Who should get the flu vaccine and why? Our medical analyst explains - CNN

CNN  — 

Welcome to this year’s flu season.

This year’s flu strain has already begun spreading crossed the United States, according to new information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There person been astatine slightest 880,000 cases of influenza, astir 7,000 hospitalizations and, tragically, 360 deaths from the flu this fall, including 1 pediatric death. Not since 2009, during the tallness of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, person determination been this galore cases of influenza truthful early successful the season.

Despite these numbers, galore radical wonderment if the flu is truly that superior of an illness. What’s the payment of the vaccine, particularly if immoderate radical whitethorn inactive get the flu contempt being vaccinated? Could you get the flu from the vaccine? If you get the Covid vaccine, bash you inactive request the flu vaccine?

To usher america done these questions and more, I spoke with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an exigency physician, nationalist wellness adept and prof of wellness argumentation and absorption astatine the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is besides the writer of “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey successful the Fight for Public Health.”

CNN: Is the flu a superior illness? What symptoms bash radical experience?

Dr. Leana Wen: It surely tin beryllium serious. The CDC estimates that flu resulted betwixt 9 cardinal and 41 cardinal illnesses, 140,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 to 52,000 deaths annually crossed the US betwixt 2010 and 2020.

Symptoms of the flu see fever, musculus aches, headaches, fatigue, coughing and a runny nose. A batch of radical retrieve wrong respective days, but immoderate whitethorn inactive beryllium feeling unwell arsenic agelong arsenic 10 days to 2 weeks aft the onset of their symptoms. Some volition make complications, including sinus and receptor infections, pneumonia, and inflammation of the brain. The flu tin besides exacerbate underlying aesculapian conditions — for example, radical with chronic lung and bosom diseases tin spot their conditions worsen owed to the flu.

Even mostly steadfast radical tin go precise sick owed to the flu. However, those peculiarly susceptible to terrible outcomes see those 65 and older, young children nether 2, large radical and radical with underlying aesculapian conditions.

CNN: What’s the payment of the vaccine, particularly if immoderate radical whitethorn get the flu contempt being vaccinated?

Wen: The flu vaccine does 2 things. First and astir importantly, it reduces your accidental of terrible unwellness — that is, of being hospitalized oregon dying. Second, it tin besides trim your likelihood of getting sick from the flu astatine all.

In a sense, this is not excessively antithetic from the Covid-19 vaccine. The astir important crushed to get vaccinated against some the flu and the coronavirus is to forestall terrible illness. New information released successful the CDC’s latest morbidity and mortality report shows this year’s flu vaccine reduces the hazard of hospitalization by astir 50%. A 2018 survey recovered that radical vaccinated against the flu were 59% little apt to beryllium admitted to the ICU owed to influenza erstwhile compared with those who were unvaccinated.

The vaccine’s effectiveness tin alteration depending connected however good matched the vaccine is to circulating influenza strains. The CDC cites vaccine effectiveness against “medically attended illness” anyplace from 23% to 61% depending connected the twelvemonth and vaccine-to-strain match. It’s true, then, that you could get the flu vaccine and inactive declaration the flu. But the vaccine does trim your accidental thereof — and, crucially, it reduces the likelihood that you could extremity up precise ill.

Another happening to see is that determination are a batch of different viruses that tin origin flu-like symptoms. The flu vaccine helps support against viral infections caused by influenza, but determination are a batch of different causes of viral syndromes, including adenovirus, rhinovirus, parainfluenza and others. These different viruses dispersed easily, too, and determination aren’t vaccines against them. I often perceive patients accidental they erstwhile got the flu the aforesaid twelvemonth they had a flu vaccine, and that’s wherefore they don’t privation to get vaccinated again. But erstwhile I inquire them whether they were really diagnosed with the flu oregon conscionable had flu-like symptoms, they would accidental the latter.

CNN: Should children and large radical besides get the flu vaccine?

Wen: Absolutely. These are groups peculiarly susceptible to terrible outcomes, truthful it’s precise important they person the flu vaccine.

One study recovered the flu vaccine reduces children’s hazard of terrible life-threatening influenza by 75%. Another recovered it reduced flu-related exigency section visits successful children by half.

Similar results are recovered successful radical who are pregnant. Not lone does the flu vaccine support the large person, if the vaccine is fixed during gestation it besides helps support their babe from the flu for the archetypal fewer months of its life. That’s important, due to the fact that the flu vaccine is not disposable to babies until they are 6 months oregon older.

CNN: Could you get the flu from the vaccine?

Wen: No. The flu vaccine is an inactivated vaccine, which means it does not incorporate the unrecorded microorganism and truthful cannot origin the flu. It is besides a precise well-tolerated vaccine, with the astir communal broadside effect being discomfort astatine the injection tract that is gone aft a day.

CNN: If you got the Covid-19 vaccine, bash you inactive request the flu vaccine?

Wen: Yes. Different vaccines people antithetic viruses. The Covid vaccine helps to support against Covid, but does not support against the flu, and vice versa. You tin person the Covid vaccine (or bivalent booster) astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic you person the flu vaccine, conscionable successful a antithetic injection site.

CNN: Some radical person been waiting until aboriginal successful the flu play to get the flu vaccine. Is this a bully idea?

Wen: At this point, no, due to the fact that it’s present wide this flu play is starting earlier than usual. Cases are already high, and it takes astir 2 weeks to scope optimal immune extortion aft vaccination. I’d promote radical who person not yet received the flu vaccine to get it now.

CNN: What should radical cognize astir treatments for the flu?

Wen: Most cases of the flu tin beryllium treated symptomatically, meaning patients get rest, hydration and attraction for symptoms that travel up — specified arsenic fever-reducing medicines similar acetaminophen oregon ibuprofen. There are besides antiviral treatments available. These are truly important for radical astatine precocious hazard for terrible influenza complications and/or who are precise ill. The earlier specified treatments are started, the better. An oral medication, oseltamivir (Tamiflu), tin besides beryllium fixed to non-high-risk patients, too, wrong 48 hours of the commencement of their illness.

I’d promote everyone to person an influenza plan, the aforesaid mode they should person a Covid plan. Ask your doc successful beforehand if you should person Tamiflu oregon different antiviral treatment. Know however you tin get investigating and wherever you tin entree treatment, including aft hours and connected weekends.

CNN: How tin radical forestall catching the flu?

Wen: The flu is chiefly dispersed done droplets — if an infected idiosyncratic coughs oregon sneezes, these droplets tin onshore connected idiosyncratic other nearby. It’s besides imaginable that the droplets onshore connected a surface, from which idiosyncratic gets infected aft touching it and past touching their nose, rima oregon eyes.

We tin assistance to trim flu transmission by staying distant from others portion symptomatic. We should each cough oregon sneeze into our elbow oregon a tissue, and lavation our hands frequently, including aft touching high-contact surfaces. Individuals peculiarly susceptible to terrible outcomes should see wearing a disguise to trim their accidental of contracting viral illnesses similar the flu. And, of course, get vaccinated!