Every year, millions of people get the flu. While this is a serious illness, there are certain ways to decrease your chances of getting it, and can protect you from getting sick. One such way is by getting yearly flu vaccines which has been shown to reduce your risk of contracting influenza by about 50%. Seasonal influenza is detected year-round in the United States, but flu season usually occurs during the fall and winter. Now that we have entered the fall season in Beverly, MA, it’s vital to protect your health and the health of those people around you by getting a flu vaccine from NIMVAX. Keep reading to learn more about the reasons to get the flu vaccine and how to schedule an appointment to receive your flu vaccination this year.
Reduce Chance of Contraction
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts annual studies to determine how well flu vaccines protect against the influenza virus. While vaccine effectiveness can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during the flu season. While prevention isn’t guaranteed, only about half of all Americans receive the influenza vaccine every year. If the number of recipients increases and more people are protected from the possibility of contracting the influenza virus, this will help to lower the spread and lessen the number of people diagnosed with the flu.
Reduce Sick Days if Contracted
Not only can the influenza vaccine help prevent individuals from contracting the virus, but if it is contracted, the flu vaccine is shown to mitigate the impact and symptoms those people experience. According to the CDC, flu vaccines prevent millions of illnesses and flu-related visits to the doctor each year. For example, during the 2019-2020 flu season, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations, and 6,300 influenza-associated deaths. While the long-term goal is prevention, the short-term goal of the medical community is to reduce the severity of influenza cases.
Potentially Save Lives
By reducing emergency visits and hospitalizations related to the flu, the influenza vaccine can save lives, particularly in children. A study performed earlier this year by the National Library of Medicine highlighted that flu vaccination reduced children’s risk of severe life-threatening influenza by 75%. Children are not eligible to receive a flu vaccine until they are at least 6 months of age or older. However, a flu vaccine given to pregnant women helps protect the baby from influenza for several months after birth. Even if hospitalized as a result of getting sick from the flu, those who are vaccinated have a reduced risk of death compared to patients who are unvaccinated. At NIMVAX, we provide flu vaccinations to adults and children ages 3 years of age and older.
Helps Build Immunity
The flu vaccine is a vaccine that can help prevent the flu. It does this by giving your body a small amount of the virus that causes the flu. This causes your body to build immunity and helps protect you from getting the virus later on. As we indicated earlier, only about half of the eligible US population gets the annual flu vaccine. Many more people could be protected from influenza if more of the public got vaccinated. Statistics show that flu vaccines reduce risks of contraction, the severity of illness, hospitalization, and death. By increasing the number of people vaccinated in our community immunity builds and helps to prevent the spread of the flu virus.
We are happy to answer any of your questions and provide up-to-date information about the latest regarding COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. If you’d like to learn more about our services or set up an appointment, contact us and we will be happy to help get you started.
At NIMVAX, we believe in the importance of flu vaccinations and are committed to providing our patients with high-quality care. Contact us in Beverly, MA today if you are interested in learning more about the flu vaccination services we provide or are interested in scheduling an appointment to get your flu shot.
