ID Care: Why you need to get the flu vaccination this fall
Do you need a flu vaccination?
Yes, you do!
According to the CDC, approximately 9 to 36 million U.S. persons will get sick from the influenza virus each year. Upwards of nearly 300,000 to 700,000 persons are hospitalized each year due to severe influenza illness and nearly 12,000 to 56,000 will die of complications of influenza virus. Those persons requiring hospitalizations are usually the extremes of age, infants and elderly as well as persons with chronic illnesses, like emphysema.
Yet less than half of U.S. residents (45 percent) are vaccinated during flu season, which usually occurs October through May.
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There are many reasons people convince themselves that they do not need to be vaccinated against the flu even though the influenza vaccine has few side effects. Most common side effects are local redness or discomfort at site of injection.
Here are some of the reasons people use for not getting the flu vaccine, and the reasons why they are wrong:
I am healthy, so I won’t get too sick. True, healthy individuals infected with the influenza virus will likely be miserable for a short period of time. However having the virus means you can infect others, including those persons who are most vulnerable to having severe symptoms and possible complications of the infection — like your grandmother. An infected person can spread the virus up to one day before and five to seven days after having initial flu symptoms. The more people vaccinated will decrease the spread of the flu — this is called herd immunity.
The flu vaccination is only partially effective in preventing getting the flu, so why get vaccinated? Yes, the influenza vaccine does not eliminate your risk of getting sick from the flu virus, but it does reduce your risk. There is just not just one strain of influenza virus and there is no absolute way to predict which will be the predominate circulating strain in the upcoming flu season. Getting the flu vaccination reduces your risk of getting the flu and transmitting the flu to others.
I get the flu after getting vaccinated for the flu? Not true, the flu vaccine is made from dead or inactivated virus not capable of getting you sick but designed to bolster your immune system to prevent you from getting sick. Very few people have side effects from the vaccine; those side effects may include injection site redness, headache, body aches and possibly an elevated temperature. Children younger than 6 months and persons with history of Guillain-Barre syndrome and severe allergic reaction (extremely rare) should not receive the influenza vaccination.
Healthy People 2002 has published a goal to increase Influenza vaccination to 70 people of non-institutionalized adults. It is highly recommended for persons who live with or work with young children, older adult and people with certain chronic medical conditions.
I challenge you to participate in reaching this goal and get your flu vaccination this year!
The Hillsborough-based ID CARE is the largest enterprise in New Jersey dedicated to the identification, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases.
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