By Aishat Ibrahim
Need your children and loved ones to feel safe and healthy this winter and be able to fight of flu outbreak? Why not take them for the vaccination.
Each flu season is different, and influenza can affect people differently, but every year millions of people get flu, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and thousands to ten thousand people die each year from flu-related causes. The best way to help protect against flu is through an annual seasonal flu vaccine.
The virus (flu) infects the lungs and the upper airways, causing extreme high temperatures and general aches and pains, headache, fatigue and exhaustion. Symptoms can continue for up to a week.
The flu vaccine helps produce antibodies in the immune system to fight influenza virus. If the jab has been taken and the individual comes in contact with the virus, the vaccine will be attacked by these antibodies to stop the body from getting sick. Within two weeks, the flu vaccine will begin to work.
According to the Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) the benefit of getting the flu vaccination is enormous as it keeps the body from getting sick, reduces the risk of flu-associated hospitalization for children, working age adults, and older adults, helps protect people around us especially people with certain chronic health conditions (such as people with HIV, Cancer etc. ).
People from the age of 65, pregnant women, children, people with Down syndrome, people who work in the healthcare sector, or a carer, and people who works with pig, poultry and water fowl are in the at-risk group are urged to take the vaccination as not taking them may lead to serious health risk or infecting others. They are advised to take the vaccination because their immunity is low.
The HSE who is doing a remarkable work in announcing that the seasonal flu vaccination should be taken in order to not have to deal with the pain that comes with the flu, has advised anyone who is at a risk of contracting the virus to please walk into a pharmacy, GP office, or an occupational health department to have their shot of the vaccination. The HSE also announced that the shots are available from October 2019 till April 2020, as that is when the flu spreads like wide fire during winter because of the cold.
There is nothing that has an advantage that doesn’t have its disadvantages, the flu vaccination also has its disadvantages. Dr Jill Seladi-Schulman, explained in an article that an individual can get the flu shot and occasionally, still come down with the flu. It takes about two weeks for your body to develop immunity after getting the vaccine. You can still get the flu during this time.
“If you have a negative reaction to the vaccine, you usually experience symptoms within minutes to hours of receiving the vaccine”. Symptoms may include: wheezing, difficulty breathing, rapid pulse, swelling of the hives or rash around the mouth and eyes, and feeling weak or dizzy said Dr Jill. There are also people who shouldn’t take the vaccine they are Children younger than 6 months of age and people with severe reactions to the flu vaccine or any of its components.
He also continued to say that the flu can cause the Guillain-Barre syndrome which is a rare condition in which the immune system starts destroying the peripheral nerves. He advised the general public that if they have influenza vaccination questions or concerns, they should contact their doctor about it.
Families are advised to take the shots yearly to prevent falling sick. Please make sure your loved ones are protected this season. If you don’t take care of them who will? For more information about the flu vaccination contact the HSE at 041 6850300 or hselive@hse.ie or walk into the nearest pharmacy or visit your GP.
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