Flu is a contagious infection caused by the influenza virus. Symptoms of the flu may include fever, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, cough, sore throat, and fatigue. Antiviral medications like Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or Zanamivir (Relenza) can be used to reduce the recovery time associated with influenza. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend the influenza vaccine as your best defense against contracting sesaonal influenza and its potentially severe complications. Here are the most convincing reasons to get your annual flu shot:
1. Influenza prevention
Getting an influenza shot can reduce your chances of getting the influenza by up to 60%. According to the CDC, flu vaccines prevent millions of illnesses and flu-related emergency visits annually. For example, 2020 statistics show that flu vaccinations prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105,000 influenza-related hospitalizations, and 6,300 influenza-related deaths.
2. Prevents more serious flu-complications
Influenza can cause serious complications in people of all ages and of all health conditions, but it’s especially dangerous for young children and older adults. Getting vaccinated every year helps protect against two types of influenza viruses that commonly circulate during the fall and winter months: influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B. Suppose you do get sick after being vaccinated; your symptoms will likely be milder than if you weren’t vaccinated at all, and you will most likely recover in less than two weeks. However in unvaccinated, immunocomprimised patients flu-related complications, like pneumonia), can result in life-threatening complications and even death.
3. Lower risk of hospitalization in certain groups
The CDC estimates that getting vaccinated reduces your chances of being hospitalized due to influenza by about 50 percent, which is especially important for those at high-risk for severe illness or death from influenza, such as those 65-years of age or older, pregnant women, infants younger than six months old, and those with chronic health conditions, for example, heart or lung disease, diabetes, and kidney disease.
4. Safegaurds your community
By getting vaccinated, you’re helping to protect yourself and others around you by preventing the spread of influenza. The influenza virus can spread effortlessly from one person to another through coughing or sneezing. If someone close to you gets sick with influenza, there’s a high chance that he or she could pass it along to you if you are unvaccinated. So getting vaccinated is one way to help prevent an outbreak in your community.
5. The influenza shot adapts each year
The strains in the influenza vaccine change each year to match the ones that researchers think will be most common during the next influenza season. The vaccine is designed to protect against three or four strains of influenza, and each new flu vaccine is produced every year to protect you during the upcoming flu season. It’s important that you get a new flu shot every year because as the effectiveness of the flu shot can decrease over time, and recieving a new vaccine annually helps to keep you protected.
