As waves of cold air hit, various respiratory diseases have entered an active period, including influenza (influenza for short). Centers for disease control and prevention around the country have even issued early warnings recently:
In the coming period of time, the activity of influenza virus will continue to increase, and the risk of concentrated fever epidemic in schools, kindergartens and other units will increase.
Influenza is much more dangerous than the common cold.
Although it is also called [cold], influenza is a more annoying and dangerous guy. After being infected with influenza virus, patients will suffer from sudden high fever, cough, headache, general weakness and muscle pain, which obviously affects the quality of life.
According to the data estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015, about 5% ~ 10% of adults and 20% ~ 30% of children worldwide suffer from seasonal influenza every year, resulting in 3-5 million severe cases worldwide.
About 250,000 to 500,000 people die of influenza every year.
Influenza prefers people with weak resistance, including the elderly, infants and children, and people with other basic diseases, and influenza is easy to cause various serious complications, including pneumonia, otitis media, myocarditis, meningitis, etc.
Influenza virus changes every year, is it necessary to vaccinate?
The answer to this question is yes, or is influenza vaccination recommended?
Another big difference with colds is that flu can be prevented. But because the flu virus mutates very quickly and even if vaccinated before, the vaccine antibody will decrease over time, so it needs to be re-vaccinated every year.
Many people feel unreliable when they hear this statement:
Since the influenza virus is changing and dynamic every year, are the vaccines we are vaccinated against the current epidemic virus types? How effective is this vaccine? Besides, you still need to pay for it at your own expense every year. Do you want to get flu vaccine or not?
Research shows that, Seasonal influenza vaccination can reduce influenza cases among children under 6 years old, pregnant women and the elderly over 65 years old. Even if it is still unfortunate, Vaccination can also alleviate flu symptoms and reduce the risk of hospitalization for serious complications in high-risk groups such as children and patients with chronic diseases. A study found that during the 2010-2012 flu season, influenza vaccination reduced the risk of serious and fatal flu complications in children by about three quarters.
Does the authoritative organization recommend influenza vaccination?
WHO, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other major medical authorities have recommended vaccination.
Compared with other vaccines, the effectiveness of influenza vaccines seems somewhat disappointing. The effectiveness of influenza vaccines in most previous years is about 40% ~ 60%, so even after vaccination, it is possible to still suffer from influenza.
However, even so, vaccination is still the most effective way to prevent influenza.
AAP recommends that all people over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against influenza every year, including children and adults.
For children under 6 months old, since there is currently no flu vaccine suitable for them, people in close contact with them should be vaccinated to reduce the risk of infection. Therefore, mothers should be vaccinated against influenza, whether at any stage of pregnancy or during lactation. In addition, other people in the family who take care of babies should also be vaccinated against influenza.
Why do you have to be vaccinated every year?
There are two reasons:
Influenza virus mutates quickly
Due to the high frequency of influenza virus mutation (mutation into viruses with other structures); At the same time, when different types of influenza viruses infect the same cell, genes may rematch with each other and become another new type of influenza virus.
The number of vaccine antibodies will decline.
The protective effect of vaccines on human body depends on the number of antibodies obtained after vaccination or infection with influenza virus. However, the number of antibodies will begin to gradually decrease after 6-8 months of vaccination, so the protective effect will also gradually decrease. After one year of vaccination for most kinds of influenza vaccines, the remaining antibodies in the body are no longer sufficient to resist the virus, and it is almost necessary to re-vaccinate at this time.
How do I know if this vaccine is up to date?
Vaccines produced every year are strictly predicted and verified, so they must be up to date.
WHO has a mature system to ensure the renewal of vaccines. Every year, the virus strain of influenza vaccine is [selected] as follows:
WHO monitors the variation of influenza viruses worldwide through the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), According to the monitoring results, WHO will make predictive recommendations for several types of influenza vaccines that may occur in the next influenza season in February and September each year respectively. Then WHO collaborating centers will identify the new virus, prepare and verify vaccine strains, and then distribute the vaccine strains to vaccine manufacturers for mass production.
Some people also worry that the vaccines given to us by the CDC are updated every year. Could it be the old type of vaccine previously in stock?
There is no need to worry about this. The flu vaccine is only valid for one year. The CDC will replace the vaccine of the epidemic virus strain every year according to the arrangement of the superior CDC system, which basically changes every year. Unless the epidemic prevention center is bold, it is impossible to vaccinate everyone with the old type of vaccine in the warehouse. If you are really not at ease, just pay attention to the shelf life of the vaccine.
I had flu that year, was it necessary to get a vaccine?
It is necessary.
Because more than one influenza virus is spreading every year, the influenza virus vaccine protects the virus type predicted by WHO this year.
Although you will be immune to the same influenza virus after suffering from influenza, is the virus you have suffered from included in this year’s vaccine? Have antibodies been reduced to no protective effect? These answers are uncertain.
In order to get the greatest protection, even if you have suffered from influenza, you should also be vaccinated against influenza in order to prevent infection by other types of viruses.
The epidemic time of influenza in our country is usually from November to March of the following year, and it takes at least two weeks after vaccination to play a preventive role. Therefore, it is generally recommended to vaccinate between September and November, and later vaccination can also play a preventive role. Therefore, don’t you make an appointment quickly?