Should You Get a Flu Shot? You Bet!

David, 72, has chronic lung disease. Jessica is four months pregnant. Carl works in a nursing home. In any given year, all three would be strongly urged to get vaccinated against the flu because they represent groups that have a high risk of flu complications – persons age 65 and over, those with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women, and individuals who care for persons with chronic medical conditions.

From 5 to 20 percent of Americans catch the flu each year, and although most get well within a couple of weeks, about 200,000 require hospitalization and 24,000 die because of the flu each year.

“Influenza, commonly referred to as ‘the flu,’ is a respiratory illness spread by a virus that infects the nose, throat, bronchial airways, and lungs,” says Dr. Gregory Harrington, a physician affiliated with Mercy Community Physicians and medical director for the Calhoun County Public Health Department. “This highly contagious virus is spread via airborne droplets from coughing and sneezing. Incubation takes from two to three days.”

The best way to protect yourself is to get a yearly flu shot, and person most likely to benefit are those at high risk of suffering serious complications and persons who could pass the virus on to others who are sick or have weakened immunity.

Other groups considered high risk are children ages 6 months to 5 years, health care workers, seniors living in nursing homes, and household contacts with persons of high risk. Chronic medical conditions that put a person at risk include asthma, heart disease, diabetes, kidney and liver disorders, neurological conditions, epilepsy, stroke, muscular dystrophy, and morbid obesity.

Last year, individuals falling into one or more of those high risk categories added up to about 85 percent of the population…85 percent. In February of this year, a panel of vaccine experts decided in favor of universal flu vaccination—recommending that everyone 6 months of age or older get a flu vaccination every year.

Two flu shots were required last year for full protection, but this year, only one is needed since the vaccine will protect against H1N1 as well as two other viruses that researchers have identified as likely to be most common during the 2010-2011 season.

The only exceptions to the universal recommendation are person who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs; have had a severe reaction to influenza vaccination in the past; or developed Guillian-Barre syndrome within six weeks of a previous flu shot. Anyone with a moderate to severe illness with fever at the time should wait to get vaccinated,.

Studies of community outbreaks indicate that school-age children have the highest rates of illness. This suggests that universal vaccination of children will reduce infections in their household and in the community.

“There are a number of false assumptions about the flu vaccine,” says Dr. Harrington. “Because it is made with inactivated virus it cannot give you the flu. It does, however, take a couple of weeks before your body builds up enough antibodies to be protective, so it is possible to get the flu in the period shortly after having the shot. It is also possible that the strains selected in the annual vaccine may not adequately reflect the most common strain in your area. And because the dominant strains vary each year, you have to be vaccinated every year to maintain protection.”

No one wants to get the flu. At best, it causes short-term illness and several days’ lost from work or school. But at worst, it can lead to life-threatening complications. There is one easy way to head off the misery … get the shot, not the flu.

Battle Creek Health System, sponsored by two parent organizations--Trinity Health (the fourth largest Catholic health system in the U.S. with 21 hospitals, 9 nursing homes, 19 senior house facilities, 8 home health care agencies, and 4 hospices in Michigan alone) and BCHS Community Partners, is accredited by the Joint Commission. Battle Creek Health System, a member of the Mercy Cancer Network, is a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement® as designated by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network. BCHS, a nonprofit hospital, provides excellent health care for the community and promotes wellness for the whole person with access and compassion for all. For the latest medical information, visit the BCHS web site at www.bchealth.com or call the BCHS Marketing Department at (269) 966-8132.

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