What are some reasons to get a Flu Shot?

What are some reasons to get a Flu Shot?

A Blog Article Written By Dr. Joe!

What are some reasons to get a Flu Shot? – You might be wondering why you should get a flu shot? So many people that if you got your flu shot last year – why do you need to get it again? Thanks again for coming back and reading another one of our blog articles, if you are a first-time reader thanks for reading this blog article on annual physicals. Doctor Joseph Rosado wanted to discuss the importance of getting a flu shot annually. If you are a parent or grandparent – we hope you find this blog article to be valuable to you and your entire family. Enjoy!

Dr Joseph Rosado MD - What are some reasons to get a Flu Shot?
What are some reasons to get a Flu Shot?

Many medical researchers and experts agree to recommend getting the seasonal flu vaccination as early as possible to provide the best protection. That’s because if you wait until mid-season to get your flu shot, you could be risking your health, the health of your loved ones, and your community. While the number of vaccines will possibly increase over time that is because new viruses and existing ones continue to change and evolve.

While every flu season varies and influenza infection can affect people differently, an annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to protect against this illness. According to the CDC, millions of people get the flu every year, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized, and thousands or tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes every year. So, therefore, getting an annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to help protect against flu. Vaccination has been shown to have many benefits including reducing the risk of flu illnesses, hospitalizations, and even the risk of flu-related death in children.

Why Now is the Best Time to Get Vaccinated with a Flu Shot.

Now, years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are preparing for yet another flu season. While we didn’t see much influenza circulating this past year, as people are more active again, we have concerns about the likelihood of a busy flu season this winter. The flu shot is made from an inactivated virus that can’t transmit infection. So, people who get sick after receiving a flu vaccination were going to get sick anyway. It takes a week or two to get protection from the vaccine.

Flu activity usually picks up in October and November, peaks around February, and can last well into the spring months. This is why early fall is an ideal time to receive the shot, once again it can take about two weeks after receiving your vaccine for the full antibody effect to develop and provide flu protection. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.

It’s recommended that everyone over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against the flu, especially expectant mothers. Why? Protection from the influenza vaccine is thought to persist for at least 6 months. Protection declines over time because of waning antibody levels and because of changes in circulating influenza viruses from year to year.

What are some reasons to get a Flu Shot? A Blog Article By Dr Joseph Rosado

A recent scientific medical research article found that results demonstrated that the influenza virus triggers a bodily response that causes a rise in serum glucocorticoid levels, leading to systemic immunosuppression. Such effects render the body vulnerable to bacterial infections that would otherwise be innocuous.

Numerous past medical studies help make this finding possible because the influenza virus focused on studying the effect of the virus on bacteria that caused pneumonia and led to lung infections. The ubiquity of such bacteria lends to easy attack when our bodies are weakened and the immune defenses down. When the influenza virus invades our bodies, it elicits an antiviral response specialized to deal with the specific viral strain using a mechanism different from the immune response to bacterial infections.

The influenza virus is a respiratory infection that enters the body and establishes itself in the lungs. The respiratory tract becomes the main target for secondary infections, especially respiratory bacterial infections that infiltrate the body via inhalation. Dramatic general immunosuppression occurs, during which our immune system becomes temporarily deficient, compromised of its ability to handle problems that would otherwise not cause significant damage. Under normal circumstances without immunosuppression caused by the influenza virus, most bacterial pathogens are quickly destroyed by our immune system. 

Here are the benefits of the Flu Shot

  • It can prevent you from getting sick with flu
  • It helps prevent serious medical events associated with some chronic conditions (i.e heart disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease)
  • The flu shot helps protect women during and after pregnancy
  • The shot can be life-saving in children
  • It reduces severity of illness in people who get vaccinated, but still get sick
  • The flu shot helps protect the people around you

Flu viruses are continuously changing, and this season’s vaccines have been updated to protect against the viruses that will be most common this year. Additionally, your immune protection from a vaccine declines over time, so annual flu shots are needed for the best protection against the flu. So let’s review the main reason why you and your family need to get a flu shot – The flu shot works by introducing your body to tiny little parts of different flu viruses. This triggers a reaction from your immune system — the processes in your body that fight off infection. Your immune system realizes these virus fragments shouldn’t be in your body and figures out how to destroy them.

Thanks for reading this article titled: What are some reasons to get a Flu Shot? by Doctor Joseph Rosado.

If you have any questions about your annual flu shot or your family’s annual flu shots, please contact his offices. I hope this article helped you learn a little more about Dr. Joseph Rosado and shared the answers with you. If you want to learn more about this schedule an appointment with Dr. Rosado or purchase his book on Amazon.