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HAVE YOU GOT YER SHOT YET? by Stan Seagraves,
M.D.
Lame take-off on the big game season question I hate most:
“got yer elk yet?” Because my answer
almost always is in the negative, and believing the best
defense is a strong offense, I've adopted a new
reply, in the form of a question: “got yer flu shot yet”?
Well, have ya? If not, why? Superhuman powers that protects
you from an illness that somewhere
between 5 and 20% of Americans will get each year? Better be
strong, because it puts upwards of
200, 000 folks in the hospital, and kills, on a bad year,
50,000 of us. Most of those who get a serious
flu illness are frail and vulnerable. But it can bring even
a stout young person to their knees, and lost
school and work time and a variety of complications can make
one re-think their shield of invincibility.
I must confess, till I got a nasty case of influenza A at
around age 40, I was sort of sloppy in my own
adherence to the recommendations.
“Well, I work in a small office, and am not around many
people.” Really? Never been to Costco or
a Griz game? Kids live in a bubble, never leave the house?
Shun Super Bowl parties? You will be
exposed, eventually. This brings me to one of the other
arguments for widespread immunization:
“herd immunity”. The idea is well established, and the
concept is that the greater the degree of
immunization/protection of an animal group, the less the
chance that a given bug gets a foothold in the
group, and all share in the benefit. The biggest
beneficiaries of herd immunity are, as you'd guess, the
weak and elderly. So, do it for granny or that nice old
fellah you always run into at the grocery store.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now recommends the
influenza vaccine for everyone over 6
months of age. There are a few who should not take it – very
few as it turns out. Check out this link
for info on the shot and who should and should not get it.
Outside of the reasons listed in the CDC link, I cannot come
up with a solid reason not to get the flu
shot. But I know there is a lot of general anxiety out there
about vaccine safety, and I will address this,
mercury and the whole autism-vaccine NON-link in an upcoming
post.
www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts
Stan Seagraves M.D., an internist who has practiced in
Missoula for over 20 years. He is currently practicing
hospital medicine at St. Patrick Hospital, and is medical
director of their hospitalist program..
SPECIAL GUEST COMMENTARY:
This contribution was made solely for the benefit of readers of this web-site and is not an endorsement of GIIG, it’s products or services.
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