Blog about diabetes

Hi. Has anyone else gotten their flu shot this year yet? Being diabetic that puts us in the higher risk group that should get a flu shot. Didn’t know if all of you knew that.

I got mine Thursday. I had called our health department, as they have them for our county. But their vaccine hadn’t come in yet. They did tell me the little hospital here was giving shots. So called them and found out they were doing it for only another 10 minutes. Jumped in the car and flew to town (still not sure why the state cop didn’t come after me when I blew past where he was sitting - maybe 80 mph wasn’t worth his time?). If you have not gotten a flu shot before, it does not make you come down sick with the flu. That is a thing of the past. They do not use the live vaccines anymore, so you don’t get sick. Also they have changed what they are made of in other ways, and people who were allergic to them in the past can now take them. (but still ask the nurse or doctor before getting one if you did have an allergic reaction) Of course my arm is sore, but that is nothing compared to how nasty getting a flu itself would be. Also, where you can get them varies from state
to state and even county to county. In our county, no doctor’s offices give them, only our health department and some years the little hospital does. In the neighboring county (closer to St. Louis) some doctors’ offices give them, some of the urgent care centers, and some of the hospitals. So depending on where you live, you may have to check around to see where you can get a shot. Usually your doctor can tell you where they can be found. If you have Medicare, the shot is covered under that. Most personal insurances don’t cover it, but a few do, so that would be something your personal health insurance carrier would need to be asked about. And most insurance coverage, that employers have, do not cover the shot. However, some employers will give free flu shots at your place of work. Bill gets one free at GM. And a family member in northern Illinois, works for what used to be GE (was bought out by another company) gets a free flu shot at her place of work.

But what I am trying to get across: diabetics should get a flu shot. It is recommended for us.