The question of whether influenza, also known as flu, vaccinations should be done every year confounds many people. The answer coming from specialists is affirmative. Annual vaccination against influenza still remains the effective way to protect yourself and people around from the flu and its serious complications.
In an exclusive interaction, Dr. Joshi Divya Rakesh, Consultant Infectious Disease & Infection Control, KIMS Hospitals, Electronic City, Bengaluru, explained that influenza differs significantly from the common cold since it is a communicable virus disease. In the event of the flu infection, a person might have sudden fever, chills, pain in the body, throat, muffled voice, cough, fatigue, headache, and other symptoms. While the majority of patients recover in about a week, there are complications, such as pneumonia, aggravation of chronic heart and lung diseases, hospitalization, and many others.
Influenza Vaccine: Why Does The Flu Jab Need To Be Updated Every Year?
One of the reasons the vaccination should be performed on a yearly basis is the fact that the influenza virus keeps changing and every season, new strains of the virus begin circulating; therefore, the vaccine is being updated. Hence, it might happen that the vaccine received last year does not provide enough protection against the virus that would spread this year. Currently circulating strains targeted by the vaccine include an influenza A(H1N1)pdm09-like virus, an A(H3N2)-like virus, and a B/Victoria-lineage virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reviews global surveillance data twice a year to recommend the exact strain composition for the upcoming season. Notably, starting with the 2024 2025 season, vaccines have shifted from the earlier quadrivalent (four-strain) formulation to a trivalent (three-strain) formulation, following the exclusion of the B/Yamagata lineage component, which has not been detected in circulation anywhere in the world since March 2020. Health authorities note this change is not expected to reduce protection, since the excluded strain was no longer circulating.
Why Do You Need Flu Jab Every Year?
One more perspective is that the immunity of the body decreases with time. Even if you got vaccinated last year, by the next flu season, your immunity may have been weakened. In fact, vaccine-induced antibody levels typically begin to wane within 3 to 4 months of vaccination, which is one reason timing the shot appropriately before the anticipated peak of flu activity matters. Thus, getting the flu shots every year ensures strong immune protection against flu infection.
Who Should Get The Flu Vaccine Every Year?
Flu vaccination is especially critical for those people who belong to a category of high risk patients. This includes people aged 65 and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, and people suffering from diabetes, heart disease and chronic lung disease, kidney malfunctions, immunity problems, as well as medical workers who are frequently in contact with sick people. Vaccinating these people has a significant effect on reducing one’s risk of illness.
One also has to keep in mind that it is impossible to catch influenza after being vaccinated. People may experience some insignificant side effects like injection site soreness, mild headache, or fever lasting for a day or two. But these are perfectly normal signals that the immune system has reacted to the vaccine.
How Does Flu Vaccination Help Prevent The Spread of Influenza?
Getting vaccinated against the flu not only helps protect individuals but also helps control the spread of the virus among family members, schools, workplaces, and communities; thereby aiding in the protection of infants, elderly people, and individuals that have compromised immunity from being infected with serious diseases caused by the flu virus.
When Is The Best Time To Get The Flu Vaccine?
From a medical perspective, getting vaccinated against the flu before there is an outbreak in the community is recommended because it allows enough time for the body to develop antibodies against the flu virus. However, getting vaccinated after an outbreak has already started can still be beneficial to the person.
Seasonal flu vaccination is an effective preventive approach in controlling the spread of the flu virus on its own but it can also be more effective when combined with the practice of good hygiene, proper respiratory etiquette, sleeping well, and living a healthy lifestyle.
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