Posts Tagged ‘Flu Season’

Do You Need a Flu Shot?

Comments: 0October 20th, 2011 by admin



Who Should Get Vaccinated

* Children between 6 months and 5 years old

* Women who will be pregnant during flu season

* People over 50

* Anyone with a chronic condition such as diabetes, asthma, heart problems or blood disorders

* Anyone with a weakened immune system from HIV/AIDS, long-term steroid treatment, or cancer treatment with X-rays or drugs

* Residents of long-term care facilities such as nursing homes

Those who work in health care, take care of elderly people or care for children up to 5 years old should also get the shot. If you have a medical condition that could cause higher risks from the flu, then you should get one too.

Everyone else needs to just assess their situation and decide. If you work in the community, live in a dorm, travel to the Southern Hemisphere between April & September or anytime to the tropics or anywhere with tour groups, then you might consider it. Anyone who wants to reduce the chances of catching or spreading the flu – go ahead and get one unless you fall into the “don’t get a shot group”.

Don’t Get Vaccinated If:

* You have any life threatening allergies

* You have a severe egg allergy (the vaccine is grown in eggs)

* You have ever had Guillain-Barre Syndrome (actually, you may be able to get one but ask your doctor first)

* You are ill at the time the vaccine is administered

Even if you get the shot, it is not 100% effective, nor does it work against all flu strains. The vaccine researchers just don’t know what kind of bug will show up every year despite their best forecasts. Only about 1/3 of the population even get the shot.

Whether you get vaccinated or not, everyone should try to avoid spreading germs. Here are 10 Easy Ways to Prevent Colds & Flu

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Don’t Get the Flu Shot Now!

Comments: 0April 26th, 2010 by admin



Some physicians have wondered if they delay giving the seasonal flu shot to their patients now, even though the vaccine is available. They are concerned that if patients are vaccinated too early, that the immunity may decline leaving these patients vulnerable when the flu season begins in February – March 2010. This would be of particular concern if elderly patients could not maintain their immunity until flu season strikes, as this group is at high risk of severe flu complications.

The CDC, our nation’s most authoritative voice on medical prevention, advises physicians to administer flu shots now. While it is true that levels of flu antibody after vaccination do decline months after a flu shot, this does not mean that the individual is no longer protected. Flu and vaccine experts believe that an early flu shot will protect people for the entire flu season. In addition, if a physician is seeing a patient now, administering the flu shot guarantees that this individual has been vaccinated, rather than hope that the patient returns in a month or two when flu shots are typically given.

Flu shots are not perfect. When pharmaceutical companies manufacture them each year, they do not know in advance which strain of flu will be arriving. Epidemiologists, who study disease trends and outbreaks, try to predict which flu strains will hit us. This is a frustrating cat and mouse vaccine game. Sometimes, the epidemiologists win and sometime the flu virus prevails.

The seasonal flu vaccine is currently recommended to :

o Children 6 months-18 years old
o Adults older than 50
o Pregnant women
o People with underlying medical conditions
o Health care workers

Don’t delay the flu shot. Get it now. Of course, the seasonal flu shot will not protect you against the ‘swine flu’ H1N1 virus. In other words, you’ll be rolling up your sleeve again in a month or two.

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Should I Get a Flu Shot This Year?

Comments: 0November 22nd, 2009 by admin



The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that everyone under the age of 6 and over the age of 50, in addition to other groups of people with specific medical conditions, should get the influenza (flu) vaccine. And in general pretty much everyone is encouraged to get a flu shot. But is there any evidence that it will actually be helpful for you? The answer is probably not.

The often quoted figure is that 36,000 people die from the flu every year. However about half of those are deaths relate to ‘flu like illness’. Amongst the half that is due to the flu, there are several different strains of influenza virus, and the flu vaccine is going to target only a selected number of them. Add to that that the vaccine is made before the flu season starts, and they don’t know which strains will be showing up that year, that means that a lot of people are not going to get a flu shot that actually protects them against the flu. In addition many of the deaths are in the elderly who may have compromised immune systems, so the flu shot won’t work for them anyway. In fact the only group for which there is evidence that flu shots might save lives is with people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which is caused by smoking.

But I can’t afford to lose time from work with the flu, you say. Actually no studies have shown that flu shots reduce time lost from work either.

The experts in the literature are actually saying not to use flu vaccines, although noone seems to listen to them. Quoting epidemiologist Tom Jefferson below: from an article in BMJ. “The optimistic and confident tone of some predictions of viral circulation and of the impact of inactivated vaccines, which are at odds with the evidence, is striking. The reasons are probably complex and may involve a ‘messy blend of truth conflicts and conflicts of interest making it difficult to separate factual disputes from value disputes’ or a manifestation of optimism bias (an unwarranted belief in the efficacy of interventions).”

Translation: Politicians think that flu vaccines work (but they don’t).

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Does Your Health Insurance Cover Flu Shots?

Comments: 0April 6th, 2009 by admin

The flue season is picking up, and if years past have been any indication it is going to be a very tough time on the bodies of many. Do you get a flu shot? If not you may want to consider it to avoid paying the prices that come with getting the flu.

Lost Time

The first thing that you have to keep in mind when it comes to getting the flu is that it will keep you out of work for a few days. If you work for someone else this may not be as big of a concern, but if you work for yourself that means you will not be able to be productive or make money.

Even if you don’t work for yourself, it’s not only work that loses in this case. Your personal life takes a hit too as you will be too ill to do the things you enjoy.

More Medication

The flu causes you to pick up a lot of things from the pharmacy in an attempt to get through it. From cough syrups to sleep aids and anti-nausea medication, you may rack up a pretty big bill trying to deal with the symptoms of this ailment.

Trips to the Doctor

The flu can get pretty bad. If it does for you that can mean a trip to the doctor’s office, or multiple trips. If you have health insurance, you may be able to appreciate that much of this is paid for by the health insurance company. But that does not usually include everything. Most health insurance companies have deductibles you have to pay before they kick in. This will be more money out of your pocket.

Body Impact

Have you ever really considered what the flu does to your body. It’s a very violent illness internally, taxing every part of your body. While you will be able to recover after a while, it can have effects that leave you feeling worn down for weeks.

Get the Flu Shot

If you couldn’t control the impact of the flu that would be one thing, but you can. Today there are flu shots that can be taken to keep you from getting this illness.

Check if your health insurance policy covers getting the flu shot. Many health insurance companies cover them because they realize they will pay much less for prevention than they would to treat the flu once you get it.

Even if they don’t you may want to put out the money to get a flu shot. Even if it is your expense, prevention is much more affordable than paying for the treatment once you are sick.

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