Flu vaccine barely worked in people 65 and older

[Lionel Mandrake]

25. About the high dose: you suppose right.

The high dose IS intended for those of us who are over 65. It's four times the standard dose. That's to compensate for our feeble immune systems.

Pharmacies around here are very aggressive about selling the standard flu shot, but they only give out the high dose if one of us geezers asks for it. I asked for the high dose and got it this year for the first time. (I have lost my high-dose virginity.)

Flu shots bother some people more than others. They have never bothered me at all. My deltoid muscle didn't get sore where they gave me the shot, and I didn't get any other symptoms from the shot. Nor have I had the flu in all the years since I started getting flu shots.

I'll go out on a limb and suggest that next year your friend should get two standard shots a month apart, rather than the high dose. That way the side effects should be less severe.

Edited to change "double" to "four times" the standard dose and to provide the following link, which describes research showing that the high dose is probably a good idea for seniors:

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=2248