I like flu shots. I have had the flu several times and would rather have the semi-dead version of the virus injected in to my arm.

I get one every year because I work in the best place to get any type of infection- a hospital Not only am I likely to be at a center of a flu outbreak, I also worry infecting a patient if I was infectous and not yet sick enough to stay home sick.  So I  say it depends on the individual.

We screen every single patient who is admitted during period oct 1st thru end of the season for risk factors. If a patient has a one or more risk factors and none of the excluding factors then we offer the vaccine to them during their stay.

I respect everyone's right to decline the vaccine. I also tell them why we screen everyone and why the tool suggests they get a vaccine.

Eg. those with HIV/AIDs, chemo patients, diabetics, and others people with an impaired immune systems are at higher risk of death after getting flu. Smokers and people with lung disease also qualify. 

As you weigh this decision think of the possible risk factors related to getting the flu and weigh them against the possible risks assoicatef with getting the vaccine.

I had never heard before that some people connect flu vaccine with alzhiemers somehow?  Not that I discount the story, it is just that I personally have not seen any research about it nor seen any  proposed mechanism/theory of how the vaccine would increase such risks.

Full disclosure though, I have not yet even looked for such evidence, not even with a google searc. 

For years I've gotten flu shots and haven't had the flu.  Many years ago I did have it a number of times and it could be debilitating, so I faithfully get the shots.  I hate hearing that it may contribute to Alzheimers and hope that's not the case.  What can you trust?  What to do this year - hmmm.

I have read in several different journals that the flu shots contribute to Alzheimer.

Could be a tale but I am not going to risk it.

Husband and I had them every year for decades. Can his dementia be related? We have no way of knowing for certain but I am not continuing this practice.

I'm a real downer when it comes to talking about flu shots. I've only had them a few times in my life (usually when mandated by an org I was working for), and every single time I've been sick as a dog immediately afterward (and sometimes for a week or two afterward). Not just a cold (which a lot of people I've met seem to get) but full on stay in bed sick. Yet the years I avoid the shot, I stay healthier.

Granted, I may be an edge case.

(and fyi, when adding tags to your questions, use commas instead of semi-colons... otherwise, the site treats them as one giant keyword)