As the 2010-2011 flu season approaches, it’s once again time to think about getting a flu vaccination. Because the Center for Disease Control recommends that just about everyone over age 6 months gets the flu vaccine this year, it lends to people asking some of the following questions:
1. I had the flu vaccine last year; do I need to get it again this year?
2. I’m a healthy person; do I really need to worry about getting the vaccine?
3. Does this year’s seasonal flu vaccine include the H1N1 pandemic swine flu vaccine of last year?
First, being vaccinated from last year’s flu viruses may not protect you against this year’s flu, because the viruses that cause flu are always changing. This year, there are three different viruses that can cause flu. The type of vaccines that protect against all three of these viruses is called the 3-in-1 seasonal flu vaccine and has had one or more of the components of the vaccine changed from last year’s vaccine.
Secondly, experts state that everybody can benefit from getting the flu vaccine. It is true that most flu deaths and severe illnesses occur in infants and in the elderly, but it can also cause death in those people who are seemingly healthy. In addition, the vaccination of healthy people can reduce their chance of becoming infected with the flu virus and inadvertently passing it on to someone that is at higher risk of complications.
Lastly, unlike last flu season when you needed to get two separate vaccines, this year’s vaccine includes the H1N1 vaccine in this year’s seasonal vaccine. This year’s 2010-2011 flu vaccine protects against an influenza A H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus, and the 2009 H1N1 all in one vaccine.
It is important to know that even if you are not someone who is in a high risk group and has no underlying medical condition that it is possible you can still get a flu illness that could cause you to miss out on activities or, at a minimum, cause a trip to the doctor’s office!
Laurel Walther has a B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics and an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications and has worked for over a decade in several areas of healthcare and health education throughout Northern Illinois.
