By the way . . . the flu vaccine can save your life

THE strapline for this year’s flu vaccine campaign is ‘be your own lifesaver’. Its key audience are the over 65s, pregnant women and those with long-term illnesses. These patients are the most vulnerable to both flu infections and serious complications.

It’s now October and the excuses are coming in thick and fast — ‘Last year it gave me the flu’, ‘Sure, I never get sick” or that old chestnut “I like to do everything naturally.”

If you are happy to not only catch this highly infectious illness but also to spread it to others, at least make an informed choice. If you are at risk you are at risk, whatever your opinions and persuasions, and you are being offered a lifebelt free of charge by the HSE. Find out about it first before you dismiss it.

The flu vaccine is a dead vaccine so, no matter what people say, it can’t possibly give you the flu or result in you passing the flu to a third party. Yes, some people get aches and pains and feel off form after it, but that’s not the actual flu, it’s your immune system reacting to the vaccine.

On average, two weeks after the jab you will have developed antibodies against the flu viruses expected to hit this season. Yes, there are numerous strains, and year on year, epidemiologists work out what the best concoction is to arm yourself for the winter. Getting in early is important, so you have developed immunity before any flu outbreak. Vaccines are not infallible so sometimes the flu outsmarts the shot, but evidence suggests if this is the case, the illness suffered will be less severe.

Pregnant women are highlighted as being at very high risk of serious complications of flu. If you work in healthcare it is essential that you get the vaccine as you are, in fact 10 times more likely to suffer flu than regular office workers and you are also at risk of spreading the infection.

So this season it’s time for doctors to not only set a good example but to also outline the importance of the vaccine to all their patients. Get the vaccine, not the flu. To quote the HSE, be your own lifesaver.