The Seasonal Influenza Vaccine For Children Has Acquired Increasing Acceptance Statistics

Influenza viruses are divided into three classes. These are A, B, and C. Influenza A and B are blamed for the increases in hospitalization and deaths each year. The aim of receiving an annual vaccine is to prevent spreading infections. Since flu outbreaks vary, it is recommended that individuals receive a vaccination for the flu

Every year, millions of people start talking about the influenza virus and getting their vaccines as the flu season approaches, which starts around the October-November period and reaches its peak between December and March. Therefore, public health officials around the world- and in the U.S in particular- are constantly challenged by properly preparing for the annual influenza dilemma, given that this viruses, and other respiratory viruses, are a serious health threat to the U.S population and the world as a whole. Furthermore, what makes the influenza virus even more challenging to control is that it can mutate rapidly and reassort to form new strains, having the ability to reside in multiple animal hosts. In fact, many scientists and researchers have been doing in-depth intensive research so as to understand the mechanism behind this unique characteristic of the virus, try to find new ways to control it, and explore different areas of protection and vaccination.

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

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

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 problem can be better quantified by gaining understanding of the importance of receiving the flu vaccination. The manager of any health care facility should ensure that staff and patients, specifically those with a higher risk of contracting the flu, receives the yearly influenza vaccination. Health care staff that does not comply with yearly influenza vaccinations should be transferred to a unit with limited patient contact. High-risk patients who are not compliant with receiving the vaccine are to receive further education of the deadly effects associated with developing the influenza virus. In all patients it is imperative to provide proper patient

The Situation/Challenge: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of influenza (flu)-associated deaths in the United States ranges from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000, annually (CDC, 2010). Vulnerable populations—those with a compromised immune system, elderly, very young children, and critically ill—are especially susceptible to the influenza. (Poland, 2005). Pre-exposure vaccination is the most effective method of preventing influenza and influenza-related morbidity and mortality (Poland, 2005). However, flu vaccination is frequently contra-indicated for the vulnerable

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

Flu/influenza is a leading pressure associated with the winter season. It has huge impacts on the external community, providers of direct healthcare services and a wide range of health and social services that supports people at risk. This policy brief is directed towards the complete mitigation of vaccine shortage that was encountered in the 2004-2005 flu season in the United States. There is a need to develop program that would address these problems, implement vaccination programs that would place priorities on accessibility to the population at risk, and the entire community, providing resilience for the entire country during the forthcoming flu season.

Avian influenza is a disease that has been wreaking havoc on human populations since the 16th century. With the recent outbreak in 1997 of a new H5N1 avian flu subtype, the world has begun preparing for a pandemic by looking upon its past affects. In the 20th Century, the world witnessed three pandemics in the years of 1918, 1957, and 1968. In 1918 no vaccine, antibiotic, or clear recognition of the disease was known. Killing over 40 million in less than a year, the H1N1 strain ingrained a deep and lasting fear of the virus throughout the world. Though 1957 and 1968 brought on milder pandemics, they still killed an estimated 3 million people and presented a new

Influenza is a respiratory infection caused by a range of flu virus. The virus is very contagious and can cause mild to severe illness and even death. Droplets spread the virus, especially when infected people cough, sneeze or talk. Touching a contaminated surface or object can also transmit the virus. Getting vaccinated annually is the best method of averting the flu virus. When there is a vaccine shortage, it will be fair and ethical to give the vaccine to the most vulnerable or high-risk members of the society such as; those with asthma, diabetes, and heart diseases, children and the elderly and most importantly health care workers. Selling the vaccine will undermine those at high risk who cannot afford to buy the vaccine. The ethical principles of Utilitarian and egalitarianism are the contending principles for rationing the seasonal flu vaccine.

According to Hooper, C. R., Breathnach, A., & Iqbal, R. (2014), many people have taken vaccinations due to the feel about the emergence of dangerous influenza strains, and the widespread mandatory schemes for vaccination have influenced the way people have access to this form of treatment (page. 95).

According to Healthy People 2020 a goal of theirs is to “increase immunization rates and reduce preventable infections.” The influenza virus is one of these preventable infections, which can cause serious harm to patients. The influenza virus is known as the “flu.” Everyone in his or her life has had some experience with the flu, whether that is himself or herself or a family member. What if there was a way to ensure people from contracting a strain of the influenza virus? Well, thanks to technology and medical research there is.

The influenza virus, also known as the seasonal flu, is a viral and contagious disease that was once recognized as one of the most devastating illnesses in global history. From 1918 to 1919, an estimated 500 million people worldwide fell sick with this illness and killed nearly 10%. In the United States, 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic, suffering from fever, body aches, nausea, and other impacting symptoms with little opportunity for treatment. First observed in Europe, flu outbreaks swept through parts of Asia and South America, Africa, and North America. At first, scientists like Robert Koch, believed that the cause of influenza was a bacterium called Haemophilus influenzae, but eventually discovered it was viral. Nonetheless, there were no effective treatments that helped kill the viral strain or prevent its spread. At the time, people were ordered to wear masks, and public entities like schools were closed for an extended period of time. Even today, there are very few methods of remedy other than rest, fluids, and staying warm. One drug that was approved by the FDA in 1999 that treated for influenza in adults was oseltamivir, or Tamiflu. However, it wasn’t put to use until 2005 in Southeast Asia when the H5N1 avian influenza epidemic erupted. Currently, Tamiflu continues to be used as the main drug for treating the flu. A downside to this medication, however is that it must be administered 48 hours within experiencing the first symptoms; otherwise it doesn’t

In 2011, there were about 43 clinical trials evaluating DNA vaccines (Ferraro et al., 2011). Of these, 62% focused on HIV and Cancer, and 38% were investigating vaccines for influenza, hepatitis B and C, HPV, and malaria (Ferraro et al., 2011). However, the risk of Genetic drift for pathogens like Influenza or HIV is common, and researchers are developing innovative methodologies to surpass these complications (Sharma & Khuller, 2001). Today, my task is to go out to different facilities and recommend that people take adequate precautions as influenza has been declared-widespread. Therefore, does DNA vaccination play a role in Seasonal Influenza today? How can DNA vaccinations contribute to counteract Season