Flu related information
Nov. 1st, 2004 07:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brdgt
The "Really?" column in the New York Times Science section is great. This is a timely article:
REALLY?
The Claim: The Flu Vaccine Can Give You a Case of Influenza
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
THE FACTS With the start of the flu season just weeks away, the rush to get vaccinated has begun. This year the nation faces a severe shortage of vaccine, leading health officials to urge Americans to reserve flu shots for people at highest risk.
These include very young children, adults 65 and older, people with chronic medical disorders and health care workers. The shortage was caused when the British government temporarily suspended the license of the Chiron Corporation to make the flu vaccine.
But even those who need immunization most are sometimes reluctant to get it, experts say, in part because of unfounded fears that the virus used to manufacture the vaccine can cause influenza. While some people who get flu vaccinations coincidentally come down with other respiratory illnesses or contract influenza before immunity has kicked in, the flu shot itself is not to blame.
The two major vaccines use killed viruses that are not infectious. The most common side effect is a sore arm. A small percentage of people experience more severe reactions, like mild illness, "but if you put it in perspective, it's still nothing compared to the real flu," said Dr. James C. King Jr., a professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland.
A newer version of the vaccine, a nasal spray called FluMist, which was introduced last year, uses live but weakened viruses. The spray is not recommended for those with lowered immunity, infants or people over 50 because they could theoretically become ill from the immunization. Although people who use FluMist can give off the disabled live virus, it has not been shown to cause sickness in other people.
Each year, the vaccine consists of the three strains of influenza that are expected to be most prevalent. But no two flu seasons are alike, and a strain that is not included in the vaccine can sometimes become predominant. But in some cases those who have been immunized are at least partially protected against an unexpected strain, experts say.
THE BOTTOM LINE Getting vaccinated will not cause you to come down with influenza.
REALLY?
The Claim: The Flu Vaccine Can Give You a Case of Influenza
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
THE FACTS With the start of the flu season just weeks away, the rush to get vaccinated has begun. This year the nation faces a severe shortage of vaccine, leading health officials to urge Americans to reserve flu shots for people at highest risk.
These include very young children, adults 65 and older, people with chronic medical disorders and health care workers. The shortage was caused when the British government temporarily suspended the license of the Chiron Corporation to make the flu vaccine.
But even those who need immunization most are sometimes reluctant to get it, experts say, in part because of unfounded fears that the virus used to manufacture the vaccine can cause influenza. While some people who get flu vaccinations coincidentally come down with other respiratory illnesses or contract influenza before immunity has kicked in, the flu shot itself is not to blame.
The two major vaccines use killed viruses that are not infectious. The most common side effect is a sore arm. A small percentage of people experience more severe reactions, like mild illness, "but if you put it in perspective, it's still nothing compared to the real flu," said Dr. James C. King Jr., a professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland.
A newer version of the vaccine, a nasal spray called FluMist, which was introduced last year, uses live but weakened viruses. The spray is not recommended for those with lowered immunity, infants or people over 50 because they could theoretically become ill from the immunization. Although people who use FluMist can give off the disabled live virus, it has not been shown to cause sickness in other people.
Each year, the vaccine consists of the three strains of influenza that are expected to be most prevalent. But no two flu seasons are alike, and a strain that is not included in the vaccine can sometimes become predominant. But in some cases those who have been immunized are at least partially protected against an unexpected strain, experts say.
THE BOTTOM LINE Getting vaccinated will not cause you to come down with influenza.
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Date: 2004-11-01 09:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 02:12 pm (UTC)