These days, autumn makes itself felt, unpredictable weather causes an increase in flu cases. It is possible to protect against influenza, which can be seen more frequently in crowded environments, by vaccination.
Influenza is an infectious disease which is disease that enters the body through the respiratory tract with viruses called “influenza”. Influenza can cause epidemics, especially in late autumn, winter, and early spring.
Healthy individuals injected with flu viruses usually heal spontaneously in one week. However, it can cause serious and fatal complications especially in the elderly, children, and people with chronic diseases
Influenza, which is a contagious virus infection, is a much more severe disease than the common cold. The flu virus, which can survive for weeks, especially in the winter, is very easy to transmit. One of the most important ways to protect against the flu is the flu vaccine.
The flu vaccine is inactive and is prepared each year according to the World Health Organization’s recommendations. After the flu vaccine is administered, the protective antibody level is formed on average, 10-15 days. It can prevent 70-90% of flu symptoms in healthy young adults.
Who can have the flu vaccine?
Flu vaccines are suitable for most people with rare exceptions
- people 50 years and older
- People with chronic diseases in a nursing home
- People with chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc.), heart patients, diabetics, chronic liver and kidney patients,
- Those with immunologic diseases.
- Those with immune-suppressed diseases suppressed immune system (HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, organ and bone marrow transplant recipients, chemotherapy, radiotherapy patients, steroids)
- Between 6 months and 18 months and taking long-term aspirin therapy (to reduce the risk of developing Reye’s syndrome),
- Pregnant women (within the knowledge of the patient’s physician),
- Babies older than six months (trivalent inactivated flu vaccine), older than thirty-six months (3 years old) (trivalent or quadrivalent flu vaccine can be administered),
- Health workers,
- All healthy individuals who want to be protected by vaccination can get vaccinated.
