Urge Patients to Get the Flu Vaccine

Vaccines rank among the greatest public health benefits ever invented. Yet every year, many people eligible for vaccination choose not to be protected. We all know people who tell the tale of the time they or a family member got the flu as a result of having received the flu vaccine. This patently inaccurate information nonetheless has become ever-present conventional wisdom. Sadly, such misinformation is even more threatening as people age and/or acquire chronic illnesses, putting them at increased risk of dying from the flu. Despite the hype and folklore often associated with flu vaccination, there are clear facts about its efficacy and safety that shouldlead eligible patients to get the vaccine.

Many people harbor misconceptions about the flu and flu vaccination and fail to understand the severity of the flu. It’s important to promote understanding of the following:

• The flu is still a killer. Influenza kills about 36,000 people in the United States every year. The latest disease scares, including SARS, anthrax, and bird flu, have killed fewer than 1,000 people worldwide in the last decade.
• The flu vaccine cannot give recipients the flu. Flu vaccines are made from viruses that have been inactivated or killed. The component used in the vaccines is not capable of causing illness.
• The flu is not a minor stomach ailment. Patients may become complacent about influenza because it can be confused with colds or with minor stomach ailments often called “stomach flu.” True influenza is a serious illness characterized by high fevers, severe muscle aches, and a racking cough. Stomach symptoms usually are not prominent. The flu often lasts two weeks, which is longer than the seven to 10 days of a typical cold.
• Flu shots do not make people sick. Minor arm soreness is the only likely side effect. There’s plenty of evidence to support this, but we don’t expect to convince some folks of that. We’ve known people who blamed the vaccine for any illness or symptom they developed within a month of vaccination. Of course, because the vaccine is given in the fall and the incidence of viral illnesses typically increases then, some people claim the coincidence is actually a cause-and-effect occurrence.
• Flu vaccines work very well. All available forms of flu vaccination reduce illness and death from flu so effectively that the government and some insurers are starting to grade the quality of hospitals and physicians by how well they immunize their highest risk patients. The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone who is at least 6 months of age and especially for anyone who is pregnant; those with heart or lung disease, diabetes, cancer, or other immune system weakness; those under the age of 5 and over the age of 65; and for those who live with or care for high-risk individuals. Only individuals with a history of a severe allergic reaction to eggs should avoid flu vaccination.
• The flu is caused by a virus. Therefore, antibiotics, which kill only bacteria, are ineffective. There are certain groups of patients who should receive an antiviral medication if the virus is identified within the first 48 hours. However, the best defense against death and complication from influenza is to avoid it via vaccination.

Remind caregivers to get the flu vaccine and to do so early in the season. Research has shown that the depressed immune system of people under chronic stress may not respond as quickly or vigorously as others.

Encourage patients to get the flu vaccine. And do us all a favor: pass this article along to any of the doubters you meet this season.

Two suggestions for providers as the flu season approaches:

• Create a handout to be given to patients.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an annual Summary for Clinicians with up-to-date information about antiviral medication recommendations for both chemoprophylaxis and treatment.

— Rosemary Laird, MD, MHSA, AGSF, is a geriatrician, medical director of the Health First Aging Institute, and past president of the Florida Geriatrics Society. She is a coauthor of Take Your Oxygen First: Protecting Your Health and Happiness While Caring for Someone With Memory Loss.