We care for a large population of patients of various kinds in our practice and we encourage everyone to get a flu shot. We also encourage the staff to get a flu shot since we are exposed to all the various kinds of "germies" that are out there in the winter months.
So now that we are talking about the flu shot we are already hearing all the crap and misinformation from the public about the shot...but even worse, some of our healthcare "professionals" are also saying stuff that is wrong, false or just in error. Usually I don't get to the point of pulling my hair out over hearing all this misinformation until late October but this year I am already gritting my teeth. So for everyones general information, here are the FACTS about the influenza vaccine:
FLU- is influenza. It is not a cold, it is not a stomach virus that lasts 24-48 hours and consists of nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
Flu is a serious illness that consists of severe body aches and fatigue, chills, fever, sore throat, dry cough, nasal congestion, and sometimes, mild nausea or diarrhea. The average American who gets the flu misses 4 or more days of work and feels badly for another 5 days.
The influenza vaccine is 70-90% effective in preventing the flu in young, healthy adults. It can reduce influenza-related death in the elderly by as much as 80%
Palache AM, "Influenza vaccines: a reappraisal of their use.", Drugs 54:841-56, 1997
FLU is a dangerous illness. Millions of people in the United States-about 5% to 20% of U.S. residents-will get influenza each year. An average of about 36,000 people per year in the United States DIE from influenza, and 114,000 per year have to be admitted to the hospital as a result of influenza.
U.S.Center for Disease Control 2004
The FLU shot REALLY works-Those who take the flu shot can expect to have 25% fewer episodes of the flu and other upper respiratory infections, take 43% fewer absences due to illness and have 44% fewer visits to the doctor during the flu season.
New England Journal of Medicine 1995
The FLU shot WILL NOT CAUSE YOU TO GET THE FLU!!!
I don't care what you have heard, I don't care what you have experienced. The viruses in the vaccine ARE DEAD. It cannot give you the flu. If you got a flu shot and then came down with cold symptoms, it wasn't because of the flu shot...it was coincidence, not cause and effect. It takes 2 weeks to develop full immunity to the flu after you get the shot. That's why you take it in early October and flu doesn't have it's greatest activity until December (usually).
Also, it is possible that you might take a shot and still get the flu. But you will feel like you have a cold instead of being on your butt for 2 weeks. That's because a flu shot will still offer partial protection even if you are infected with a completely different strain of flu than is in the vaccine this year.
CDC, 12/03
The FLU shot is very safe- It is so safe it is even being recommended for pregnant women, nursing mothers and babies.
"Vaccines in pregnancy". Munoz FM - Infect Dis Clin North Am
It's better to take the Flu Shot than to wait until you have the disease and take antivirals. The flu shot is about $20.00 from commercial flu clinics, is usually free when taken at work and costs only your copay when you go to your doctor. The antivirals only work if you start them within 48 hours after the onset of symptoms, you will still miss a day or so of work because the meds only shorten the flu, not eliminate it. The antivirals only work against the A strain of flu virus, they are very expensive (approx. $75 to $150 per RX, depending upon how long you are on it).
Get your FLU shot-your heart will thank you!- Two studies suggest that a flu shot might protect you not only against the misery of the flu, but against a heart attack or stroke as well.
Harvard Heart Letter | October 2002
Sorry this was so long!
Now with that said, PLEASE be responsible in what you say both at work and to your friends and neighbors. People listen to you because they know you are a nurse and they trust your judgement. My 80 year old neighbor would never get a flu shot because her 55 year old LVN dtr told her she would get the flu if she took it. Last year she did get the flu, she ended up in the hospital with pneumonia, a UTI, a decubitus and confusion. And she never came home. She had been living on her own and doing well. Now she is in a nursing home and her dtr gripes about how much it cost to keep her there...a $20.00 flu shot and a $40.00 pneumonia shot would have prevented it.
What a shame!!!
