Don’t forget non-COVID vaccines
With few exceptions, no one knows precisely when any individual will be offered the opportunity to roll up his sleeve for a COVID-19 vaccination, though front-line health care workers will be at the front of the queue.
The rest is up for discussion, debate and a good deal of consternation for certain. Survey-takers are buzzing with the work of gauging public interest in an inoculation for a virus that is killing people by the thousands across the U.S. and the world. Some pollsters report swaths of people would pay cold hard cash to jump the line and get the vaccine sooner rather than later. Others say up to half of Americans are wary and would decline the shot out of concern for safety measures in the production of the vaccination and side effects that could occur.
All stand on common ground, though: Citizens value their health, even if there is debate about the best way to assure it.
In the conversations about the COVID- 19 vaccine, the public shouldn’t lose sight of the ready availability of inoculations against other serious illness.
The flu vaccine should be gotten annually, especially by those who are older or frail. The pneumonia vaccine is easily obtainable, as well. Millions of people in the U.S. contract pneumonia annually and it, too, can be lifethreatening. A vaccine for shingles should be considered by anyone over the age of 50 who has had chickenpox. Shingles causes a painful rash and can threaten vision.
Public health officials had been wringing their hands for months over the fear of a “twindemic” this winter: high rates of influenza/pneumonia occurring at the same time as the coronavirus pandemic.
Nothing is for sure, but there are encouraging signs that won’t happen. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting overall low flu activity compared with norms for this time of year.
Most likely at play are several factors aimed at combating COVID-19: hand-washing, mask-wearing, a decrease in social gatherings.
And it’s looking like more people were inoculated against the flu this year. Indeed, according to the CDC, 188 million doses of flu shots were manufactured and shipped to hospitals, pharmacies and doctors beginning in August — amonth earlier than usual. And, according to a preliminary tally released Dec. 9, about 70 million adults had received the shots by mid-November through pharmacies or doctors’ offices, compared with 58 million last year.
Vaccination simply makes sense. It is verifiable.
Whether an individual wants a COVID-19 vaccine won’t determine whether he or she gets one, not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. But individuals can be sensible about taking advantage of other vaccines proven to promote and protect health.