Flu is one of the most underrated infections of all time. In the United States alone, the death toll just because of flu is between 34,000 to 43,000 a year. That is about 93 deaths to an approximate of 117 deaths a day. The flu is nothing to joke about, and you must understand how deadly it can be.
Here are some facts about the importance of flu vaccination this season that you should not miss:
Vaccination every season
Some people think that vaccines should only be given when one is but a child and that they will cause the body to develop permanent immunity. This may be true for some diseases like chickenpox, but flu is a disease that changes its shape every season. It is impossible to find a single cure for the flu.
This is one of the reasons why you should get vaccinated every season or at least once a year. If you haven’t been vaccinated this year, you must get vaccination right now, or you might be at a higher risk of developing more dangerous conditions like influenza.
Sickness after getting vaccinated
It is very common to feel a little sick, or even cold after getting vaccinated. Vaccination is the process of injecting a safe number of bacteria into the body so it can develop antibodies that can fight those bacteria more efficiently in the future.
How do we get sick?
To explain further, you get sick because your body is unable to fight the bacteria that has entered it. The body has an entire system called the immune system that is designed to create all antibodies that will fight off the disease.
Once a body is exposed to a certain type of bacteria, it creates antibodies that make sure that the person does not suffer from that same condition again. This is why you get vaccinations as a child for polio, pox, and several other conditions.
Why do we feel sick after vaccination?
We already answered this question through the previous explanation, but if you still have any doubts, here is simple math to make it easier to understand: if the body gets sick with 100 of a new type of bacteria, but should be able to fend off 10 or 20 of these off with minimal risk, the body is artificially exposed to this safe amount through vaccines.
The body generates antibodies for only these 10 or 20 bacteria with minimal effort. During this time, you are bound to feel sick or a little cold: because you are technically in an induced form of sickness. This sickness lasts for about two weeks. In two weeks, the body will have created antibodies that can fight against this type of bacteria.
So, no matter if 1000 of this type of bacteria enters the body, it will easily be able to fend off these dangerous organisms because it knows the formula needed to create respective antibodies.
Why it is even more important to get vaccinated?
Coronavirus or COVID-19 is a dangerous pandemic that has turned the entire world upside down. We have been forced into the enclosure of our homes: only to go out in the direst of needs and needing to wear masks and gloves.
The COVID-19 is even more of a reason to get vaccinated this year. Here are some of the symptoms of people who suffer from COVID-19:
• You will have a fever
• Dry cough will be consistent
• You will feel tired
• Aches and pains
• Sore throat and headache
• Loss of taste or smell, a rash on the skin, difficulty in breathing
• Chest pain or loss of speech in rare cases.
You must have noticed that some of these symptoms such as dry cough, sore throat, and headache are very common among people who are suffering from the flu too.
The Public Health Agency is even urging people to get vaccinated from flu as soon as possible because people who get co-infected with both COVID-19, as well as the flu, will end up with “severe illness”. We can confirm that because flu comes from everchanging bacteria that change itself every season, it will complicate the work of “contract tracing and surveillance program”.
Benefits of flu vaccinations
Here are some of the benefits of getting flu vaccinations, and why you should get one too:
• Preventing hospitalizations – In the year 2018 to 2019 alone in the US, flu vaccination prevented at least 58,000 flu-related hospitalizations.
• Lower cardiac events – According to research, people who get vaccinated every season or at least once a year are less likely to suffer from cardiac issues.
• Help keep the lungs in check – People who get flu vaccinations are less likely to suffer from chronic lung diseases.
• Protect people around you – Because flu is a viral infection that passes from one person to another, it can affect people close to you if you are suffering. Vaccination will not only protect you but also the people around you from danger.
For more information please call AMA Medical Center at (781) 581-6181 or contact us online.
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