Why You Should Get Your Flu Shot

Flu shots are vaccines aimed at preventing influenza. Influenza, the seasonal virus that often appears alongside colds, affects the respiratory system and can hospitalize those with weaker immune systems in severe cases. Flu shots are more important than ever considering our current circumstances with COVID-19. Receiving the flu vaccine can reduce the likelihood of catching the flu in the future and help healthcare resources be saved for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventing flu help prevent the spread of the influenza virus to others and can help save countless lives.

Below, you’ll find our recommended summary of the benefits of the influenza vaccine:

1. Flu shots can save you life

The influenza virus is one of the largest, reoccurring viruses globally, infecting the respiratory system and attacking the vessels of the nose, throat, and lungs. While its symptoms appear similar to a common cold, the flu virus is one out of the few viruses to cause global pandemics, such as the HINI pandemic back in 2009. The influenza virus, when left untreated, and under specific circumstances, can cause severe reactions that can lead to hospitalization and death.

2. Vaccines protect you from catching the flu

Patients who receive the influenza vaccine can prevent themselves from getting the flu during the fall, winter, and spring months. They act as a preventative measure against the influenza virus when it mutates, drifts, and shifts from host to host. Vaccines help the body create antibodies, which are proteins developed by the immune system to counteract and recognize alien proteins in the body. Each year, the influenza virus develops its antigens or proteins that infect the body; as the proteins mutate, the vaccines are updated each year to aid the body’s antibody production against the disease.

3. The Flu vaccine protects people with chronic health.

Flu vaccinations prevent the influenza virus from infecting and spreading and help protect those with chronic respiratory conditions from hospitalization. People with cardiac problems, diabetes, and chronic lung disease have a reduced hospitalization rate when taking the vaccine than those who do not. The vaccine also helps protect pregnant women, children, and adults 65 and older, all of which have compromised or underdeveloped immune systems that increase the likelihood of catching the influenza virus.

4. The flu vaccine will reduce the severity of the illness

For patients who get the vaccine shot and still get sick, adults who have received the shot and end up catching the flu show fewer symptoms and show less severity of those symptoms than those without the vaccine. The flu shot helps prevent symptoms like cough, sore throat, runny nose, and congestion from reoccurring.

5. Prevents trips to the doctor’s each year

Receiving the vaccine can also decrease the likelihood of going to the doctors each year, allowing doctors to treat patients that require medical care. By getting the vaccine, doctors will have more resources in caring for patients with severe illnesses, such as COVID-19, and protect the local community from the spread of serious diseases.

For more information about flu vaccines and where you can get your vaccine, please contact Dr. Sam Olu Faleye at Primehealth Medical Center in Memphis, TN, to schedule your appointment today and receive quality health care.