The yearly flu shot has approached once again
It is that season again where the yearly vaccinations are being administered. During the cold months, it is expected that there will be an increase in illnesses all around the United States, and especially in populated areas such as college campuses. Each year it is recommended that during these times vaccinations for preventable illnesses like the flu vaccination should be administered.
During an interview with Dr. Christian Wightman, SUNY Geneseo’s Medical Director at Lauderdale, advised: “I think there are two practical reasons to get vaccinated. One is to reduce your chance of dying. That's a good thing to do, right? The truth is the chance of dying for most, otherwise healthy adults, is small. Flu and COVID, for otherwise healthy adults, kills a small number of people. But not zero, right? And we know we reduce your chance by getting the shot so that's a good reason to do it.”
Dr. Wightman continued: “A more compelling reason is that from Thanksgiving through New Year is the least [convenient] time that we want to be sick because we're all incredibly busy. We're around family, we're all doing those things we want to do. So, being protected from predictably contagious illnesses during that time is a good idea.”
Dr. Wightman continues to talk about the goal that vaccination has been given at specific times during the year, most notably around October: “[It] more or less takes a couple of weeks, right, which is why it takes us a couple of weeks to get over a cold right because everybody has to get an immune system built up and then we're able to fight that off. So you get whatever vaccine you're getting, and then in a couple of weeks, those antibodies build up, and then they kind of plateau and hang around for a few months, and then if we're not exposed again, they drop off. It is far better to get this done earlier in the season, because then your period of protection corresponds with the time when the most virus was circulating. It’s so challenging, because we can't always predict exactly when the season’s going to be…the flu shot [and] the COVID shot are made against particular strains that we predict will be circulating when the worst of the season is.”
Vaccinations have become highlighted politically, specifically since the recent COVID vaccination. Flu shots, however, are a more studied vaccination in comparison to some others. In response to why people may be conflicted about the effects of the flu virus vaccination, Dr. Wightman stated: “Despite what many people claim, you can't get the flu from getting a flu shot. You can't get COVID from getting the COVID shot. We give these medicines as those seasons are coming on. So there's always a small amount of that virus circulating. So undoubtedly, they are people who get their vaccine and get infected with the virus on the same day. Just statistically, it's really uncommon, but in a country of 300 million people, it's going to happen once in a while.”
Since the 1918 flu pandemic that made its vengeance all the way around the world, killing over 550,000 people, there have been many different outbreaks and vaccinations that have become what we know and receive today. Some of the first major strides in vaccination studies were in the Mayo Clinic between the years 1930-1940, as stated on the Mayo Clinic’s website. Originally, the flu vaccination was used in the military; eventually, in 1945, it was made available to all people.
Throughout the years there have been many different variations of the vaccinations that have been used to treat the everchanging virus. In 2009 another outbreak happened with the H1N1 outbreak, killing 12,400 people in the United States. Vaccinations are of vital importance—they can save lives of people who are not able to withstand viruses as they pass from person to person.
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