Battling Influenza, Flu Vaccine-Shot, Do I Need to Get a Flu Shot?
The Flu Vaccine-Shot, Battling Influenza:
Most people have experienced the flu virus. Instilled with the dreadful memories of nonstop coughing, fevers, body aches, and headaches, there is no question as to why someone would want to totally avoid the flu. The flu will keep most people nonfunctional and in bed for days at a time – not the ideal choice of activity.
Every year 35-40 million people are infected with influenza (flu virus). On the average, the flu virus claims 20,000 lives every year. The flu is one of the most dreaded illnesses, yet it is one of the most common. So are flu shots really the answer?
1. What is The Flu Vaccine (Flu Shot)?
There are many different strains of flu virus. The vaccine cannot protect against all of them. Every year, scientists monitor the global spread of the flu and decide which three flu strains will likely cause the most illness during flu season. Those three strains are then put into the flu vaccine for that year, so each year the vaccine is different.
It is important to get the flu shot every year because the viruses change from year-to-year and the protection provided by the vaccine decreases over time. An annual flu shot is important Especially at increased risk of serious illness from the flu, their caregivers and close contacts.
This includes:
- Seniors aged 65 years or older.
- Residents of personal care homes or long-term care facilities.
- Children six months to five years of age.
Those with chronic illness such as:
- An immune system weakened by disease or medical treatment.
- A condition that makes it difficult to breathe.
- Children 6 months to adolescents 18 years of age on long-term acetylsalicylic acid (i.e. aspirin) therapy.
- Other chronic medical conditions (ex. diabetes, mental disabilities).
- Pregnant women.
- Health care workers and first responders.
- Individuals of Aboriginal ancestry.
- People who are severely overweight or obese.
- Or as determined by your primary health care provider.
2. Flu Shot Facts:
The annual flu shot is designed to counter one of the flu strains contained in the vaccine and nothing else. Any malady’s that are not part of the flu strains will not be affected by the vaccine. So a sore throat, for example, which is not caused by flu, will not be helped by a shot of the flu vaccine. 
The question is often asked as to why flu shots are necessary every year?
One of the reasons for this is that the prevalent strains of flu change every year, so the vaccine will need to change. To stand a chance of being safe from the most likely suspects of a flu virus, you would need to get a shot every year.
Many people are concerned about reactions to the flu vaccine. The most common reactions, which begin within 12 hours or so of the vaccination, are symptoms of the flu itself, such as fever, tiredness, headaches etc.
However,
There are more serious reactions, which are known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). These usually occur within two to four weeks of the shot. GBS is a nerve disorder, with symptoms such as muscle weakness, unsteadiness, numbness, tingling, and pain.
In extreme cases, paralysis of a limb or of the face can occur. It can take several months to recover, but it is not uncommon for some disability to remain. Having said that, less than 5 percent of GBS cases end in death.
3. Influenza,
Influenza (“ u”) is a contagious disease that spreads around the United States every year, usually between October and May. Flu is caused by influenza viruses and is spread mainly by coughing, sneezing, and close contact. Anyone can get flu. Flu strikes suddenly and can last several days.
Symptoms vary by age but can include:
- Fever-chills.
- Sore throat.
- Muscle aches.
- Fatigue.
- Cough.
- Headache.
- Runny or stuffy nose.
Flu Can Also,
- lead to pneumonia and blood infections, and cause diarrhea and seizures in children.
- If you have a medical condition, such as heart or lung disease, u can make it worse.
- Flu is more dangerous for some people. Infants and young children, people 65 years of age and older, pregnant women, and people with certain health conditions or a weakened immune system are at greatest risk.
- Each year thousands of people in the United States die from u, and many more are hospitalized.
How Do Flu Vaccines Work?
Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are in the vaccine.
The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Traditional flu vaccines (called “trivalent” vaccines) are made to protect against three flu viruses; an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus, and an influenza B virus.
There are also flu vaccines made to protect against four flu viruses (called “quadrivalent” vaccines). These vaccines protect against the same viruses as the trivalent vaccine and an additional B virus.
4. The Benefits of Flu Vaccination:
The Flu Vaccine Can:
A. keep You From Getting Flu:
- Flu vaccine prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year.
- In seasons when the vaccine viruses matched circulating viruses, the flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40 percent to 60 percent.
B. Reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization for children, working-age adults, and older adults:
- Flu vaccine prevents tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year.
- A study showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74% during flu seasons.
- In recent years, flu vaccines have reduced the risk of flu-associated hospitalizations among adults.
- Flu vaccination among adults reduced the risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with flu by 82 percent.
C. It is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions:
- Vaccination has been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who had had a cardiac event in the past year.
- Flu vaccination also has been shown in separate studies to be associated with reduced hospitalizations among people with diabetes and chronic lung disease.
D. Vaccination helps protect women during and after pregnancy:
- Vaccination reduces the risk of flu-associated acute respiratory infection in pregnant women by up to one-half.
- Getting vaccinated can also protect a baby after birth from the flu. (Mom passes antibodies onto the developing baby during her pregnancy.).
- A number of studies have shown that in addition to helping to protect pregnant women, a flu vaccine given during pregnancy helps protect the baby from flu infection for several months after birth when he or she is not old enough to be vaccinated.
E. A flu vaccine can be life-saving in children:
- A 2017 study was the first of its kind to show that flu vaccination can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from influenza.
F. Flu Vaccination less severe if you do get it:
- Flu vaccination has been shown in several studies to reduce the severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.
- A 2017 study showed that flu vaccination reduced deaths, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, ICU length of stay, and overall duration of hospitalization among hospitalized flu patients.
G. keep you from spreading flu to your family and other people.
Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.
5. Inactivated and Recombinant Flu Vaccines:
- A dose of Flu vaccine is recommended every Flu season.
- Children 6 months through 8 years of age may need two doses during the same flu season.
- Everyone else needs only one dose each flu season.
- Some inactivated flu vaccines contain a very small amount of a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal.
Studies,
Have not shown thimerosal in vaccines to be harmful, but flu vaccines that do not contain thimerosal are available. There is no live flu virus in flu shots. They cannot cause the flu. There are many flu viruses, and they are always changing.
Each year a new flu vaccine is made to protect against three or four viruses that are likely to cause disease in the upcoming u season. But even when the vaccine doesn’t exactly match these viruses, it may still provide some protection.
A Flu Vaccine Cannot Prevent:
- Flu that is caused by a virus not covered by the vaccine.
- Or illnesses that look like flu but are not.
- It takes about 2 weeks for protection to develop after vaccination.
- and protection lasts through flu season.
6. Who Should NOT Get The Flu Vaccine?
Some People Should Not Get This Vaccine, Tell the person who is giving you the vaccine:
- If you have any severe, life-threatening allergies. If you ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction after a dose of flu vaccine. Or have a severe allergy to any part of this vaccine. You may be advised not to get vaccinated. Most, But Not All, Types of flu vaccine contain a small amount of egg protein.
- If you ever had Guillain-Barré Syndrome (also called GBS). Some people with a history of GBS should not get this vaccine. This should be discussed with your doctor.
- If you are not feeling well. It is usually okay to get u vaccine when you have a mild illness.
- but you might be asked to come back when you feel better.
Flu Shot:
| People who can get the flu shot: | People who can’t get the flu shot: | People who should talk to their doctor before getting the flu shot: |
|---|---|---|
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| Note: There are certain flu shots that have different age indications. For example, people younger than 65 years of age should not get the high-dose flu shot or the flu shot with the adjuvant, and people who are younger than 18 years old or older than 64 years old should not get the intradermal flu shot. | ||
7. Risk Factor of Flu Vaccine Reaction:
Risks of a vaccine reaction With any medicine, including vaccines, there is a chance of reactions. These are usually mild and go away on their own, but serious reactions are also possible. Most people who get a flu shot do not have any problems with it.
A. Minor Problems Following a Flu Shot Include:
- Soreness.
- Redness, or swelling where the shot was given.
- Hoarseness.
- Sore, red or itchy eyes.
- Cough.
- Fever.
- Aches.
- Headache.
- Itching.
- Fatigue.
If these problems occur, they usually begin soon after the shot and last 1 or 2 days.
B. More Serious Problems Following a Flu Shot Can Include The Following:
- There may be a small increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) after inactivated u vaccine.
- This risk has been estimated at 1 or 2 additional cases per million people vaccinated.
- This is much lower than the risk of severe complications from u, which can be prevented by u vaccine.
Also,
- Young children who get the flu shot along with the pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13) and-or DTaP vaccine at the same time might be slightly more likely to have a seizure caused by fever. Ask your doctor for more information. Tell your doctor if a child who is getting u vaccine has ever had a seizure.
C. Problems That Could Happen After Any Injected Vaccine:
- People sometimes faint after a medical procedure, including vaccination.
- Sitting or lying down for about 15 minutes can help prevent fainting, and injuries caused by a fall. Tell your doctor if you feel dizzy, or have vision changes or ringing in the ears.
- Some people get severe pain in the shoulder and have difficulty moving the arm where a shot was given. This happens very rarely.
Some People,
Get severe pain in the shoulder and have difficulty moving the arm where a shot was given. This happens very rarely.
- Any medication can cause a severe allergic reaction. Such reactions from a vaccine are very rare, estimated at about 1 in a million doses, and would happen within a few minutes to a few hours after the vaccination.
8. If There is a Serious Reaction? What Should I Look For?
- Look for anything that concerns you, such as signs of a severe allergic reaction, very high fever, or unusual behavior.
- Signs of a severe allergic reaction can include hives, swelling of the face and throat, difficulty breathing, a fast heartbeat, dizziness, and weakness.
- These would start a few minutes to a few hours after the vaccination.
What Should I Do?
If you think it is a severe allergic reaction or another emergency that can’t wait, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the nearest hospital. Otherwise, call your doctor. Reactions should be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
9. Now, Do I Need a Flu Shot?
Whether you believe in the “Six Degrees of Separation” or not, there is no argument – the flu is a highly contagious disease and spread from person to person through coughing, sneezing or simply touching a surface previously touched by someone infected.
It takes approximately two weeks for the immunization’s protection to become effective. It is wise to check with your doctor to ensure that there is no reason for you to avoid the vaccine. While the flu vaccine is safe and effective for most people.
There Are,
Some persons for whom the vaccine is not recommended such as anyone with a previous reaction to a flu vaccine, have an allergy to chicken eggs of anyone who has had Guillain-Barré syndrome. If you currently have an illness with a fever, you should wait until the fever has stopped and you feel completely better.
If You Decide Not to Get The Shot,
- Washing your hands frequently is about the best protection you have.
- If you decide to get the flu vaccine, keep in mind that the flu mutates from year to year.
- You will need to get another immunization when other strains are discovered.
- Even if you do not get a flu shot each year, the previous year’s vaccine will offer some, albeit very little to some protection over someone that was not immunized.
Special Consideration Regarding Egg Allergy:
The recommendations for vaccination of people with egg allergies have not changed since 2016-2017.
People with egg allergies can receive any licensed, recommended age-appropriate influenza vaccine and no longer have to be monitored for 30 minutes after receiving the vaccine. People who have severe egg allergies should be vaccinated in a medical setting and be supervised by a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic conditions.
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Sources https://www.cdc.gov/
Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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