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Swine Flu Vaccines

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the single best way to prevent the spread of influenza is to get vaccinated every fall. Each vaccine contains strains of three different viruses, which change each year based on estimations about which strains of the virus will circulate in a given year. Antibodies begin to form in the body and provide protection about two weeks after receiving the vaccination.

Those persons most susceptible include the elderly over age 65, young children under the age of 6 months, and anyone else with a chronic health condition, such as those with immunosuppression, chronic heart or lung conditions with compromised respiratory function, or those currently on aspirin therapy. Those persons who work with or care for anyone susceptible should also receive the vaccine, such as health care workers, day care providers, or anyone else who wants to reduce their chance of getting the flu and possibly spreading it to others.

There are currently two types of flu vaccine available, the flu injection, and the nasal spray vaccine. The injection is given with a needle in the deltoid muscle of the arm, and contains an inactivated or killed virus, which may be administered to anyone over the age of 6 months with or without chronic health conditions. The nasal spray vaccine is made from a live virus and can be given to healthy persons ranging in age of 5 to 49 years. Since the nasal spray vaccine is a live virus, it is not recommended for pregnant women, instead, they should receive the killed virus.

The flu vaccine is not recommended for anyone who has had an allergic reaction in the past, is allergic to chicken eggs, developed Guillain-Barre syndrome within 6 weeks of receiving a flu vaccination in the past, is under the age of six months, or has an active viral or bacterial infection with a fever. Certain groups of people are placed on priority status by the CDC and are given the flu vaccine first. This includes people aged 65 and older with or without chronic health conditions, people aged 2-49 years with chronic health conditions, children aged 6-23 months, pregnant women, and residents of long-term health care facilities.

Side effects of the flu vaccine are usually mild and last only one to two days. Symptoms include muscle soreness, redness, and swelling at injection site, low-grade fever, and general achiness. The nasal spray vaccine contains a weakened virus and can also cause flu-like symptoms in recipients, such as sore throat, runny nose, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, and fever. These should all subside in a couple of days and are by no means as severe as actual flu symptoms, which can lead to a more severe secondary infection if not treated appropriately.

The decision to get the flu vaccine should be discussed with your family’s health care provider.  To get the vaccine and experience some mild side effects is far more favorable than actually coming down with the virus, which can  be truly uncomfortable and debilitating. And then one must consider all the others he or she is infecting, further spreading the virus, possibly to the one’s who cannot fight the virus off on their own.

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