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Seasonal Flu Vaccine
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.
Coronavirus in Kids
Unfortunately, Coronavirus does not affect only adults, children can also develop COVID-19.
Most of the cases are not showing the symptoms and Covid-19 in children usually have milder symptoms when compared to adults. However, some children might develop severe complications and need to hospitalize.
The symptoms of Covid in children are similar and we list few main Covid-19 symptoms;
If you are suspicious that your kid might have a Covid-19 infection, you should get a PCR test and isolate the kid from family members and visitors. And of course, the kid should stay home until receiving the result of the PCR test. If the symptoms get any worse, you should call your doctor or admit to the closest ER.
- Published in Articles
Can I Get COVID-19 Again?
Getting Covid-19 again seems to be rare but you have a still possible to get Covid-19 again after the recovery of it.
It is called reinfection. According to the knowledge from similar viruses, reinfections are expected.
This situation is also valid for vaccinated people. If you got the shot of Covid Vaccine and still virus can infect you again and thanks to the vaccine, the risk of severe illness and death decrease significantly.
There is a study called SARS-CoV-2 Immunity and Reinfection Evaluation (SIREN) which was conducted by the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health in England. The study showed that the possibility of reinfection is decreased by 83% for at least five months due to the responses of the immune from the previous infection.
The results from the same study suggested that cases of reinfection are rare and the ratio of occurrence is fewer than 1% of about 6.600 participants who had already been infected by the COVID-19 virus.
Reinfection is a rare situation but it is significant to take precautions such as wearing masks, handwashing, and social distancing.
- Published in Articles
What are the Covid-19 Variants?
The pandemic of Covid-19 continues to affect our lives and thankfully vaccines are coming with hope to fight this pandemic. However, new versions of the Covid-19 virus are reported and put us in a stressful place again.
Let’s see what is the variant Of Covid-19 and how does it affect us?
The mutation is responsible for the formation of new variants of the virus and some of these variants continue to spread and some of them are disappeared.
As we know, new variants of Covid-19 are reported. One of them is detected in the UK and called B.1.1.7. It is more contagious when compared to their variants.
Last October, in South Africa, named with B.1.351 variant was determined and lastly, P.1 variant was detected passenger from Brasil at the airport in Japan.
Easily and fast spreading of these variants cause the number of infected people, a requirement of the health services, hospital admission, and finally to death.
Therefore, protective strategies such as physical distance, mask, hand hygiene, isolation, and quarantine limit the spreading of the Covid-19 virus and protect public health.
- Published in News
