And if you haven’t already gotten your flu shot, why the heck not?
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine yearly.“Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine yearly, preferably in the fall before the U.S. flu season begins.” -CDC Website
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/school-business/travelersfacts.htm
Ok so typically I get my flu shot soon after they become readily available in the fall. But this year I had a persistent sinus infection that required two rounds of antibiotics to knock it out for good.
Here’s the deal…
when you are actively sick you are generally not supposed to receive immunizations.
And here’s why…
when you are sick your immune system is already working overtime. Frankly you want your immune system working optimally when you are exposing it to a virus, even a dead one.
Which vaccines are… a dead or attenuated (weakened) virus.
In general, this is how vaccines work…
When your body is exposed to a foreign antigen or germ your immune system needs to figure out how to handle it. And if your immune system does not recognize the antigen it just does its best to battle the foreign invader.
Here’s the cool part about vaccines….
Once your body has been exposed to an antigen, your immune system creates antibodies and thus teaches itself how to recognize that antigen if and when you are exposed to it again.
So when you get a flu shot, you are purposely exposing your body to roughly three or four dead or weakened flu strains. Every year the flu shot is created to include the most likely to be problematic flu viruses for that particular flu season. And it takes several months to create, manufacture and distribute these to the masses… so it’s not a perfect vaccine.
But it’s the BEST defense that we have against the flu.
If you get your flu shot like me you are essentially exposing your body to new strains of the virus every year. And the more strains you have built up antibodies to, the more likely your immune system will be able to defeat whichever strain it comes into contact with. In fact, even if the flu shot wasn’t spot on (it rarely is) and you get a new strain, your body will at least have been exposed to so many of them in the past that it will have a better defense than if it hadn’t been exposed to any before.
If you have never had the flu, I hope you never get it! But for someone who says, “Oh I never get the flu shot and I’ve never had the flu…”
Well, frankly you’re an ignorant dummy. Unless of course you have cancer or some other affliction that makes you immunocompromised or unable to get the vaccine. In that case, that ignorant dummy better not go anywhere near you, or babies, or older adults or basically anyone that will be in close contact with any of the aforementioned groups.
And for the guy who says,
“I’ve had the flu and it wasn’t so bad, so I don’t need a flu shot” …
Oh boy, you are an ignorant dummy too. Many people confuse the common cold with the flu, and I assure you it is NOT the same thing. The flu is the one where you can hardly function at all, your body is weak, you may be vomiting, feverish, etc.… It’s not a “stomach bug” or “24-hour flu”.
Again, if you’re the guy who says, “I don’t care, I just don’t want to get a flu shot…”
Don’t even get me started on this guy. Maybe you are an ignorant dummy, but please understand that you are putting countless others at risk of what can often be a life-threatening situation. I have known several otherwise healthy adults and children who for whatever reason were not able to get the flu shot. And then they unfortunately contracted the flu from someone else.
People die from the flu all over the world. Even here.
I worked in an ICU and I’ve seen young and healthy people die from the flu. YES EVEN YOU CAN DIE FROM THE FLU!
The flu affects everyone differently. There’s so much more to say about this subject. I’ll write more about it later. Remind me to tell you about my dear cousin Cindy who contracted H1N1 (swine flu) a few years back when she was super pregnant with her daughter Savannah.
I’m telling you their names because they both survived a fierce battle for Cindy’s life. She spent weeks in the ICU and we feared she would not make it out alive… in fact, a last-ditch effort saved her life. I hope you never need ECMO like she did.
Please get your flu shot EVERY SINGLE YEAR PERIOD.
If you are lucky enough to be able to get one, just get it. And if you are not able to get a flu shot for some valid reason, then please let your friends and family know that you are relying on them to get it.
Herd immunity is real, and it works. And the more of us that are inoculated, the better it works and the more we are all protected.
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