exhaustion with the pandemic itself. She understands.
“We all are tired of the pandemic,” Boehme adds. “We all wish it was over. But wishing it was over does not mean it is over.”
The flu vaccine has always been a tough sell, she said. The idea that it is not 100% effective at stopping the flu, and that you need to take it yearly, doesn’t sit well with some people, “and there have always been thoughts surrounding, ‘Well, the flu is not that bad.'”
But it is serious. Between 2010 and 2020, the flu killed between 12,000 and 52,000 people annually. The CDC says flu can lead to bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections and worsening of chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and congestive heart failure. A 2018 study found that the risk of having a heart attack was six times higher within a week of a flu infection.
A flu vaccine’s effectiveness at preventing infection varies from year to year, as the formula changes to keep up with mutations in the virus. But vaccination lowers the odds you’ll get seriously ill. According to the CDC, vaccination is associated with a 26% lower risk of ICU admission and a 31% lower risk of dying from the flu.
The CDC estimates that during the 2019-20 flu season, flu vaccinations prevented 38 million flu cases, 400,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths.
Benefits from vaccination don’t end with the flu itself, Boehme says. Research, including her own, has highlighted how the flu vaccine helps protect against heart attack, stroke and deaths related to heart disease.
The cumulative effects of being vaccinated year after year add up, Boehme shares. “If a person has been vaccinated for influenza 10 years in a row, they have more protection over influenza in the next year than someone who had only been vaccinated for two years.”
Given the benefits, it’s no surprise that Gulati emphasizes the flu vaccine’s safety and importance to her patients.
“The biggest reason that people tell me they don’t want it is they’re convinced it will make them sick,” she notes. But flu shots can’t give you the flu, she tells them. She reassures them that side effects – which can include