Get a Flu Shot!
By: Jake | October 20, 2008 | Category: Health
I see signs plastered all over grocery stores, pharmacies and even in the GSA building telling me to get a flu vaccination. I'm a little skeptical of flu shots.
I don't have a fear of needles; it's just that I learned firsthand last year that if you get a flu shot it doesn't guarantee you will avoid getting the flu. Even though I got my shot in October last year, my dad still gave me the flu over the holidays. There are various strains of influenza and scientists create the vaccination from the three strains that they find most likely to cause the most illness during flu season. Last year I got one of those other strains.
Still, a flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu. Since I got the vaccine and still got the flu, the Centers for Disease Control says the shot can make the experience milder. I think this is true as I don't remember hallucinating when I had the flu like I did when I got the flu in the past.
Flu season varies in duration from year to year. We may see flu outbreaks in October, but we generally don't see most cases until after January, so it's important to get your shot early. Keep in mind that there are some people the CDC highly recommend get shots (children, elderly, etc.) and those that they say shouldn't or at least should check with their doctor before getting one (those who are allergic to eggs or who have Guillain-Barré syndrome).
You can get flu shots at grocery stores, pharmacies, your doctor's office and flu clinics. Once you get your flu shot there are other steps you can take to prevent coming down with the flu. You can check out CDC's influenza surveillance website. If you see your friends or co-workers become ill, it's good to know the difference between a cold and the flu.
If you take all these actions and still wind up with the flu, there are things you can do to have a swift recovery. I hope you avoid it though!
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Thanks
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It looks like there are a couple other options besides the vaccine for those with egg allergies, according to this tv article I found.
Of course, they say the sure thing to do for those with egg allergies is to talk to their doctors about them first.
http://ww2.abc7chicago.com/Global/story.asp?S=5962846
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How effective was the flu vaccine during the 2007-08 season?
The effectiveness of the vaccine depends in part on the match between the viruses in the vaccine and influenza viruses that are circulating in the community. If these are closely matched, vaccine effectiveness (VE) is higher. If they are not closely matched, vaccine effectiveness can be reduced. During well-matched years, clinical trials have shown VE between 70% and 90% for inactivated influenza vaccines in the prevention of serologically confirmed influenza infection among healthy adults.
Interim results from a study carried out this season with the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin found overall vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 44% for the 2007-08 flu shot. This included VE of 58% effectiveness against the predominant influenza A (H3N2) viruses, but no effectiveness against influenza B viruses. No influenza A (H1N1) viruses were seen in the study population, so VE against these viruses could not be assessed. A higher VE against H3N2 viruses than against influenza B viruses was likely because the circulating H3N2 strains and H3N2 strain in the vaccine were closely related while the circulating B viruses were antigenically and genetically much different from the influenza B virus in the vaccine and there was little to no cross-reactivity.
The Marshfield Clinic study supports past studies indicating that vaccination can provide cross-protection against different, but related viruses. It should also be noted that different influenza viruses can circulate in different parts of the country at different times so data collected from Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin may not be nationally representative in terms of influenza activity or vaccine effectiveness.
CDC has other systems for estimating vaccine effectiveness. These systems cover multiple sites across the country, which provides vaccine effectiveness data on different populations in areas where different influenza strains may predominate. However, vaccine effectiveness estimates using these systems are not yet available.
For more information about vaccine effectiveness, visit How Well Does the Seasonal Flu Vaccine Work?
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm
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