Each year, millions of Americans find an excuse to skip the flu shot. Are you one of them? Let's find out. Do you:
• Hate needles?
• Pride yourself on having never taken a sick day in your life?
• Have ironclad confidence that you can handle — if you even catch — a little flu?
Influenza season starts in October and can last through May, with up to 20 percent of the U.S. population contracting the disease every year. Think the flu is just a trifle of a thing? Its symptoms send some 200,000 people to the hospital every year to fight complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At high risk for the worst effects are adults ages 50-plus and children younger than 5.
Risks of Going Shotless
It may surprise you that the flu is responsible for killing 36,000 Americans every year. While most of these deaths occur among the elderly, some are among the heartbreakingly young. Five-year-old Alana Yaksich awoke one morning in 2003 with typical cold symptoms. Fewer than 24 hours later, she died after the influenza virus spread to her brain and caused encephalitis.
“Up until then, neither I nor any of my family members ever dreamed you could die from the flu,” says Zack Yaksich, Alana’s father, who is a board member of Families Fighting Flu, an organization that promotes vaccinations and other avoidance techniques. “We had never been vaccinated; we didn’t know it was that deadly.”
Shoo, Flu, Shoo
While the flu can be a formidable foe even for the healthiest among us, “it’s a preventable disease,” points out Yaksich. Or would be, if everyone got their vaccinations.
Mindful hygiene — like frequent hand-washing, and coughing and sneezing into the elbow — is a start, but only the shot can keep you from getting sick if you encounter the virus.
“People need to be convinced,” says Jack Fincham, Ph.D., professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Pharmacy. “But everyone in the health community agrees it’s a good idea to get the flu shot.”
Unless you have one of the excluding conditions, such as an allergy to eggs, or a history of a severe reaction to the vaccine, “go ahead and get it,” advises Fincham.
Spread Joy, Not Sickness
Along with offering yourself protection against a miserable week fighting the flu’s typical symptoms — fever, sore throat, relentless cough — the shot can prevent you from threatening loved ones as a carrier. Nobody wants to be that person who passes the virus to others (especially an adorable grandchild, whose immune system is not as well developed as an adult’s).
The risks involved are minimal. “The most common are soreness, redness and swelling at the injection site. And you can get a low-grade fever and mild aches and pains,” says Fincham.
This year, there’s no shortage of the vaccine. You may be able to find it in your local pharmacy, or at a local community health clinic for free. And, get this: Needle-haters can even opt for Flu-Mist, an inhalable version.
So, stop making excuses. Get the vaccine — encourage your children and grandchildren to do the same. Give your whole family the best chance at staying flu-free.
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