Winter time is flu time. Even if the real flu has lost some of its explosiveness because of its confusion with the much less dangerous flu-like infection, it is still one of the most dangerous diseases that come back every year and can be fatal. Safe protection is offered by the flu vaccination.
What is a flu shot?
Especially to the risk groups of people over 50 years old, children up to seven years old, pregnant women, chronically ill people, as well as people with immunodeficiency, doctors recommend to protect themselves in time with a flu vaccination. Every year, doctors ask patients to come to their offices to receive their annual flu vaccination. The background to this measure is to protect patients from influenza, which is also popularly known as the flu. In this respect, it is necessary to distinguish it from the common (flu-like) cold, which is often confused with the real influenza. The difference lies not only in the fact that in the ordinary flu other viruses play a role than the influenza viruses, but also in the fact that the real influenza is by far more dangerous for humans, if not even life-threatening can be. Even healthy adults can develop the most severe symptoms if infected with influenza. For some risk groups with a fundamentally weakened immune system, the viruses, if the immune system cannot recognize and successfully fight them in time, can weaken the organism to such an extent that death ensues. In Austria alone, 1,000 people die statistically every year from influenza. Yet protection would be conceivably simple. With a flu vaccination, no symptoms can develop even if the pathogen has already entered the body. Precisely because of the dangerousness of the flu-triggering viruses, doctors recommend above all the risk groups of the over 50-year-olds, children up to seven years, pregnant women, chronically ill and people with an immune deficiency (for example, HIV-positive) to protect themselves in time with a flu vaccination against seasonal influenza.
Function, effect, and goals
The goal of influenza vaccination is to prepare the immune system for possible infection. To do this, the vaccine contains “dead” virus particles, which is why the active ingredient in the flu shot is also called a “dead vaccine.” In this way, the immune system learns about the pathogen and triggers immune reactions. The purpose of this is that the immune system remembers the shape of the virus by getting to know it. If an emergency occurs later, i.e. infection with a real flu virus, the immune system remembers its shape more quickly. This faster recognition means that the pathogen can be combated more quickly, before the virus can spread in the body of the affected person and cause symptoms. Due to the preventive nature of the flu vaccination, the patient not only protects himself, but also others, since he himself is no longer a possible virus carrier. The flu vaccination must be refreshed annually. The reason for this is that the virus constantly changes during the year due to natural mutation. In order for the immune system to stay “up to date”, it must learn the shape of the virus anew each year through a flu vaccination. The vaccine itself is injected into the deltoid muscles of the upper arm by means of a syringe. Alternatively, for patients with blood clotting disorders, the vaccine can be injected under the skin instead of in the muscles. In either case, the vaccine does not reach full potency until two to three weeks after injection. Furthermore, children must receive two injections one month apart for their first flu vaccination, while a single shot is sufficient for adults.
Risks and hazards
Side effects are usually not a concern for adults receiving a flu shot except for mild redness at the injection site. Depending on the specific constitution of the immune system, the immune response will vary. In the case of particularly strong immune reactions, typical complaints such as fever and headaches may appear as side effects of the flu vaccination. Despite its basic harmlessness, there are a number of risk groups for whom flu vaccination is not recommended. These are mainly people who are allergic to chicken egg white, a component of the flu vaccine.Similarly, individuals with acute fever are advised to postpone influenza vaccination at least until (fever) symptoms resolve.
