The influenza vaccine is a vaccine that is able to protect you from flu disease. Influenza vaccines should be administered once a year because despite being a mild illness, the flu may pose a major problem for some people.
Influenza vaccines become important to be administered because influenza or flu is very easy to spread. This virus spreads through a splash of saliva or contact with a virus-contaminated item.
If the disease attacks the respiratory tract, symptoms may be dry cough, fever, headache, cold, muscle aches, and weakness. Cough symptoms can be very severe and persist for up to 2 weeks, even leading to death.
Benefits of flu vaccine for the body
Flu vaccines are able to prevent millions of flu-related diseases each year. In addition, the flu vaccine also suppresses medical visits due to influenza viruses.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during 2017-2018, flu vaccinations are able to prevent about 6.2 million influenza diseases.
Some other flu vaccine benefits are:
Stronger immune to flu virus
For people who have been vaccinated with the flu, their body will become stronger against the flu virus. So the symptoms experienced when infected with the influenza virus will feel lighter.
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Preventing the risk of chronic flu-related diseases
The flu vaccine can make the condition of people with chronic lung diseases that are related to the flu a little better until no hospitalization is required for treatment. As in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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Protecting women during and after pregnancy
Influenza vaccines can also reduce the risk of acute respiratory infections related to flu in pregnant women.
The journal Clinical Infectious Disease conducted a study during the influenza season from 2010-2016. As a result, the flu vaccine reduces the risk of pregnant women hospitalized with flu conditions, with an average percentage of 40 percent.
In addition, the benefits of influenza vaccine during pregnancy can also help protect the baby from the flu for several months after birth, when it is not old enough to be vaccinated.
Who should get a flu vaccine?
The flu vaccine is administered according to the child’s age. Here are the details:
- Infant aged 6-35 months: 0.25 ml
- Children over 3 years old: 0.5 ml.
For children less than 8 years old who have recently done the flu vaccine first, it is necessary to double immunization with a distance of at least 4-6 weeks.
While if the child is over 8 years of age, only one time and repeated each year. Unlike hepatitis B immunization is repeated only until the infant age is less than one year.
In addition to children, flu vaccines also need to be administered to several groups, namely:
- People aged 50 years and over
- People with chronic pulmonary disease (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), kidney, liver, neurological, hematological, or metabolic abnormalities (including diabetes mellitus)
- People with immunosuppression (including immunosuppression due to treatment or HIV)
- Women who are or will be pregnant during the influenza season and women up to 2 weeks after childbirth.
- People who are 6 months to 18 years old and receive long-term aspirin therapy and who can risk experiencing Reye’s syndrome after an influenza virus infection
- People who live in nursing homes or other chronic medical service facilities
- People with extreme obesity (body mass index 40 or more)
- Medical Service personnel
To make it easier, you can tell the health officer about the condition of the current body and have experienced. This keeps you handled in the right way.
Who should not get an influenza vaccine?
There are some people’s criteria that are not advised to receive influenza vaccines due to various research matters:
- Children under 6 months old
- People are allergic to eggs.
- People who have a history of severe allergies to flu vaccine content such as gelatin, antibiotics or other ingredients.
How the Flu Vaccine Works?
As with most other vaccines, the flu vaccine provides protection by eliciting immune reactions from the body and pushing the body to secrete antibodies to fight the influenza virus. It takes about two weeks since the immunization before the vaccine can actually work.
Are there side effects of influenza vaccines?
Some of the side effects that can arise due to flu vaccine are:
- Pain, redness or swelling of the injection area
- Low fever
- Pain
Injections may also cause other side effects such as:
- Hard and itching in the injection area
- If this problem arises, the condition starts shortly after the injection and usually lasts up to 1-2 days.
As for life-threatening allergic reactions such as difficulty in breathing, tightness or severe itching, rapid heartbeat occurs very rarely.
