Should You Get the Flu Vaccine?
With the flu season in full swing, you may be wondering whether or not to be vaccinated against the Influenza virus or the disease commonly known as the flu. With many misconceptions about what the flu is and whether the vaccine actually helps or harms, hopefully the following facts will help you to make the right choice to protect and promote your health and the health of those around you.
What is the flu? The flu is a common viral infection that is diagnosed in more than 3 million people each year in the United States alone. Though common, this dangerous disease can be deadly in high-risk groups of people like babies, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic illnesses. The flu spreads quite easily from an infected person. The Influenza virus targets the body’s respiratory system; specifically the lungs, throat, and nose. When it does this, eventually the infected person may experience a fever, muscle or body aches, headache, cough, fatigue, runny nose, or congestion.
How do I fight the flu? If you have already been infected and diagnosed or if you suspect you have the flu, treatment is quite simple with getting lots of rest and fluids to enable the body to fight back on its own. If you suspect you have the flu and fall with one of the high-risk groups, it is important to be treated by your provider promptly. Antibiotics are useless against the flu as it is a virus and not a bacterium (antibiotics fight bacterial infections). The best defense against the flu is in prevention.
Is the flu shot safe and effective? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu shot is the best way to avoid getting sick with the flu. Each flu season is different and sometimes radically so; the virus itself can mutate or change as its genes interact with its host cell’s genes or with other strands of the virus, creating new stands or types of the flu. This is what makes predicting an effective flu vaccine for each new flu season somewhat difficult, with effectiveness varying from year to year.
The Rexburg Medical Clinic offers the inactivated type of flu vaccine (the virus is dead and therefore cannot cause any degree of illness). Anyone, with a few exceptions (i.e. known allergies to ingredients in the shot, currently ill) from 6 months on can receive a flu shot.
Walk into the clinic today or call (208) 356-5401 to make an appointment to get your flu shot. It’s not too late to protect yourself and others as the flu season heightens.