Should I get vaccinated while I have a cold?
Influenza vaccination is a treated subspecies of the influenza viruses, which are usually injected into the upper arm muscle of the vaccinated person. There the ingredients are to be absorbed by the body so that the immune system begins to fight them. It is therefore not recommended to have the flu vaccination while you have a cold.
During a cold, the immune system is already working at full capacity, so that the side effects of the flu vaccination can become more apparent. It is therefore better to wait about a week until the symptoms of the cold have disappeared. In principle, however, you can also be vaccinated with a cold. For example, a somewhat runny nose does not have to be an obstacle for the flu vaccination.
How useful is a flu vaccination?
The first thing to know is that the real flu is not the same as a flu-like infection or a normal cold.The flu runs much more violently and one suddenly feels seriously ill. One is clearly limited in his everyday life by the real flu, so that one can often only lie in bed. Also some weeks after the illness it can occur that one feels still clearly stricken. A flu vaccination can prevent this severe course of the disease or alleviate it considerably.
The vaccination presents the body’s immune system with components of the virus, so that it then forms antibodies. Antibodies are very special proteins of the body’s own immune system, which are always formed by the body’s white blood cells specifically against a pathogen in order to fight and render it harmless. The body’s immune system forms antibodies in the event of an infection with a pathogen on the one hand and in contact with a vaccine after a successful vaccination on the other.
In doing so, the body is faked a disease with the pathogen, so to speak, without actually being sick with it. With the flu vaccination it is important to be vaccinated against the pathogen every year, because it changes again and again. The vaccination should take place in October or November so that the body has time to build up immunity before the so-called flu wave starts.
It is of course also possible to be vaccinated during the flu season. However, the optimal time is usually a little earlier. Due to the constant change of virus types, there is no 100 percent protection against the flu virus by a vaccination against the disease as one is used to with other diseases such as measles, mumps or rubella.
Especially with older people, the immune system is no longer as effective and strong as with young people. This may also be a reason why vaccination against influenza does not provide complete protection. Nevertheless, it is particularly important for older people to be vaccinated against influenza, as they have a weakened immune system due to age and accompanying illnesses, and therefore an infection with the flu pathogen can lead to potentially serious complications such as pneumonia.
It is also important in connection with a vaccination to know that the vaccination itself does not cause an outbreak of disease. Most vaccines that are used contain either only components of the pathogens or pathogens in a killed form. Influenza viruses spread from person to person via two different routes.
The air is one way of spreading. If an infected person sneezes or coughs, fine particles are released into the air, which can be inhaled by other people. The second route of transmission is through so-called smear infections, which can occur, for example, when shaking hands.
Both ways of transmission are often difficult to avoid or limit, as the viruses can reach you at any time in your everyday life and can encounter you. Whether one decides for or against an influenza vaccination is of course left up to each individual. However, you should inform yourself well and check whether you belong to one of the risk groups identified by STIKO. For these risk groups, annual vaccination against the flu virus is recommended to prevent or reduce the risk of illness and any complications that may arise.