walks into the woods alone at night to investigate a creepy sound. Yet many people do just that.
Vaccination levels have fallen this year, Savoy shares, which makes things riskier for everyone.
“People might have gotten really lucky the last couple of years if you skipped out on your flu vaccine,” Savoy adds. “I don’t think that luck’s going to hold out. In fact, I’m fairly confident it’s not.”
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How vaccination helps
Health experts formulate each flu season’s vaccine in hopes of matching the most common virus strains, and this year’s formula is looking like a good match, Eaton says.
“We know that the flu vaccines are not perfect in terms of preventing infection,” Eaton adds. But they are good at preventing severe infection. “That’s the infection where your child is out of school for seven days, and on the seventh day, the pediatrician recommends they go to the ER for oxygen and breathing treatments. A severe infection is where your grandma felt fine yesterday, but this morning, she wakes up and she can’t breathe, and she’s in the hospital on a ventilator for four days.”
Being vaccinated also may shorten how long you are sick with the flu, Savoy notes.
A shorter and less severe illness gives vaccinated people an advantage against the virus.
Savoy explains vaccines’ importance to her patients like this: “If I told you I was going to send a bear to chase you, and you had two choices – I could give you a five-minute head start, or I’m going to let you and the bear out at the same time – which one would you choose?”
Flu vaccination also may protect against heart attack, stroke and deaths related to heart disease, research shows.
New options for older people
The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, with rare exceptions. For people 65 and older, the CDC now recommends one of three higher-dose vaccines. Savoy says the vaccines can boost protection in older people, whose immune systems are weaker.
If you’re eligible but a high-dose vaccine isn’t available, she says, “just get the standard-dose vaccines. I would rather you be covered than to have nothing.”
Act now for holiday protection
It can take a few weeks for full immunity from a flu vaccination to kick in. That means get vaccinated now if you want to keep your family safe at the holidays, Eaton says. But if you’ve missed the ideal timing, late is better than never.
Other basic measures – including frequent hand-washing, cleaning frequently touched surfaces and covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing – can go a long way. And both doctors encourage wearing masks and say people need to stay home when they’re feeling sick.
That even applies to big holiday events, Savoy shares.
“Find another way to celebrate with the family,” she concludes. “There really is no reason to die for a holiday gathering, right?”
By American Heart Association