Influenza Vaccines And The Flu Vaccine

To get the flu vaccine or not to get the flu vaccine? This is a huge controversial question millions of Americans today ask themselves every year. There are many myths that come along with the topic of the flu vaccine that lead to people questioning the effectiveness of the medication. Safety for our families and loved ones is what we aim to achieve, but what are the pros and cons of this vaccine? What are the consequences and what are myths, but most importantly: what are the reasons we should get it in the first place? In this paper you will learn the many reasons for the flu vaccination and how it affects different populations beginning with children all the way to the elderly population. First of all, what is the flu

Alzheimer’s disease is nothing we can control. Unfortunately, this disease is a progressive, devastating brain illness that causes cognitive decline, including memory, language and thinking problems; which also happens to have no current cure even after all the years of trying to find one. “It is unknown what causes Alzheimer’s disease but older age and family history appear to play a role.” (Shu, 2011) Not only do age and family history play a factor in Alzheimer’s Disease, changes to the immune system can also play a part. However, throughout the years of our knowledge of Alzheimer’s, there have been many claims that the influenza vaccination (flu shot) increases the risk of getting this disease. This has caused a great deal of worry in many people, mostly elders. They’re not sure if they should get the vaccine, or if their loved ones with dementia should continue to get the vaccination. However, before this claim was made, numerous people were getting the influenza

* Pneumonia: Pneumonia is the fifth highest killer of older adults, especially during the winter months of flu season. At high risk are seniors with chronic disease such as diabetes heart disease and reparatory conditions. The flu and pneumonia shot are recommended for all adults over the age 55 to help prevent this killer.

Last year, only twenty-six percent of eighteen to forty-nine year olds got the flu shot (Singh, 2014). With an average of 200,000 people hospitalized annually due to flu-related symptoms, these low vaccination rates are generating serious health risks among young adults all over the country (National Consumers League, 2013). This winter, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., the average age of people hospitalized with influenza was 28.5 years old, and of those that ended up in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, only two of the twenty-two had received the flu vaccination (Singh, 2014). The primary reason that young adults do not get the influenza vaccination is that they believe that they are invincible and influenza is not a serious illness (Singh, 2014). One in five Americans who do not receive the influenza vaccination claims that influenza is not a serious illness (National Consumers League, 2013). Of the Americans who do not get vaccinated, forty-five percent cited their good health as a rationale for bypassing vaccination (National Consumers League, 2013). This may be partly due to the targeted measures by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to increase vaccination rates among children and the elderly. In comparison to the twenty-six percent of young adults that were vaccinated, 56.6% of children (ages six months to seventeen years old) and 66.2% of seniors (ages 65 and older) were vaccinated. When targeted measures are used, they work. The problem

The next set of recommended vaccines for adults are from the age of 60 and older. The elderly are exposed to many diseases due to weakened immune systems. According to the CDC 1 million adults are exposed to shingles and about 60 percent are hospitalized due to the influenza virus (CDC, 2016). They recommend getting the Flu vaccine, Varicella and Zoster vaccine to protect against the two previously mentioned. Another vaccine that is important is the Td or Tdap which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. The pneumococcal vaccine protects the elderly against the bacteria that causes pneumonia.

For the past ten years, we at Virginia Mason Medical Center have been implementing mandatory influenza vaccination. This is due to the flu vaccination being able to reduce flu illnesses and prevent flu-related hospitalizations. According to the Center for Control and Disease (CDC, 2014) during 2012-2013, an estimated 45% of the U.S population got vaccinated, helping to prevent an estimated 6.6 million flu-related illness, with 3.2 million flu-related medical visits, almost 80,000 hospitalizations and roughly $87 billion dollars in total economic burden. Influenza is extremely contagious and each year on an average 5%-20% of the U.S population get the flu with tens of thousands die from a flu-related illness. Therefore, many health cares setting along with Virginia Mason Medical Center is mandating all their healthcare workers to get the influenza vaccination. Consequently, making annual influenza vaccination requirement for healthcare workers a continuing and debatable health topic. The potential of getting the vaccination have great benefits to healthcare professionals, their patients, and their families by

The influenza vaccination in not only beneficial to recipients but also those that come in contact with the individuals exposed to or at risk for contracting influenza. Health care workers are at a constant risk of exposure to various diseases and illness including influenza. An emergency such as a vaccination shortage for influenza will not only affect at risk individuals but spread rapidly to all those exposed without knowledge or a-symptomatic at time of encounter. Health care workers will be exposed in physician offices, hospitals, emergency care or urgent care centers with heightened possibility of spreading the illness (CDC, 2015). Health care workers are not limited to the obvious: physicians or nurses but also, therapists, EMS,

Why do families refuse to receive the yearly flu shot when it is easy to access and keeps them healthy? Influenza, or the flu, is a critical illness that can lead up to hospitality or even death depending on the person's immune system (F). It is said that the first tracing of the flu was from the ancient Greek philosopher and physician Hippocrates (D). It is recommended by the CCD that anyone ages 6 months and older should receive the flu shot for protection against influenza (D). Despite opposition by anti-vaccine families, the flu vaccines should be mandatory because it helps prevent people from being sick, the shot does not allow people to give the flu to others as easily, and the flu vaccine is the fastest way to get rid of influenza.

Seasonal influenza is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the industrialized world. The United States alone averages more than 23,000 influenza-associated deaths annually (Cortes-Penfield, 2014). Everyone is given the option to receive the flu vaccination each year. The vaccine is offered in health care facilities, clinics, and pharmacies around

The immune system weakens with age, which makes seniors more susceptible to contracting seasonal influenza. Over ninety percent of deaths from the flu happen to those over 65 years of age. Seniors have the option of getting the regular flu vaccine or a higher-dose shot that results in a stronger immune response.

Vaccination rates among the general population in the United States is an important public health intervention aimed at preventing unnecessary hospitalizations and premature deaths related to influenza. Among these vaccinations is the influenza vaccination, in which our paper will primarily focus on the barriers which prevent vaccination and determine ways to reduce the number of reasons people choose not to be immunized. We will look at some of the determinants and how they affect vaccination rates. These determinants include looking at: age, gender, marital status, education, ethnicity, socio-economic status, social and cultural values, housing, behavioral beliefs, social influences, previous vaccine experiences, perceived susceptibility, sources of information, perceived health status, healthcare system accessibility, affordability, knowledge and attitudes about vaccination, and physicians’ advice. By looking at the impact of these determinants, we can draw conclusions on how decreasing these barriers will impact the vaccination rate for the influenza vaccine. We will focus on the general population as a whole and at risk populations including: the elderly over the age of 65, children younger than 6 years old and health care workers.

In recent years encouragement to get flu shots has become a yearly mantra. Elderly, children six months to two years, health care workers and immune-deficient people are urged in the strongest terms to go to their doctors or clinics and get a flu shot. This group encompasses about 98 million people. In the fall of 2004 this was in the forefront of American and to some extent the Western World media with the shortage of this flu seasons vaccine. Current medical wisdom states that flu shots are safe, effective and prevent mortality. A recent study published by The Journal of the American Medicine Association (JAMA) has brought the current wisdom into question. On February 14, 2005 JAMA

Each year in the United States, 3000–49,000 influenza associated deaths occur, with over 90% reported among older adults aged 65 years or older. Influenza also results in an estimated 226,000 hospitalizations, with hospitalization rates among older adults increasing over the past 2 decades (Nace et al., 2015). Influenza is a highly transmissible viral illness that may lead to severe complications from underlying diseases, primary viral or secondary bacterial pneumonia and death (NCBI, 2015). Immunization is one of the most powerful and cost effective interventions against

Mrs. L stated that she has had her current pneumonia and shingles immunizations. She has also had her flu shot for the year. For the prevention of pneumonia and influenza, it is recommended that older persons receive an influenza vaccination yearly and a pneumococcal immunization every 10 years (Tabloski, 2006, p. 508).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone have a shot of the vaccine against flu every season from the age of 6 months. A high-dose of this vaccine is one of several standard-dose vaccines approved for adults over 65 in the US. Seniors are at a higher risk for serious illness and complications from flu which can sometimes lead to death.