Influenza today

Many individuals today, including myself, have gotten the flu at some point during their lives. Did I receive the flu vaccine and still got the flu? Yes. Does this mean the flu vaccine doesn’t work for anyone? Absolutely not. In todays society, people are so quick to criticize vaccines. These are the people who have little background knowledge on diseases and probably never took a biology or microbiology class in their life. (Side note, microbiology has turned me into a germaphobe already). There is always a new strain of influenza because this virus has the ability to mutate rapidly. The vaccine is a highly educated guess about what mutation will be most prevalent in the upcoming year. It takes around six months to develop an attenuated vaccine (according to what I have learned in my microbiology class) so professionals have to make it well in advance, leaving room for error. Everyone should still get the flu vaccine! It is better for your immune system to have some prior knowledge on what is to come than if it has nothing to aid in fighting off influenza. Even though I came down with the flu one year, my symptoms would have been much more severe if I wouldn’t have received the flu shot at all. Wouldn’t you much rather have milder symptoms than those that can put you in the hospital, or worse, lead to death?

Right now the coronavirus is all anyone is talking about. Just like when the ebola crisis occurred, it was all over the news. No need to worry about the flu, right? It is so common and doesn’t everyone gets over it anyway? No. Influenza has become a huge concern during this flu season, September till mid May, killing at least 10,000 individuals in the United States alone so far. The scary part is that we are only at the peak of the flu season this year. Many are quick to say the coronavirus is more concerning, however, with this recent incline of individuals being hospitalized and dying from the flu this year alone, influenza poses a much greater threat in the United States. Precautions can be made to lower one’s risk of contracting influenza. Since it is an enveloped virus, hand sanitizers can kill of the bacteria and stop the spread of the flu. Getting the flu vaccine is another preventative measure everyone should take! Use good hygiene skills, such as washing your hands often, and make a conscious effort not to touch your face as much. Rubbing your eyes is one of the most common forms of transmission for many infections.

There has been a lot of speculation that the 2019-2020 flu vaccine might not be as effective as those in previous years. Professionals have started to believe two out of the four choices for the current flu season aren’t accurate, those two being influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B (Victoria virus). The flu vaccine can either be a four-in-one or three-in-one shot, most used in the United States being a four-in-one. These vaccines are said to protect against both influenza A viruses (H3N2 and H1N1) and both the influenza B viruses (B/ Victoria and B/Yamagata). Having to make a vaccine a year in advance and get all four strains correct seems to me like a miracle. Of course there is going to be error, no one can read the mind of this virus and tell how it will mutate. Professionals are doing the best they can in order to protect individuals from coming down with the flu. The least we can do is get the most recent flu shot and do our part in protecting ourselves. The flu shot is even free is some places, so you are asking to get the flu by not putting in the effort to get vaccinated. Any protection is better than no protection and could help save your life! I would rather be protected by at least two strains of the flu than none. This is the logic people need to have when thinking about this virus. Why would you want to get sick and potentially end up in the hospital? I for one have no time in my schedule to get sick and have to lay in bed all day resting, I’m sure many can agree with this. Long story short, GET VACCINATED!