Flu Vaccine: Your Best Shot for Avoiding Influenza

vaccine

The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent the flu.

  1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  2. Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay away from work, school and running errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
  3. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
  4. Clean your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.
  5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
  6. Practice other good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

 

Influenza season is just around the corner and getting a flu shot can help reduce your risk of coming down with the flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it expects a record 143 million to 146 million doses of influenza vaccine to be available for the 2008-2009 flu season. This is an all-time high supply of vaccine making it possible for more people than ever to seek protection from the flu.

Not sure if you should get a flu shot?  Here’s some helpful answers to common questions about the flu and flu shots:

What is Influenza?
Influenza is a viral infection that sickens millions of people each year and has the potential to cause serious complications, especially in children and older adults.

When will the vaccine be available?
Most of the vaccine is expected to be distributed by the end of November. October and November is the ideal time to be vaccinated against influenza, before the flu season typically begins.

Who should get vaccinated this season?
It is recommended that anyone over age 50, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma, children between 6 months and 18 years of age, healthcare workers and caregivers of anyone in a high-risk group, and residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

Don’t get a flu shot if you have had an allergic reaction to the vaccine in the past; are allergic to eggs; developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, a serious autoimmune disease affecting the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, within six weeks of receiving the vaccine in the past; or if you have a fever.

When should I get vaccinated?
Yearly flu vaccinations should begin as soon as it is available and continue throughout the flu season. Flu activity in the United States generally peaks in February, but can continue to cause illness into the spring. If you are not able to get your vaccine in the fall, getting it in December, January and beyond can be beneficial.

What are my options for the flu vaccine?
The flu vaccine comes in two forms:

  • A shot. A flu shot contains an inactivated vaccine (Fluzone) made of killed virus. The shot is usually given in the arm. Because the viruses in the vaccine are killed (inactivated), the shot won’t cause you to get the flu, but it will enable your body to develop the antibodies necessary to ward off influenza viruses. You may have a slight reaction to the shot, such as soreness at the injection site, mild muscle ache or fever. Reactions usually last one to two days and are more likely to occur in children who have never been exposed to the flu virus.
  • A nasal spray. Administered through your nose, the nasal spray vaccine (FluMist) consists of a low dose of live but weakened flu viruses. The vaccine doesn’t cause the flu, but it does prompt an immune response in your nose and upper airways as well as throughout your body.

How long will I be protected?
The immunity provided by the vaccine lasts about a year, so a vaccination now provides protection for the duration of the U.S. flu season, which can last until April or May. Getting vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available may be most important for children being vaccinated against the flu for the first time, who need to get two doses at least four weeks apart.

Is the flu shot really beneficial?
A flu shot is between 70 percent and 90 percent effective in warding off illness, depending on the length and intensity of a given flu season and your overall health. In a few cases, people who get a flu shot may still get the flu, but they’ll get a much less virulent form of the illness and, most important, they’ll have a decreased risk of flu-related complications — especially pneumonia, heart attack, stroke and death — to which older adults are especially vulnerable.

It takes about two weeks following a flu shot for your body to develop antibodies to the flu. That means that with the flu still spreading, you have some time to get protection.”

Why do I need to get vaccinated every year?
You need an annual flu shot because the vaccine changes from year to year. The flu vaccine you got last year wasn’t designed to fight the virus strains in circulation this season.

Source: Centers for Disease Control


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