Good morning lovely people of the Internet! We’ve had TWO, yes TWO, consecutive days of chilly morning weather, so it’s time for my yearly reminder….
GET THOSE FLU SHOTS
Let’s get in gear and get those flu shots. Don’t be an asshole and skip out on them. The most vulnerable in our community DEPEND on you to get the flu shot. There are millions of people who are at an enormous risk for devastating illness resulting from the flu (like those of us with chronic respiratory illness!), not to mention all the people who are immunosuppressed and CANNOT get a vaccine – people going through chemotherapy or post-transplant, just to name a few.
This is BIGGER than you.
Don’t believe me? Here are some FACTS from the CDC:
- Flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick from flu.
- Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization, including among children and older adults.
- A 2014 study showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74% during flu seasons from 2010-2012
- Another study published in the summer of 2016 showed that people 50 years and older who got a flu vaccine reduced their risk of getting hospitalized from flu by 57%.
- Flu vaccination is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions.
- A 2013 study showed flu vaccination was associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who had a cardiac event in the past year.
- Flu vaccination also has been shown to be associated with reduced hospitalizations among people with diabetes (79%) and chronic lung disease (52%).
- Vaccination helps protect women during and after pregnancy. Getting vaccinated also protects the baby several months after birth.
- A study that looked at flu vaccine effectiveness in pregnant women found that vaccination reduced the risk of flu-associated acute respiratory infection by about one half.
- There are studies that show that flu vaccination in a pregnant woman can reduce the risk of flu illness in her baby by up to half. This protective benefit was observed for several months after birth.
- A 2017 study was the first of its kind to show that flu vaccination can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from influenza.
- Flu vaccination also may make your illness milder if you do get sick.
- Getting vaccinated yourself also protects people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.
