by Connie Kim

Flu shot season has officially arrived and people all over the nation are going to clinics to get their annual influenza vaccination. Several new changes and updates were implemented to this season’s vaccine to better protect Americans from the upcoming flu season.

There’s a casual blend of those who do choose to get the shot and those who think it’s a little out of the way, but there are several reasons to consider walking into the pharmacy across the street to get yourself protected from developing viruses.

There are many benefits to keeping up to date with the most recent influenza vaccine. While the main purpose of the shot is to help prevent you from initially contracting the harmful virus, the Center for Disease Control  (CDC) say that it can also improve the health of those with chronic illnesses, reducing hospitalization time and admission. It can also make common illnesses, such as the cold, occur with milder symptoms and a shorter length of illness.

Vaccination was associated with lower rates cardiac events, and a 79 percent decrease of hospitalization admission for patients with diabetes. Another research shows that babies of mothers who got a flu vaccine during their pregnancy were about 33 percent less likely to get sick with flu than babies of unvaccinated women.

While the CDC and majority of healthcare providers highly recommend the annual vaccine, there is a mixed reaction from patients of all ages, including CMU students.

“I’ve gotten a flu shot since I was little,” CMU student Taylor Knight said, “Since I have asthma, my immune system is pretty weak and I get sick quite often. I catch most viruses that go around, so I want to be protected when I can, especially at college.”

“I’ve just never had a reason to get one; I don’t get sick very often,” student Zach Harr said, who claims to have never had a flu shot, “I don’t mind having shots or spending the time or money getting it. I have never gotten the flu, but I would not turn the shot down if it was offered to me.”

New viruses develop every year, which is why there is a need for an annual vaccination. Epidemiologists and medical researchers continuously study the circulating viruses that have prominent occurrence in different parts of the world. With this data, a new vaccine is developed and available in the fall to anticipate the arrival of these viruses within the upcoming year. The new 2016-2017 vaccine developed for this year is made to protect from four viruses: H1N1 from California, H3N2 from Hong Kong, and two other viruses from Brisbane, Australia and Phuket, Thailand.

Contrary to popular belief, the negative stigma of the flu shot causing temporary sickness is not true. According to the CDC, all influenza vaccines for this season are made in two ways: either with viruses that have been “inactivated,” and are therefore not infectious or with no flu vaccine viruses at all, which is the case for recombinant influenza vaccine.

Here’s the really simplified science behind it: all cells come with their own little identifier that’s unique to their own kind – a fingerprint if you will. The dead influenza virus is injected into the body through the vaccine. Once your body sees a foreign “fingerprint” that does not occur naturally, it attacks it thinking it could be harmful. So although the virus itself is dead, the body learns how to identify and ultimately get rid of any viruses with the same fingerprint. So if there is ever an event in which the actual virus that is alive and well comes around, your body is trained to take appropriate action.

Essentially, because your body is only receiving the fingerprint, or antigen of the virus, rather than the actual active and harmful virus itself, your body is trained to develop antibodies to fight it, if there ever was a need for it to.

The U.S. experiences epidemics of the seasonal flu each year, starting around October and November. Flu activity usually peaks between December and March and can last as late as late spring into May.

Flu shot season occurs during the transition from summer to fall, causing general sickness and colds. When people get the vaccine and end up sick due to the change in weather, they automatically associate it with the vaccine, therefore birthing the ultimate misconception of flu shots.

While a majority of the patients will receive the regular dose vaccine, higher dose shots and recombinant vaccine options will be reserved for those with a compromised immune system, such as the elder population or those with a secondary diagnosis. Amongst these improvements, one of the biggest change to this season’s flu prevention is that the nasal option will not be offered, due to concerns about its effectiveness. Only injectable flu vaccines will be available and given to patients.

It’s important to remember that the flu vaccine serves as protection from the evolved circulating viruses, not as a treatment option.  The shot is available in several different pharmacies and is covered by the majority of insurance companies.  The CDC recommends it for anyone over the age of 6 months of age, so if you are capable of reading this article, you are completely ready and qualified to get yourself vaccinated.