It's That Time of Year Again: Preparing for Influenza Season

Melissa Mills, BSN

Ah....fall! That time of year where we start to prepare for Winter. Autumn brings leaves, pumpkins, and warm sweaters. Everyone heads outside for bonfires, football games, and trick-or-treating. Yet, lingering right around the corner is flu season. This isn't a season that brings joy and happiness. The flu is a dangerous and even deadly virus that is preventable. Here are the essentials you need to know about the Influenza vaccination recommendations from the CDC.

What is the Flu?

Influenza, commonly called the flu, is a respiratory infection. The flu can cause serious complications in those who are compromised for any reason, such as older adults, young children, or individuals living with conditions that decrease their ability to fight off infection. Vaccines are not 100% effective. However, they are the best way to prevent the flu and possible complications.

How are flu vaccines created?

Flu viruses are constantly changing. Each year, researchers across the country, study the current strains, and review the composition of vaccines. Updates to the vaccines are needed to match the viruses that are seen the most. There was a delay in selecting the viruses for the 2019-2020 season due to frequent changes in some of the common viruses.

Flu shots protect individuals against three or four viruses that are expected to be most common during the season. Four vaccines will be available to the public this year.

Medication Rights: Right Patient, Right Time

Annual flu vaccination is recommended for everyone over the age of six months unless contraindications exist. Getting vaccinated is of utmost importance for a few specific populations, including women who are pregnant, young children, and older adults. Young children may need up to two doses of the vaccine to be fully protected. Other populations that are at high risk of complications from the flu include individuals living with obesity, liver or kidney disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, asthma, cancer, COPD, or cystic fibrosis.

Will there be Enough Vaccine this Year?

The amount of vaccine available each year depends on manufacturers. The projection for the 2019-2020 season is between 162 million and 169 million doses for the U.S. alone. These numbers may change depending on how the season progresses.

Arguing for Mandatory Flu Shots

If you work around people with the flu, your chances of contracting the virus are increased. Getting the vaccine not only protects you, but can also help to protect your family, friends, and patients. Individual's with the flu are contagious one day before symptoms show up and up to seven days after becoming sick, which means that many people can pass the flu on to others without even knowing it.

The CDC recommends that all U.S Healthcare workers get vaccinated against the viral infection. More than 78% of all healthcare workers received the vaccine during the 2017-2018 season. Doctors and pharmacists were the most vaccinated at 96.1% and 92.2% respectively. Nurses came in at 90.5% and nurse practitioners at 87.8%. Healthcare workers in long-term care settings were the least likely to get the vaccine, and those in hospitals were the highest. Some healthcare settings mandate flu vaccines for all clinical and non-clinical staff. These clinical setting had the highest rate of coverage at 94.8%.

Arguing Against Mandatory Flu Shots

While the CDC recommends getting vaccinated, not everyone wants to get a flu shot. Hospitals report that making flu vaccines mandatory is to protect patients. However, what about the rights of the healthcare worker?

Researchers report that vaccinating healthcare providers will help with patient safety, increase the effectiveness of the vaccine, and protect those staff who are at an increased risk of complications from the virus. Those who oppose the vaccine report factors like side effects of the drug, setting a precedent to require healthcare professionals to comply with other medical treatments, or just feeling like a shot isn't needed as their reasoning for opposing the requirement. Many nurses feel that following standard and transmission-based precautions such as hand washing, wearing masks, and even keeping people in isolation should be enough to minimize the spread of the infection.

How Do You Feel?

Vaccines can elicit much debate these days. And, requiring professionals to take a medication that they don't want could cause some tempers to flare. So, where do you stand on the issue? Take our poll so that we get an idea of how many of you only take the vaccine because it's required at work. And, comment below to let us know how you really feel about the topic.