Flu shot can help fight flu, but not common cold
Published Thursday October 2nd, 2008
Did you get yours yet?
Flu predisposes people to pneumonia and other infections which can be serious, by lowering their resistance," says Moncton family physician and chief of family medicine at the Moncton Hospital, Dr. Tom Laughlin.
"The flu can weaken the body's ability to fight off other serious infections like pneumonia or bronchitis," reads a statement on the New Brunswick Department of Health website.
"Everybody should have a flu shot," advises Moncton VON Manager Anne Gagnon-Ouellette.
What's all the hoop-la, you may ask. Flu shot? Not for me, you may say.
In New Brunswick several segments of society are eligible for free doses of flu vaccine every year. Those aged 65 and older, or infants between six and 23 months, are eligible for a free flu shot. So are residents of nursing homes and chronic care facilities, regardless of age. People with chronic illnesses or health conditions which weaken the body's immune system also have a free vaccine earmarked for them. Family doctors know which of their patients are in this last group, and administer the vaccine to them. Another group of people eligible for a free flu vaccine is made up of any household members living with someone in any of the above categories.
Last year the regional Public Health department distributed 32,000 publicly funded doses of flu vaccine. So far this year, their first order is for 29,000. Usually two orders are made.
Does this mean more people are sick, old, or at risk? Possibly. It may simply mean that those who administer flu shots anticipate that more people will be taking advantage of the service this year.
Presumably the government wouldn't be spending all this money without strong evidence of the effectiveness of flu vaccinations. There are, of course, nay-sayers, but by and large the vast body of evidence points up the wisdom of getting an annual flu shot.
"We have flu clinics all over the area," says Anne. "We go into some businesses and administer them right at the workplace, so employees don't have to take time off work. Employers are happy because their staff don't take as many sick days as before, and they call us back year after year. Some employers even pay for the shots for their employees."
The VON isn't the only group which holds flu vaccination clinic. They are, however, the only ones other than family doctors who have free vaccines for the elderly, infants, and pregnant women. They don't have free vaccines given to them by the government for the chronically ill. People in this category who wish to be injected for free should go to their family doctor.
The VON, in addition to on-premises shots for businesses, hold flu shot clinics for the general public in many area drug stores and Clubs d'Age d'Or. Other organizations, such as We Care Home Health Services, also hold clinics in drug stores and other locations for people who don't want to make the trip to the doctor's office. Ask your local drug store if and when it will be holding its clinic, and, if you want, which organization is administering the shots there.
"Something a lot of people don't understand," the doctor explains, "is that having a flu shot doesn't mean they won't get the common cold."
We've all heard that excuse for not getting vaccinated against the flu: 'I got a flu shot and I still caught a cold or had the flu'. But, continues Dr. Laughlin, "The symptoms of the common cold are similar but less severe than those of a true flu. Flu is more profound. Flu shots don't protect against the less dangerous common cold, but if you do get the flu after having your shot, it will be less severe."
Another rationalization for not getting a flu shot is that the vaccine administered here in the fall is based on viruses that were around over a year and a half ago, so they won't help against what's circulating this year.
Every February the World Health Organization selects three influenza isolates to be the basis of the following autumn's vaccine production. Strain identification, production, regulatory authorization and distribution all take place in less than eight months, the result of international co-operation.
"For vaccines for North America," he says, "they look at what viruses were active for instance in China, because those are the ones that'll hit us next. To some extent it's an educated guess, but they're right most of the time."
So this year's flu shot will immunize against three flu viruses which were active halfway around the world a year or so ago, not ones which were here a year ago.
Still determined not to get a flu shot this year? Perhaps you should reconsider if you work with a lot of people. Dr. Laughlin recommends that hospital workers and other health care providers be immunized to protect the ill people around them. The same might be said of school and daycare workers.
A flu shot, like any other medication, carries with it the possibility of complications or reactions in the patient. Tenderness near the injection site, slight fatigue for a day or so, are the most common. The vaccine can't give a person the flu, as it's a 'dead' vaccine. Serious reactions are extremely rare, and shouldn't be an excuse not to inoculated.
Remember, if you're eligible for free flu vaccine, you shouldn't be paying for it, no matter who administers it. A publicly funded vaccine is distributed by N.B. Public Health to doctors' offices and the VON. Community clinics, drug stores, and many other locations will have flu clinics this fall, some with privately and some with publicly funded vaccine. Inform yourself as to which you're eligible for, check prices, dates, and times, or go to your family doctor.
"It's a personal decision," he says, when asked if he thinks everyone should have a flu shot.
Anne is a little more vehement when she says,
"In an ideal world the flu shot should be free for everybody."
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