diseases such as polio, measles, whooping cough etc. Because of vaccines.

actually not really. Vaccines are not permanently effective. Technically speaking, you need to get boosters for most of them every 8-10 years if you want to keep your immunity. This is actually a point of great concern for some diseases because it has resulted in a large and growing portion of the public with no immunity to these diseases. Most of which are worse if you contract them as an adult.

It really depends on the vaccine. You need a booster for tetanus if you're exposed and havent had one for 10years and whooping cough has a booster in the 50-60s for most countries. Flu vaccine is new every year. Hep B immunity is something you can lose too.

However with a lot like HPV, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio, Rotavirus, Pneuomococcal, Meningococcal Group C etc once you've done the required amount you're immune for life.

Still vaccines are awesome. Have saved more lives than any other medical intervention.

 

[lacktheknack]

I had to get a tetanus/whooping cough booster three months ago, as well as a Hepatitis A shot because I couldn't find any proof that I had taken one in school. Might have been smart, because I cut myself open on rusty objects a couple times since then.

 

[lunavixen]

The only shots I don't get are the flu shots, as I'm not in an at-risk group or in a high risk occupation. The last vaccination I had was about 2 years ago when my niece was born, had a diphtheria tetanus pertussis (whooping cough) and poliomyelitis (polio) booster vaccine.

I got all the one you get when your a kid like polio and the like. However I avoid flu vaccination since I hate going to get them and I also believe that its better to get sick and get over things naturally since it gives your immune system a good wargame practice. I also don't get sick very often anyway due to possibly having the CCR5-delta 32 gene mutation from my Tuscan paternal grandmother.

Very much untrue, vaccines are a far safer way for the body to have these "wargames" than by contracting the full blown disease first. As someone who got whooping cough young, it was rough enough having it while being fully vaccinated, never mind unvaccinated (I caught it from an unvaccinated kid). My family doctor was fairly certain that if i'd not been vaccinated, it would have killed me. Even though I was vaccinated, I still ended up with damage to my bronchial tubes and alveoli along with a reduced lung capacity (I basically ended up with severe asthma caused by the damage from whooping cough) and that's only recently gone into remission.

 

[DementedSheep]

I had to get a lot of my vaccinations tested and a few needed boosters last year. You can't work in a hospital if you aren't vaccinated for obvious reasons, especially for Hep B.

 

[raeior]

I'm vaccinated against pretty much anything. Last one was 4 months ago against the flu (being in a risk group and also working with a lot of students). Haven't got a flu in the last...I don't even know when the last time was.

Only time I had a problem with a vaccination was the last tetanus one. My shoulder muscles were rock hard for several days and hurt. It was quite uncomfortable, but still better than getting tetanus.

 

[cathou]

i got tetanus and hepatitis a and b last year before i went to vacation. and of course i got flu shoots every year because i work in an hospital. i didnt get the flu since i got the shoots every year, even if this year the flu shoot is ineffective i didnt got it yet, so let's cross fingers...

 

[jklinders]

I got the childhood stuff for measles, polio and whooping cough. The yearly flu shot I can't quite get behind unless you are part of that demographic that is really vulnerable to it. They seem to miss the mark on it a lot and it often does not seem to work.

It's hard for me to find anything that resembles a reason for any of the childhood ones to not be done though. Polio in particular was an utterly terrifying thing for anyone who lived during the pre vaccine period.

I think I am behind on my tetanus boosters. I don't know the cooldown period on that shit but I think it's fairly well past for me.