How To Choose Your Flu Vaccines According To Your Age And Needs

Like every year, flu season is upon us. Prevention is nothing to take lightly, as the virus kills around 20,000 Americans a year. Still, there is no standard prevention for everyone, as people may react differently to different flu vaccines.

To avoid any dangerous side-effects, you should take some factors into consideration before taking your flu shot.

First and very important is age. People over 65 are more vulnerable to the virus, so now there are two flu vaccines available to them. One is a powerful high-dose shot, while the other one uses an adjuvant to increase your organism’s reaction to the vaccine. The elders should, however, consider taking the standard vaccine in case none of the other options are available.

In case you’re suffering from egg allergies, you probably know by now that the standard vaccine may contain traces of egg protein, which is why there are already two egg-free shots available.

Pregnant women have probably already asked a lot of times if the flu vaccines are safe. Not only has the standard vaccine been proven to have no negative side-effects on pregnancy, but they have also been shown to reduce the risk of miscarriage. Children are especially vulnerable to the virus, so it is important that they have a standard vaccine every year, according to their age group.

Now of course, like most of us, a lot of people will not take the vaccine simply because they are afraid of needles. It’s not always a laughing matter, as serious phobia should not be ignored when administering a flu shot. There are, however, two solutions.

Firstly, there is a shot with a very small dermal needle. This means that, instead of going into the muscle, the needle only touches the skin, causing only a slight pinch.

Secondly, there’s the vaccine of the future, which our parents and grandparents first became aware of when watching Star Trek in the 60s. That’s right, the “hypospray” is available! To be precise, this vaccine is administered with a jet injector, using high pressure instead of needles to get the substance into your system.

There is also an intranasal vaccine, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are against it, due to it being considered ineffective.

You now know what to ask your doctor for when getting your flu shot. Most importantly, you should not delay getting it done, lest you want to contact the powerful illness.

Image source: Wikipedia