Influenza vaccine: what is the best to choose and when to administer?

The flu vaccine protects a person from the severe consequences of the flu and reduces the risk of contracting it by almost 2 times. Thanks to the vaccine, the disease is tolerated much easier, even if a person does get the flu, and the severity of the symptoms is also significantly reduced. Not to mention the fatalities, which become almost 2 times less after mass vaccinations. Which flu vaccine works best and when should it be administered?

Why do you need a flu vaccine?

Scientific experiments conducted over the past few years have shown that vaccines make the flu much easier to treat or prevent it from occurring at all. In addition, studies have shown that vaccines are tolerated fairly easily by humans, stimulate the human immune system well, and reduce the risk of epidemics.

Among the most effective vaccines recommended for protection against influenza are:

• Influvac
• Grippol
• Vaxigrip
• Begrivak
• Fluarix
• Agrippal

These preparations meet all the requirements of pharmacological international organizations that control the production of vaccines. The level of protection of these vaccines is very high - more than 70%. This is a very effective level of protection against influenza. It allows you to avoid complications with influenza, deaths and epidemics.

Science has proven that vaccination of only 20% of employees in teams significantly reduces the risk of epidemics and the number of diseases. This applies to both influenza and acute respiratory diseases.

Vaccines that fight flu are called by the medical term trivaccine. This name is given to vaccines because they contain antigens against the three most popular and dangerous flu viruses: A, B, C.

Who should be vaccinated?

First of all, vaccination is given to those people who are at risk of contracting the flu (but only on condition that they agree, and this consent must be in writing).

1. Elderly people – over 60 years old
2. People with chronic diseases, hospital patients
3. Children and adults with bronchopulmonary diseases, especially with bronchial asthma
4. Children and adults with heart and vascular diseases
5. Children and adults with respiratory diseases
6. Children and adults who were treated in hospital for kidney and liver disorders a year ago
7. Children and adults who have undergone chemotherapy, including one year ago
8. Nurses, doctors - employees of medical and school institutions
9. People who work in large teams (and children attending kindergartens, schools)
10. Residents of dormitories, communal apartments, nursing homes, as well as those in prison.
11. Pregnant women in the second or third trimester (as recommended by a physician)

How is the flu vaccination carried out?

The vaccine is usually administered in the shoulder, in the deltoid area (the upper third of the shoulder muscle). After the vaccine, you should not get the injection site wet for 24 hours, as this may cause an inflammatory reaction in the skin. Also, if you are told that you should not drink alcohol after the vaccine, keep in mind that this information is incorrect.

The vaccine can also be administered through the nose by instillation (children are told that these are “drops”). In this case, the body’s reaction to viruses and bacteria is weaker than when an injection is administered, which explains the unpopularity of this vaccination method in our time.

If the vaccine is given to children who have never received it before and who have not yet had the flu, the vaccine should be administered not once, but twice. 30-35 days should pass between the administration of the vaccine. But the vaccine dose should be less than for an adult – exactly half.

When to get a flu shot?

Flu vaccinations are usually given in October-November, about a month before the peak of the flu season. During the time when people start getting sick with flu en masse, those vaccinated develop a strong immunity to the viruses that cause flu.

The average period for the formation of stable immunity to influenza in humans is from 10 days to two weeks from the moment the vaccine enters the human body. Doctors believe that there is no point in getting the vaccine before October, because the effect of the drug gradually decreases, and by the beginning of the peak of influenza, the body may be weakened again.

What are the types of flu vaccines?

There are two types of vaccines: live (with live viruses that are already weakened and adapted to the human body) and inactivated (which do not contain live viruses).

Which flu vaccine is most effective?

Doctors recommend choosing inactivated vaccines in most cases (for example, influvac). These vaccines do not contain live viruses, and therefore they are easier to tolerate than those with live viruses in their composition. Non-live vaccines contain either particles of already destroyed viruses or surface antigens of the flu virus.

The safety of these vaccines is combined with very good immune support for the body. After the introduction of these vaccines, a person will no longer get sick with the flu, unless some new unrecognized virus appears.

If a person hesitates which vaccine to choose – domestic or imported, qualified doctors usually recommend imported ones. They have more degrees of purification and these degrees of purification are step-by-step, multi-stage. In addition, at any stage of vaccine production, laboratory specialists carefully monitor all processes. Therefore, side reactions to these vaccines are minimal – allergies do not occur even in children who are under one year old, as well as in pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

The flu vaccine can save you a lot of trouble and save you a lot of working hours. So don't skip it if you care about your health.

Contraindications for the administration of the influenza vaccine

Since the production of the flu vaccine may use chicken protein (most often) or preservatives, it should not be administered to people who are allergic to these substances.

• The flu vaccine should not be administered before the age of six months.

• The vaccine is contraindicated in chronic diseases in the acute stage - then it is necessary to wait another month after the person has recovered and received permission for vaccination from the doctor.
• The vaccine should not be administered to those who have previously received the vaccine but had a very difficult time tolerating it.
• People who have had a cold or flu less than two weeks ago should not be vaccinated.

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What are the complications after the flu vaccination?

They are divided into two groups - systemic complications and local ones.

Systemic complications after vaccination are an allergic reaction of the whole body, for example, headaches, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, fever, blood pressure surges, muscle and joint pain, meningitis, and so on.

Local complications after a vaccine are a response of one system of the body, not the whole body. These may be a sore throat or headache, or redness of the skin at the injection site, or a runny nose.

If you experience complications after the vaccine, you must tell your doctor about it so that he or she can advise you on what measures to take.

Do I have to pay for the flu vaccine?

Those people who are listed as clients required for vaccination are given the vaccine free of charge – at the expense of the state flu program. If there is not enough vaccine or a person is not sure of its quality, he can buy it in places he trusts (mainly state clinics or centers attached to them). The patient has the right to pay for the vaccine and its administration services on site.

But if the flu vaccine was purchased in one place and administered in another, keep in mind that the doctor has the right to refuse to administer it. The reason is that the doctor cannot guarantee the result of administering a drug of unknown origin, as well as with unknown storage and transportation conditions. Also, the doctor cannot predict allergic reactions of the body to this drug.

There is no need to pay for vaccination if the company where the person works has paid for it. This often happens when the company management is concerned about the health of the entire team and orders mass vaccination. In this case, a commercial agreement is concluded with the clinic where the vaccination is carried out, and the company employee is obliged to comply with its terms. He cannot not come for vaccination. Unless he has contraindications to the administration of the vaccine.

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