Flu season is gearing up here in Canada so I figured it to be a good time to talk about the flu. Three years ago, there was an unusual flu outbreak with a nasty variant that seemed like it could turn into a pandemic. This year is also a non-typical flu season, as most seasons are. The rate of influenza infection has been on the rise early this year. This means either one of two things: it could mean we are having a flu season that will normalize once it is all over but shifted early or it could mean that we are having a very bad flu season, during which we will see a high peak rate of infection and what we are seeing now is just the beginning.
Flu Trends in BC. Canada: Influenza-like illness (ILI) data provided publicly by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Doctors recommend that everyone that is 6 months of age or older get the flu shot. If you already got a flu shot this year, your immune system has been signaled to prepare itself for the invasion of three different strains of flu. A mild reaction such as soreness, headaches and fevers are common side effects of the flu vaccine. There is no downside to getting the flu vaccine other than a few mild side effects, in fact, if more people got the flu vaccine there would be less people getting sick and dying from the influenza virus.
So the question is, “Do I really need to get the flu shot every year?” and to be honest it really depends who you are and who you are around. If you’ve just had a baby, hang out with your grandparents a lot or hang out with someone who is immune-comprised, you’d better get the shot otherwise you risk giving the virus to those who already have a weaker immune system. If you’re a student then getting the vaccine might not be so dramatic although dorms, gyms and schools are warm and moist and what virus isn’t going to love that combination, its basically a giant petri dish. If one person gets sick, everyone gets sick. So it really comes down to can you afford to be sick.
There is no benefit to getting sick with the influenza virus. In fact, there is no reason to even get the influenza virus. We have a vaccine. Yes, there is always the risk that the vaccine may not contain the correct strains and you might get sick anyways but might as well stack the deck in your favor to keep yourself from getting sick.
