Every year when cold and flu season starts to rear its ugly head, we always hear about the need for everyone who can to get a flu shot. But it turns out this year, it may be more important than ever. Here are some facts about the flu shot itself and why it’s so important that you get one every year.
Why get it now?
The flu has already hit more than 2 million Americans this year, with the southeastern and southcentral U.S. bearing the initial brunt. By the first week of November, 5% of all health care visits were due to respiratory illnesses and 6,000 people were admitted to the hospital with the flu. The rate of hospitalization is higher than it’s been in the last decade. This year could be even more dire with not only flu cases rising but RSV and the continued, if lower, threat of COVID and its variants.
Does it work?
Each year, scientists produce a flu vaccine from the most prevalent strains of the virus that are being seen at the time, with varying amounts of effectiveness. This year’s shot has around 50% efficacy for keeping the number of flu-related hospitalizations down. You may be asking ‘Why bother?’ if its efficacy is only 50% but no vaccine carries a rate of 100% effectiveness and the intent of these shots is to reduce the spread of disease, not necessarily to prevent infection altogether. If you do contract the flu after having been vaccinated, it’s likely that you will suffer a much milder case and your chance of being hospitalized is much lower than someone who is unvaccinated. This helps prevent medical personnel and hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. In the 2019-2020, the CDC estimates the flu shot prevented more than 7 million infections, 100,000 hospitalizations and likely over 6,000 deaths.
Will the vaccine give me the flu?
Nope! The vaccines contain an inactive form of the virus and in the case of those with live virus like the nasal spray, the virus is changed in order not to give you the flu. That being said, some people do experience pain at the injection site, muscle aches, headache, low fever and nausea as side effects after the shot, but those tend to dissipate within a few days at the most.
Is it safe?
Yes! The flu vaccine has been around for over 50 years and hundreds of millions of Americans have opted to take it with great success. So much research has gone into these vaccines making them the best defense against getting and spreading the flu. In rare instances, people do have adverse reactions so if you experience difficulty breathing, swelling of the eyes or lips, hives or an elevated heart rate or dizziness, do seek help. These reactions are incredibly rare and if they do happen, it’s likely within the first few minutes to hours after injection.
Having the flu is a miserable experience for relatively healthy people but it can be deadly for the very young, the elderly and the immune compromised. Getting your flu shot not only reduces your risk of getting seriously ill but also protects those who are more susceptible or who may not be able to get the shot and keeps hospitals from being inundated. Schedule your flu shot with us today!
About RevanRx
Everyone deserves to have their pharmaceutical needs met without fear or embarrassment. RevanRx is a full-service and compounding pharmacy, specializing in the unique needs of the LGBT+ community in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas.
We hope to increase patient adherence and access to care for those who would otherwise not feel comfortable receiving medications or medication counseling in a public setting, avoiding embarrassing public conversations, misgendering, or refusal of service. Visit us at Revanrx.com and like us on Facebook.