A few more days for vaccine shopping

In late October, my medical doctor called to say that the 2010-2011 flu vaccine had arrived at her office. She invited me to come in and get my jab. I thought about whether I should take my chances and go through the flu season without added protection. Waiting until I get the flu before vaccinating would not be smart. Better now than later.

We are advised to get the flu vaccine every year, since it is the first and most important step to prevent the condition. As the flu virus strains change each year, the World Health Organisation recommends a new vaccine each flu season. Scientists prepare a new vaccine every year from dead or weakened flu viruses. There have been instances where an unpredicted virus strain emerges after the production of the annual flu vaccine. In those years, people who had already been vaccinated could still get the flu from the unpredicted strain but the disease is usually milder as the vaccine still offers some level of protection.

Two types of vaccine

There are two types of seasonal flu vaccines, the injectable vaccine (trivalent inactivated vaccine) and the nasal-spray vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine). It takes about two weeks for our bodies to respond to the flu vaccine and make the antibodies necessary to protect us. So, getting the jab this week may still keep us in good stead for Christmas and the rest of the flu season.

However, if we do not have our vaccine before Christmas, all is not lost because the seasonal flu virus activity peaks in January, or shortly thereafter, and the flu season ends around May. The seasonal flu vaccine 2010-2011 targets three flu viruses which researchers predict will be most common this season - the H1N1, which we had last year, plus the H3N2 virus and an influenza B virus.

Who should get the vaccine

Although experts recommend that everybody over six months get a flu vaccine, it is important for people at high risk of developing complications. High-risk groups include children older than two, senior citizens older than 65, pregnant women and people with asthma, lung diseases, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell anaemia, heart, liver and kidney problems and diabetes.

Dahlia McDaniel is a pharmacist and final year doctoral candidate in public health at the University of London; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.