Is it possible to catch the flu from the flu shot itself? Who took the vaccine last year must be vaccinated again?
The influenza virus is divided into several families
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Should I take a vaccine every year?
To be protected at all times, you must vaccinate every year. Two reasons explain this: the immunization duration of the vaccine – from 10 to 12 months – and the mutations of the influenza virus.
"The vaccine is made with the most circulating viruses of the previous year." The World Health Organization, which transmits this information to the laboratories producing the vaccine, so that the composition changes. 39, year by year, and it is necessary to vaccinate every year, "says the coordinator of the National Immunization Program of the Ministry of Health, Carla Domingues.
Can everyone be vaccinated? [19659008] Almost all the population can be vaccinated.
"It is not recommended only for children under 6 months, people with severe allergy to eggs and people with a history of severe reaction to vaccine, "warns the doctor and professor at the USP School of Medicine João Renato Rebello Pinho
The vaccine is not recommended in egg allergy because its production is made in chicken eggs ryonned and the dose may contain remnants of allergenic substances.
"There is a lot of controversy in the scientific world if these traits (eggs) are not capable of causing an allergy, but the correct procedure is to talk to the doctor, because allergies must be badyzed on a case by case basis" explains the researcher. Butantan Soraia Attie Calil Jorge
In addition to egg allergy, there is also a red alert to immunocompromised people, ie those with a weak immune system.
"Patients who are taking immunosuppressive drugs or who are suffering from an immunosuppressive disease, such as AIDS, should also consult a doctor to determine whether they should take the flu shot or not. influenza vaccine is badociated with seizures, physical sequelae and death com / 2018/07/03 / Researcher denies influenza vaccine is badociated with epileptic seizures, physical sequelae and epileptic seizures, and vaccine is badociated with seizures Epilepsy, physical sequelae and death ". the death
Photo: Getty Images / BBC News Brazil
Can I die from the flu shot?
No. Domingues points out that it is common to circulate during campaign rumors that the vaccine may be badociated with epileptic seizures, physical sequelae and even death.
"There is no record of these cases in people who have been immunized against the flu, and again, the argument is valid: it's a very safe vaccine because it is made from inactivated viruses, "says the coordinator of the Ministry of Health
The vaccine has side effects
The researcher from the Butantan Institute explains that it is possible to observe pain at the injection site and mild skin irritation. In rare cases, low fever has already been reported, but in none of these cases is there cause for concern: "Care should be taken not to confuse the symptoms with any other disease. pre-existing in the body, "says Jorge. ] "I caught the flu because of the vaccine": myth or truth?
Domingues explains that several myths circulate in Brazil during the vaccination campaign. The main factor to reject, for the coordinator, is the one who gets the flu after being vaccinated.
But there are explanations for the existence of this myth: secondly, it is not possible to catch the flu from vaccination. "
" The vaccine is made with an inactivated virus, ie a killed virus. Pine, the flu vaccine does not protect against a cold.
"There are at least 20 different agents that can cause colds, the symptoms of which are very similar to those of a cold: Someone can take the vaccine and have a very similar image to the flu, but what is it? in fact, it is only cooled, "says Pinho.
19659003] Although there is a priority group, almost the entire population can take the flu shot
Another explanation for the symptoms of influenza in people even after their vaccination is the composition of the vaccine itself, which changes from year to year.
"The vaccine is produced with viruses most likely to appear during the vaccination period, so that a person may be infected with an influenza virus that is not contained in the this year.
Can grunts grow stronger in different years?
According to Jorge, yes.
"As the flu virus changes from year to year, even though it is always the flu virus that causes the flu, it is not always the same type of virus, they can undergo changes that reinforce the symptoms of an infected person. in the different seasons, "says the researcher.
I do not belong to groups at risk.
" It is important that all Brazilians – except the exceptions – take the vaccine, because the virus is dissipates in the air, which makes it very contagious. So, if everyone is warned, we will have fewer viruses circulating because they will have fewer hosts to dispel, "says Jorge.
"There are no doses in the SUS for the entire population of Brazil," says Domingues. "But there are enough vaccines to treat all the groups recommended by the Ministry of Health," says the coordinator.
The H1N1 virus in 2018
The most circulating influenza virus of any year can be different from the influenza virus. traffic during the previous year.
"This happens because the Influenza virus does not have a single type, and it mutates too, and what we have, in fact, is a population of Influenza viruses circulating every year," Jorge explains. , the most circulating virus was H3N2. By 2018, the H1N1 virus is mainly responsible for the contamination of the flu: 66% of the cases this year were due to this virus.
According to the Ministry of Health, all types of Influenza viruses are worrying and also fatal.
Domingues ensures that despite the 608 deaths already confirmed, an H1N1 flu outbreak does not occur this year, but it is necessary for the population to vaccinate to prevent this from happening.
"The virus is among us and can infect all those who are not immune, especially children under 5, pregnant women and the elderly," he says
where comes the flu? , of Italian origin, was used in the 18th and 19th centuries to describe various diseases. With the Spanish flu pandemic, the word has spread all over the world and has been used to describe the virus that causes the flu. Unlike colds, images of the flu can evolve into very serious health problems.
This is what happened 100 years ago, with the Spanish flu. Initiated in the United States, the flu quickly spread to other countries and, in the first months of its transmission, its virus killed more people than the conflicts of the First World War.
Between 1918 and 1920, at least 50 million people died of the Spanish flu. Thanks to the vaccines developed at the time and to the campaigns of immunization of the population, it was contained in the world.
Being a virus capable of many mutations, the cause of the Spanish flu is no longer the same as today. Despite this, the influenza virus, whatever the season, is likely to cause epidemics.
With the introduction of vaccines into public health in the early twentieth century, the circulation of a virus never reached the level of pandemic observed in 1918.
"But vaccines are not enough, the population must immunize "warns Domingues.
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