Sunday is the first day of October and it’s that time of year — time to get a flu shot.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH will get their seasonal flu vaccinations Monday, and they urge all Tennesseans to not put off getting their flu shot, but to do it now.
Immunization against the flu protects not only the person receiving the vaccine but also his or her family, friends and coworkers. Flu vaccine is available at many locations in Tennessee including county health departments, medical clinics and pharmacies.
The CDC recommends that you get a flu vaccine before flu begins spreading in your community. Last year, the first flu case was reported in Tennessee during October.
The flu season begins in October and November, peaks from December through February and can last until May.
CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.
Anyone over the age of six months should get a flu shot, but those who previously have had severe allergic reactions should consult their doctors about other options.
Some flu shots contain egg proteins, but others do not. If you’re allergic to eggs, talk to your doctor before getting a shot.
If you have a child under the age of six months, you and anyone else who is around the child should be vaccinated. If a woman is vaccinated while she is pregnant, that can help safeguard the baby from the virus for several months after it is born.
The flu shot you got last year won’t protect you this year because the flu viruses have mutated.
Neither does getting a flu shot guarantee you won’t get the flu. The shot isn’t 100 percent effective, and you may catch a strain of the flu that wasn’t anticipated by the scientists who developed the vaccine.
Even so, you won’t be sick for as long as if you hadn’t been vaccinated. You also will be less likely to contract flu-related pneumonia. We’d add that getting a pneumonia vaccine isn’t a bad idea, particularly if you are 65 or older. Ask your doctor about it.
Catching the flu, on the other hand, can be perilous. The very young, the elderly and those who have a compromised immune system may be especially at risk. The flu can be a powerful foe even for adults in the prime of life.
Since 2010, according to the CDC, each flu season has led to 140,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 to 56,000 deaths.
Every flu season is different. The CDC and the international medical community keep track of the latest strains of the virus and formulate vaccines accordingly.
Flu season usually peaks between January and March. But the CDC believes the virus will be spreading earlier this season and is recommending all Americans be vaccinated by the end of October.
And you know what? The shot doesn’t hurt. It really doesn’t. At worst, your shoulder may be just a little bit sore for a day or two where you got the shot. And in case you’re worried, the vaccination doesn’t give you the flu. What it does — according to the CDC — is cause antibodies to develop in your body. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are in the vaccine.
Don’t wait. It takes two weeks for the vaccine to take effect, so it’s recommended that you receive it by the end of October, particularly if you are 65 or older. While most people who get the flu endure a week or two of misery, then recover, the disease is nothing to take lightly. Millions of people get it every year, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and many thousands die from flu-related causes, according to the CDC.
The more people who don’t get vaccinated, the more people there are to spread the disease. While there is no guarantee that the vaccine will match up well with whatever virus is going around, getting the shot is the way to go.
Getting a flu shot is one of the healthiest, best decisions you’ll ever make.