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NPM12: Giving Preparedness A Shot In The Arm

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Photo Credit PHIL

 

# 6559

 

Note: This is day 17  of National Preparedness Month.  Follow this year’s campaign on Twitter by searching for the #NPM  & NPM12 hash tag.

 

This month, as part of NPM12, I’ll be rerunning some edited and updated older preparedness essays, along with some new ones.

 

While you might not have thought about it, getting your seasonal flu shot each year should be part of your overall preparedness plan. During a disaster or prolonged emergency you are likely to be tired, stressed, and your immune systems could be weakened.

The last thing you need during a crisis is to be sick with the flu on top of it.

 

This morning, as I dutifully filled out my weekly `Flu Near You’ Survey (which takes only a couple of seconds each week) I noticed a recent rise in ILI (influenza like illness) reports in my state of Florida.

 

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Flu Near You Chart for Florida 9/17/12

 

Whether this spike is an anomaly, of the first blush of this fall’s flu season, is too soon to tell.  But it did serve to remind me that mid September isn’t too early to get my seasonal flu shot.

 

Which is exactly what I did this morning. 

 

I went to my local CVS pharmacy, filled out a short form, and a couple of minutes later got a completely painless (nice job, Carol) shot from the Pharmacist.

 

According to the CDC, more than 72 million doses of this year’s flu vaccine have already been distributed, so finding a shot should be a piece of cake.

 

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Due to the continual antigenic drift of flu viruses, flu vaccine formulations are frequently adjusted. After 3 years with essentially no changes in the flu vaccine, this new formulation makes changes to both the H3N2 and B virus strains.

 

The H1N1 component remains essentially unchanged, with the A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like  still included.

  • The old A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus now gives way to the A/Victoria/361/2011 (H3N2)-like virus.
  • And the Victoria lineage B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus will be replaced by a Yamagata strain; the B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like virus. 

 

 

Vaccines have excellent safety records.

 

Yes, taking any medicine – including a vaccine – entails some (usually miniscule) degree of risk. But those risks pale when compared to the dangers of catching the diseases they are designed to prevent.

 

Influenza sickens millions, and kills tens of thousands of people, every year in this country. 

 

And while the vaccine can’t promise 100% protection, it – along with practicing good flu hygiene (washing hands, covering coughs, & staying home if sick) – remains your best strategy for avoiding the flu this winter.

 

For more on flu vaccine effectiveness you may wish to revisit CID Study: Effectiveness Of 2010-11 Flu Vaccine.

 

Not unexpectedly, this study found the protective effects of the flu shot were substantially reduced in the elderly.  This is a topic we’ve addressed before (see Study: Flu Vaccines And The Elderly).

 

Last year, NFID - the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases - convened a group of experts to address the issues of influenza and the elderly. From that panel a 5-page brief has emerged, called: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities in Protecting Older Adults from Influenza.

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While the elderly generally see less protection from the flu vaccine, they state that older individuals may still mount a robust immune response. Even if the vaccine doesn’t always prevent infection in the elderly, studies suggest that the vaccine may blunt the seriousness of the illness in those over 65.

 

For those over 65, the option of taking the new high dose flu vaccine is now available (see MMWR On High Dose Flu Vaccine For Seniors), although we don’t have a lot of data yet on how much more effective it is among that cohort.

 

Ready.gov urges all Americans to follow these 3 steps to better preparedness:

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GET A KIT

MAKE A PLAN

BE INFORMED

 

But if you want to be truly prepared, I would recommend you consider adding an important 4th step.

 

Get a shot

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