80,000 People Died of the Flu Last Year in the US
@DeborahDiane (40044)
Laguna Woods, California
September 27, 2018 6:42pm CST
Most people do not realize how dangerous it can be to get the flu. In a typical year, it is not unusual for 15,000 to 20,000 to die from it. Last years, 80,000 people in the U.S. died.
Even though we both had the flu shot and the pneumonia shot, my husband and I both got the flu last year and I developed pneumonia, as well.
We recovered, although every time my husband gets sick it damages his kidneys a little more. He already has Stage 4 Kidney failure, so having things get worse can be dangerous for him.
We just got our flu shots again a couple of days ago. I hope it does a better job of protecting us this year!
14 people like this
12 responses
@DianneN (246334)
• United States
28 Sep 18
There are so many strains of the flu, but since receiving our flu shots, we haven't gotten the flu. I had it once before getting the shot and decided the shot is worth it. Knock on wood. We've also had the pneumonia and Shingles shots to be on the safe side. I hope you and your hubs are both spared this year.
5 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@DianneN - I hope we are spared this year, too. I have had the flu shot this year, I am in the middle of the new shingles shot series, and I have had two pneumonia shots. I'm not taking any chances!
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Sep 18
@NJChicaa - I have gotten the flu vaccine every year for the past 30 years and it is very, very rare for me to get the flu. Last year was an exception for us. I also heard that last year's flu vaccine wasn't very effective. They hope this year's will do a better job.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@NJChicaa - They said that this year's shot is better. I hope they are right. I know it is a challenge to figure out the right combination to put in the shot.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (115921)
• United States
28 Sep 18
@DeborahDiane It is a challenge when they produce the flu shot because they have to predict how the virus will mutate like 8 months in advance and the virus mutates rapidly. Most years the models do well but sometimes they are off.
3 people like this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
29 Sep 18
@DeborahDiane Hopefully the one this year will work better for you.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@1hopefulman - The flu shot certainly did not work well for us last year!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Sep 18
@1hopefulman - I certainly hope the flu shot works better this year. I sure don't want to get sick again!
1 person likes this
@asfarasiknow (3341)
• Bournemouth, England
27 Sep 18
Did you catch those before the vaccines had a chance to kick in?
I read that they only work for a percentage of people anyway but I would rather still have the shots.
My partner recently had the shingles vaccine which gave her some nasty side-affects but thankfully only for a few hours.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Sep 18
@asfarasiknow - No, we had the shots several months before getting the flu. We got our shots in September. My husband got the flu in February and I got it in March. I am in the process of getting the two shingles vaccines. I had the first one a few weeks ago, and I will get the second one in another few weeks.
2 people like this
@asfarasiknow (3341)
• Bournemouth, England
28 Sep 18
@DeborahDiane I hope you have no side-affects. My girlfriend had an upset stomach and felt dizzy but I believe this is fairly rare. We only seem to have one shingles shot (not easy to say, that!) in this country.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@asfarasiknow - I got a shingles shot about 9 years ago. It was only one shot. They recently released a new vaccine which is supposed to be much more effective, but it requires two shots taken two to six months apart. I'm sure it will spread to the UK soon.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Sep 18
@YrNemo - I didn't know that, either. It shocked me.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@YrNemo If the shots make you sick, I can understand why you would not want to get one.
1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
28 Sep 18
@DeborahDiane Take care. (I always got sick badly after a flu shot. I stopped having them after two times like that. Have been fine since 
.)
.)2 people like this
@arunima25 (85265)
• Bangalore, India
28 Sep 18
It is a huge number of people dying. Flu can be really deadly.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Sep 18
@arunima25 - Yes, the flu can be deadly. I was stunned by the news.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@arunima25 - I admit that we were shocked by this news, too. I hope they reduce those numbers this coming winter.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (85265)
• Bangalore, India
28 Sep 18
@DeborahDiane I knew that sometimes it can be nasty and deadly but I did not expect such huge number and especially in a well developed country like USA with the most advanced health care in world.
1 person likes this
@May2k8 (18049)
• Indonesia
2 Oct 18
@DeborahDiane Yes, even Indonesia has predicted that there will be even more bigger earthquakes than 7.7SR next time throughout the island of Java. 
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Oct 18
@May2k8 - Sadly, the number continues to grow. I heard a few hours ago that the number is over now over 1200 and is expected to grow. I'm so sorry your beautiful country is experiencing this.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 Oct 18
@May2k8 - Yes, the flu shot should be available around the world. It could save a lot of lives. I hope you are safe where you live in Indonesia. I heard about the earthquake and tsunami!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@jstory07 - Me, too. Another winter like this past one could kill my husband.
@jaboUK (64362)
• United Kingdom
30 Sep 18
@DeborahDiane So the pneumonia shot didn't protect from what it was specifically meant to!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Sep 18
@jaboUK - Nope! The pneumonia shot did not protect me, but I did get over it more quickly than most people do, so I think I did get some benefit from the shot.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Sep 18
@jaboUK - No, it doesn't protect you from colds. I got pneumonia, so it didn't protect me from that, either. Neither did the pneumonia shot I got.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (94778)
• Marion, Ohio
28 Sep 18
I never get a flu shot. I feel it is a crap shoot for what is going to go around anyways. But hope you have better luck with it this year than last year.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Sep 18
@wolfgirl569 - I have friends that feel the same way as you do about the flu shot. I think we are all taking our chances, whether we get the shot or not. It is all a crap shoot.
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Sep 18
@JudyEv - Yes, they say that most airplanes are germ infested and we should be careful about everything we touch. I try to take hand sanitizer with us when we travel, but I'm not sure if that is helpful, or not. All we can do is be careful if we like to travel.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Sep 18
@JudyEv - I think avoiding crowds makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, that is hard to do in California. We have an especially hard time when we travel by plane. Being in a crowded plane almost always causes my husband to get sick.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325345)
• Rockingham, Australia
30 Sep 18
@DeborahDiane That's why our doctor suggested we get our flu shots when we left Australia. He said there could be many cold and flu germs on the plane and at least you'd avoid many of them.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
2 Oct 18
We always get our flu shot and we also got the flu last year. I was in the hospital from dehydration and I thought we'd never get well. Tamiflu was prescribed for both of us but I couldn't tell that it helped much.Lets hope we all have better luck this year.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 Oct 18
@RubyHawk - Oh, I'm so sorry you went through that! It sounds worse than what happened to us. At least we weren't in the hospital, although we both spent a lot of time in Urgent Care. I hope this is a much better year for all of us!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40044)
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Oct 18
@RubyHawk - They gave Tamiflu to my husband. He wasn't sure if it helped or not, either. They didn't give it to me because, by the time I went in, I had pneumonia and they treated me for that.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
3 Oct 18
@DeborahDiane I hope we all go through winter without having the flu. Did you get the tamiflu? I couldn't tell it helped but they thought it would so I took it.
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