HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE FLU SHOT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GET EVERY YEAR?

COVID-19 has been consuming everyone’s minds for the past couple of months. When you turn on the TV, it’s all you hear about. We are all reminded of it every time we enter a store and must wear a mask. For this reason, I decided to help educate the local community on the flu and its relation, if any, to Covid. According to the World Health Organization(WHO), the symptoms of Covid-19 and Influenza are quite similar. They both are viral infections that invade the respiratory system. In 2019, the United States had approximately 35.5 million people with influenza, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths from influenza.

The CDC has put some advice on their website on how to stay safe during the flu season:

• Anyone over six months should get a flu shot
• People who are sick should stay away from others and stay at home for at least 24 hours
• Cover your coughs and sneezes
• Avoid touching your nose, eyes, mouth

These precautions have been created to minimize our chance of being infected by getting influenza, which are effective most of the time.

Personally, I dread the start of fall season. Many of you might be thinking of pumpkin spice lattes, piles of pretty leaves, and pumpkin patches, but all I can think about is my mom dragging my sister and I to the hospital to get the flu shot. The flu shot itself is usually painful, but after I get the flu shot, my arm hurts for days and sometimes I even feel feverish. I often wondered why I even got the flu-shot just to go through the terrible after-math. Since Covid-19 will still be present this flu season, I decided I should educate myself on the importance of the flu shot.

I created a survey to make sure people knew about the flu shot and hopefully clear up any myths. The survey had over 100 respondents.

Here are the questions/answers/responses to the survey. I think some might surprise you!

The commonly missed questions were:

• How many deaths are caused by flu (influenza) worldwide per year (650,000)
• How many influenza related hospitalizations were averted in 2018–2019 in the USA by flu vaccine? (58,000)
• How long does the flu shot guarantee antibody protection? (6 months)

Final Note: When I read all of these facts, it makes getting the flu shot definitely worth it. I hope reading these facts make you realize that getting the flu shot is worth it and if you don’t usually get the flu shot, I hope you consider getting one this year. The healthcare system is already overwhelmed by Covid-19, so please make sure you do your part to do your part and get the flu shot.

About the Author:

Saisha Nandamuri is a tenth grader who is an aspiring physician looking to make a positive impact on her local community, as well as the healthcare industry.