Mudcat ate one of my posts after it told me it was posted. (I didn't SEE it though.)

It's impossible to get the flu from the flu shot. They don't include whole virus capable of reproducing. It IS possible to contract influenza before you get the shot or after you get it, before you develop antibodies. It's also possible to get a type of influenza not included in the shot.

This year's shot kicked my ass for about 24 hours. It's our own response that makes us sick. The sore throat, muscle aches, and other short-lived symptoms are caused by your immune system kicking virus ass... or what would pass of an ass if a virus had an ass. I thought, quite likely wrongly, that my "healthy" virus ass-kicking response was because I was immunized against one strain (the H1N1) last year and I still had a bunch of overly sensitive antibodies.