Flu Vaccination 101
While it typically peaks in November through February, seasonal flu can strike at any time. It�s important to know the facts about the flu and the flu vaccine when determining whether or not to vaccinate yourself and your family.
Influenza is a viral illness. It cannot be �cured� by antibiotics. If you get the flu, the virus has to run its course and it�s highly contagious to those around you.
Some prescribed medications can lessen the severity of flu symptoms and shorten the duration of the illness, but they do not provide a cure.
Influenza exists in multiple forms called strains. Strains mutate and change over time. Flu vaccination provides protection against the strains anticipated to be most highly active for the season.
Get an annual flu vaccination. Not only might the strain change, your protection against the flu declines by the following flu season.
For the 2015-earl 2016 flu season, several flu vaccination options are available:
- Nasal mist (some restrictions do exist, consult with your provider)
- Trivalent injection � protects against three strains
- Quadrivalent injection � protects against four strains
- High Dose Injection � recommended for the elderly
It is possible to get the flu, even with a vaccine. This is due to various strains of the virus. Although not a guarantee, you might not be hit as hard with the flu if you were vaccinated.
Flu vaccine typically becomes available in late summer. It is not too early to get the vaccine now. The vaccine will last the entire season until late 2016.
Flu vaccine delivered by injection is a dead virus and it cannot give you the flu. Some report feeling a little run down or low grade fevers after receiving the vaccination, which is common with many vaccinations, not just seasonal flu.
The vaccine needs two weeks to develop flu-fighting antibodies in your immune system. If you come in contact with the virus during that two-week period, or if you were recently in contact with the virus before being vaccinated, you can still get the flu.
The CDC recommends flu vaccination for anyone over six months of age. Flu is the hardest on the very young and the very old, making vaccination for parents or caregivers of young children, healthcare providers, caregivers for the elderly and the elderly should be vaccinated each year.
Flu vaccination is available at The Little Clinic�s more than 170 locations in ten states, your primary care provider�s offices and public health departments, among other options.