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Do I need to get a flu shot?
Last reviewed: 20.10.2021
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The flu is so dangerous for people that it is on the third place among the most treacherous diseases of our time. Therefore, doctors recommend that you vaccinate to avoid the flu and its complications. Meanwhile, up to 80% of US residents prefer to vaccinate, about 10% of the population of Russia, and in Ukraine - up to 1%. There are a lot of rumors about vaccinations - truthful and not very good. Do I need to get a flu shot?
[Who needs flu vaccination?
WHO argues that although everyone is sick with the flu, not everyone needs vaccinations. But there are groups of people who need flu shots. It:
- Children from six months who have not yet acquired immunity to colds and whose immune system is still very weak
- People with chronic diseases of the respiratory system (but not in an acute state and without temperature)
- Those who have immunodeficiency
- People who have crossed the threshold of 50 years
Why is it so difficult to get a flu shot?
In the composition of the influenza virus, there are special antigens, the formula and form of which forms varieties of the same viruses. These varieties, to our regret, change their composition every year, because of what it is quite difficult to find an effective vaccine against the flu.
In order for the vaccine to be developed correctly and, accordingly, it is necessary to rely on the doctors' forecasts regarding the likely changes in the structure of the virus. This is quite difficult, so if the vaccine is not properly selected, you can not guess and not protect the person from the flu completely. The fact is that if scientists have not guessed with the vaccine, then it will not have enough antimatter to withstand the flu. With an incorrectly selected vaccine, its effectiveness is reduced by a factor of three - this explains the inefficiency of vaccinations.
What is the composition of the flu vaccine?
As part of the vaccination against influenza viruses are contained, but not alive, but already killed. These viruses, getting into the human body, increase its immunity and cause it to fight with the infection. Having trained on weak viruses, the body instantly recognizes influenza viruses that get to it from the external environment. And easily copes with them. In this - the essence of the vaccine against the flu.
The vaccine differs from the present influenza virus in that it contains too weak viruses or inactivated viruses (generally without virus content). These are inactivated viruses and can give most complications after the flu. After the vaccination, two weeks pass from the flu, and this is the time when the body fully adapts to this type of flu. Therefore, it is better to vaccinate against influenza not during epidemics, but before their onset - beginning in October.
Pros of vaccination against influenza
Vaccination against influenza helps reduce the incidence of influenza in a rather impressive scale - this is a fact. For example, among the elderly people who were vaccinated against the flu, up to 60% later they are not sick with acute respiratory diseases in general. Vaccination from the flu makes it possible not to ache more than 80% of people of all ages who have been vaccinated. Children who were vaccinated against influenza cease to be ill in more than 92% of cases. Vaccination against influenza also reduces the likelihood of complications by more than a third - one of them is a painful otitis for children.
Cons of vaccination against influenza
There are also side effects of flu vaccination. They are related to:
- Incorrect use of the vaccine (not corresponding to the influenza strain)
- Vaccination in those conditions that are prohibited for vaccinations - pregnancy in the first trimester, high fever, acute disease during vaccination
- A negative reaction to vaccine substances that were not taken into account
The consequences of the negative reaction of the body to the vaccine - weakness of the body, redness at the injection site, fever and flu symptoms in mild form - headache, lethargy and so on. With a normal response of the body to the vaccine, these symptoms disappear within two days after the vaccination, and in case of complications, the person's condition deteriorates sharply after 6-12 hours from the time of vaccination.
It is worth knowing that besides vaccination against influenza, there are other methods of prevention: plenty of copious drinking with vitamins (decoction of rose hips, sea buckthorn, tea with lemon and honey), wearing an antiviral mask, taking multivitamin preparations to maintain immunity, frequent washing hands. They should be used, because in the cold season, a person loses a lot of vitamins - up to 70% of what is needed!
Therefore, using a vaccine against influenza as the only means is wrong. But you do not need to give it up. Especially if you find yourself on the list of people who need flu shots.
Who does not have a flu vaccine?
There are people who do not get a flu shot, because it can cause a number of complications.
- These are people with chronic diseases of the nervous system
- Those who have problems with the genitourinary system (ureter, bladder, kidneys and so on)
- People suffering from diseases of the endocrine organs (thyroid, adrenal, pituitary)
- Those who have heart failure, and clearly expressed
- People with bronchial asthma
- Patients with blood diseases of any age
- Pregnant women before the third trimester of pregnancy
- Those who have an allergy to chicken protein
Vaccination against influenza, introducing viruses into the body, can cause an adverse reaction even in healthy people who do not suffer from the above contraindications.
Influenza in Figures
Today the flu is a real plague of the century. In terms of complications and mortality, influenza is in third place after cardiovascular diseases and cancer. And the flu together with ARVI occupy 95% of infectious diseases. These viruses each year strike up to 500 million people on the planet. Of these people, up to 2 million people die. To reduce these deaths, scientists recommend vaccination.
Vaccination, according to WHO, should protect people from the flu and prevent complications after the flu, not to mention the mortality, which is significantly reduced. The vaccine works, strengthening primarily the immune system.
But, unfortunately, this protection does not always work. As a minus, it is not always right for physicians to select a vaccine, but as a plus, even if the vaccine does not fully protect against infection with the virus, but it makes it possible to weaken its influence on the body.
More on the influenza virus
The flu virus is far from alone. There are at least three of them - the influenza virus A, B, C - as the first letters in the English alphabet. The most dangerous is considered to be influenza type A, epidemics and pandemics are associated with it. Influenza type B is also not a gift - it causes damage to the body in many people, but affects people more locally. The most mild in its impact is the influenza C virus, although it is undesirable to suffer from none of the three types of influenza.