Flu season is here, and according to Crozer-Keystone Health System primary care physicians, the best protection is to get your annual flu vaccine.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, influenza is a viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs. About 10 to 20 percent of Americans get the flu annually. The flu causes fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, muscle aches, and fatigue.
In most cases, people feel better after 1 to 2 weeks, but the flu can also lead to pneumonia and other serious complications. Each year, about 200,000 people are admitted to the hospital with flu-related symptoms and on average the flu is responsible for 36,000 deaths. The best way to avoid catching the flu is to get the vaccine each fall before flu season begins, which can be as early as October and last until as late as May.
Mitchell Kaminski, M.D., chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, explains that the flu vaccine contains non-infectious protein particles from three flu viruses. When injected into your body, you develop a reaction to the virus, which creates antibodies.
“If exposed, these antibodies will later attack the real flu virus and keep it from making you sick,” Kaminski says. “Every vaccine contains three different strands of influenza viruses. Each year, long before flu epidemics occur, public health scientists study which strains/types of flu are showing up around the world. They try to guess which three strains are most likely to cause the next flu season’s epidemic. These strains are then used to produce the new flu vaccine.”
Most often, scientists are accurate and the vaccine contains the correct strain. However, it is possible for the vaccine to protect against strains not causing the epidemic. For example, last year the vaccine only protected 40 percent of reported flu cases. “Chances are that the new vaccine for next fall/winter will do a better job of protecting us against the right strain of the flu. People should still be immunized,” Kaminski says.
It is important to remember that flu viruses are always changing; they can change from the time the vaccine is recommended, to the beginning of flu season, and even during a flu season. When the vaccine is matched correctly to strains causing the epidemic, it can reduce the chances of catching the flu by 70-90 percent in healthy adults.
Even when strains are not correctly matched, the vaccine can still offer protection. For example, the vaccine could provide partial protection against circulating flu viruses that are related to those used to make the vaccine. It could provide enough protection to make the illness less severe and even prevent complications.
It takes about two weeks after vaccination for your body to develop antibodies. Therefore, it is recommended that you get vaccinated before the epidemic occurs, usually anytime between late fall and during the winter. There are two types of flu vaccines: the flu shot, which is an inactive virus given with a needle, and the nasal-spray vaccine, which is made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu. The shot is approved in patients 6 months or older; the nasal spray is not approved for children under 2 years old.
David Kalodner, D.O., chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Taylor Hospital, says, “Both vaccines are safe and effective in protecting from the flu. It is recommended that everyone get the vaccine at the beginning of flu season especially those with higher risks for complications.”
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), the ability for the flu vaccine to protect a person depends on the match between the strains in the vaccine and those being spread in the community along with the age and health of the person getting the vaccine. Certain groups of people are at higher risk for flu complications.
Robert Madonna Jr., D.O., chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, says the flu vaccine should given to those at high risk for complications: children ages 6 months to 23 months old, pregnant women, people age 50 years and older, people with chronic medical conditions, and people who live in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. It is recommended that those who work in child care and with the elderly get the vaccine to prevent spreading the flu.
“The flu vaccine is very effective, and contrary to the myth, it cannot give you the flu,” Madonna says.
CDC research shows that among elderly not living in a nursing home and those with chronic medical conditions, the vaccine is 30 -70 percent effective in preventing hospitalization. For nursing home residents, the vaccine is 50-60 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations or other complications and 80 percent effective in preventing death. The vaccine can prevent 66 percent or more flu infections in young children and even higher percentages for older children.
Getting the flu vaccine each year is the best way to prevent the flu. The CDC also recommends good hygiene habits such as washing your hands to reduce the spread of the flu.
To find a Crozer-Keystone physician who’s right for you, visit www.crozer.org or call 1-800-CK-HEALTH (1-800-254-3258).