Has anyone had a Vaccine that failed to work on you?

OzyOly · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:07

I just got my Hepatitis B blood results back today and I'm clear thank god, but surprisingly I don't have Hepatitis B Surface antibodies despite having the 3 course vaccine. The doctor said it was very unusual for a young male not to convert (guess it might be a sign of something else going on?).

It's got me thinking though, parents are pressured into have their children have an MMR vaccine and I don't think there is anyone who doesn't remember what a **** their TB jab was like back in high school.

Am I the only one who just assumed that if I've had a vaccine I'm not going to get ill from the said illness and take it for granted? :rolleyes:

kylew · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:08

I never had my TB one, and I can't remember what other jabs I had were for. Last one I can remember was late primary school, so around 10 years ago.

Ahleckz · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:09

My TB jab was fine, never got why people moaned about it.

What did confuse me though was that I was eligible for the swine flu vaccine but not the seasonal flu vaccine. On the slip they gave me, I ticked both boxes but when I got to the nurse she told me I could only have the swine flu and wasn't eligible for the normal one despite having an illness which means I have a compromised immune system.

Odd.

OzyOly · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:12

Ahleckz said:
My TB jab was fine, never got why people moaned about it.

What did confuse me though was that I was eligible for the swine flu vaccine but not the seasonal flu vaccine. On the slip they gave me, I ticked both boxes but when I got to the nurse she told me I could only have the swine flu and wasn't eligible for the normal one despite having an illness which means I have a compromised immune system.

Odd.

They paid so much for the swine flu vaccine that they discouraged normal flu?

OzyOly · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:16

Ahleckz said:
My TB jab was fine, never got why people moaned about it.

I only moaned about it because they damn near hit my bone (I was only 6 stone in those days). I think people dislike it when 'it' pops after a few weeks. haha.

G-MAN2004 · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:19

I fainted straight after my TB jab. Twice. In front of the whole year.

OzyOly · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:23

G-MAN2004 said:
I fainted straight after my TB jab. Twice. In front of the whole year.

There are worse places to faint mate, trust me. I nearly fainted just before I was about to jump out of a plane once.

Ahleckz · 30 Jul 2010 at 01:30

OzyOly said:
They paid so much for the swine flu vaccine that they discouraged normal flu?

Probably! Very odd that I was in the 'At Risk' category for swine flu as I have a disease *cough cough cough* that significantly weakens my immune system yet it's not enough to warrant the seasonal flu.
I'm not for conspiracy's or anything like that, but when the nurse said I wasn't eligible for the seasonal flu jab (and I asked why I wasn't since I had a compromised immune system - she just said that it was NHS policy) I was convinced it was very much a kneejerk reaction by the government.
Also, you were meant to have 2 jabs for swine flu. I missed the 2nd one as I was away. I got a letter through the week after saying that I wouldn't need a 2nd injection afterall.
Conspiracy v. Cost v. Bloody stupidness.
It really did outrage me, and I actually wrote a letter to my surgery. Their response was a predictable stonewall.

Mozter · 30 Jul 2010 at 02:48

Around the time when i got my TB jab i got permanent rash-like tiny spots on my upper arms, however i think that it is puberty which is responsible. I never really bothered to look up what these tiny spots are.

The place where I was injected has left a scar and is numb though.

Tefal · 30 Jul 2010 at 03:06

Ahleckz said:
Probably! Very odd that I was in the 'At Risk' category for swine flu as I have a disease *cough cough cough* that significantly weakens my immune system

got the AIDs?

Ahleckz · 30 Jul 2010 at 03:09

Tefal said:
got the AIDs?

We used a condom, right?

BigglesPiP · 30 Jul 2010 at 03:45

Could be worse, one day my immune system decided to eat my kidneys.

tom_e · 30 Jul 2010 at 04:06

Mozter said:
Around the time when i got my TB jab i got permanent rash-like tiny spots on my upper arms, however i think that it is puberty which is responsible. I never really bothered to look up what these tiny spots are.

The place where I was injected has left a scar and is numb though.

probably Keratosis Pilaris

Tefal · 30 Jul 2010 at 04:23

Ahleckz said:
We used a condom, right?

You told me you where clean!?

Meridian · 30 Jul 2010 at 06:48

OzyOly said:
I just got my Hepatitis B blood results back today and I'm clear thank god, but surprisingly I don't have Hepatitis B Surface antibodies despite having the 3 course vaccine. The doctor said it was very unusual for a young male not to convert (guess it might be a sign of something else going on?).

Here's a thought for you: why do you suppose that Hep B is one of the few vaccines where they do a blood test to check it has worked? Because actually not working is quite common. We get Hep B jabs at work, and a couple of my colleagues have the same issue as you.

M

eatcustard · 30 Jul 2010 at 07:26

A vaccine is not guaranteed to work

WoZZeR · 30 Jul 2010 at 07:38

Meridian said:
Here's a thought for you: why do you suppose that Hep B is one of the few vaccines where they do a blood test to check it has worked? Because actually not working is quite common. We get Hep B jabs at work, and a couple of my colleagues have the same issue as you.

M

I had a course a long time ago and it didn't work. The nurse then tried a booster, that failed and so she gave up.

It really isn't worth worrying about.

xarr · 30 Jul 2010 at 08:10

Ahleckz said:
Also, you were meant to have 2 jabs for swine flu. I missed the 2nd one as I was away. I got a letter through the week after saying that I wouldn't need a 2nd injection afterall.

Unless you had Celvapan you did not need a second dose, it was my understanding that Pandemerix was the more commonly given vaccine, especially in the early stages of the programme

OP: Protective efficacy rates of GSK's Engerix B vaccine are 96% at 7 months from first dose. You were in the 4% that doesn't seroconvert. See below for more information.

http://hcp.gsk.co.uk/products/engerix-b?s=efficacy

d_brennen · 30 Jul 2010 at 08:26

Remember when bird flu was going to be the end of civilization? What happened with it any way? Couple of dead Chinese peasants and a cull at Bernard Mathews? And swine flu ffs. Fail apocalypse tbh.

I was always a bit sickly after injections. Haven't had one since the BCG, long may it stay that way!

a1ex2001 · 30 Jul 2010 at 10:05

d_brennen said:
Remember when bird flu was going to be the end of civilization? What happened with it any way? Couple of dead Chinese peasants and a cull at Bernard Mathews? And swine flu ffs. Fail apocalypse tbh.

I was always a bit sickly after injections. Haven't had one since the BCG, long may it stay that way!

The trouble with all these Flu's is one day there will be a genuine pandemic that kills an awful lot of people, it's a question of when not if but sadly all these recent panics are leading us towards a boy who cried wolf situation where people will ignore the real killer.

Vaccines are never guarenteed but most are very very good, to the guy who hasn't had his TB go and get it TB is a horrible disease. I'm always amazed the number of people I meet on holiday who haven't popped into the doctors to get the latest tropical disease vaccines anyone would think they want to endure Typhoid!