Do I need to get a flu shot every year? See answers to this question and other questions about immunization | Welfare

These doubts continue to circulate after the Ministry of Health has completed its vaccination campaign without achieving the targets: it was hoped to vaccinate 54 million Brazilians, but 6.8 million of them were not vaccinated, pregnant women and children up to six years, the least protected groups.

The problem is that influenza cases this year have already more than doubled compared to 2017: from January to June 2018, 3,558 cases were recorded, with 608 deaths, according to the ministry.

Of the deaths recorded this year, most are elderly, followed by people with cardiovascular and diabetic diseases. In other words, in 74% of deaths due to the influenza virus, those infected had at least one risk factor.

Vaccines are still available in some health posts and in the private network. To help those who still have questions about immunization, BBC News Brazil has heard the authorities on the subject and answers the main questions on the subject.

The Department of Health provides vaccine doses in the US for priority groups, which have an badociated risk factor when they become ill. These groups are: children from six months to five years old; adults from 60 years old; patients with chronic pulmonary, cardiac or metabolic diseases and with changes in immunity; pregnant women; indigenous peoples; health professionals; and teachers.

By 2018, at the end of the campaign, children aged 5 to 9 and adults aged 50 to 59 who are looking for health posts with doses in stock will have the priority of 39, be vaccinated.

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 viruses that circulated the most the previous year." Who evaluates what viruses are these is the World Health Organization, which transmits this information to laboratories producing the drug. Therefore, the composition changes from one year to another, being necessary to vaccinate every year, "says the coordinator of the National Immunization Program of the Ministry of Health, Carla Domingues.

Almost everyone can take the vaccine.

"It is not recommended only for children under 6 months, people with severe allergy to eggs and people with a history of severe reaction before the vaccine," warns the doctor and professor of the USP João Renato Rebello Pinho.

The vaccine is not recommended in egg allergy because its production is carried out on embryonated chicken eggs and the dose may contain remnants of allergenic substances.

"There is a lot of controversy in the scientific world if these traits (eggs) are or 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. case". A difficult tackle from Butantan Soraia to 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 take immunosuppressive drugs or who suffer from an immunosuppressive disease, such as AIDS, should also consult a doctor to determine whether or not they should take the influenza vaccine," adds Jorge. .

Can I die of 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 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 symptoms. other pre-existing disease in the body, "Jorge guide.

'Myth or Truth & # 39;

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.

"The vaccine is made with an inactivated virus, that is, a dead virus, so it is not possible to catch the flu from vaccination. [19659026] But there are explanations for the existence of this myth: according to Pinho, the flu vaccine does not protect against a simple cold.

"There are at least 20 different agents that can cause a cold, whose symptoms are very similar to a cold: someone can take the vaccine and have a picture very similar to the flu, but what is it? , in reality, is only cooled, "says Pinho.

Another explanation for people with flu symptoms, even after vaccination, is the composition of the vaccine, which changes from year to year.

"The vaccine is produced from the 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 vaccine that year.to be vaccinated, "explains Jorge.

" How can the influenza virus be changed year after year, even if it is still the flu virus that causes the flu is not always the same type of virus. undergo changes that reinforce the symptoms of an infected person in different seasons, "says the researcher.

I do not belong to groups at risk.

"It is important that all Brazilians – with the exception of one exception – take the vaccine because the virus dissipates in the air, which makes it highly infectious. of 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 cure all groups recommended by the Ministry of Health ", explains the coordinator

The influenza virus that circulates the most in a year may be different from the virus with the most circulation the year before [19659035"It'sbecausetheInfluenzavirusdoesnothaveasingletypeanditmutatesandwhatwehaveinfactisapopulationofInfluenzavirusescirculatingeveryyear"hesaybadplainsJorge

In 2017, the most circulating virus was H3N2 As early as 2018, the H1N1 virus is mainly responsible for the Influenza contamination: 66% of cases this year were due to this virus.

According to the Ministry of Health, all types of Influenza viruses are of concern and also fatal.

Domingues says that despite the 608 confirmed deaths, an H1N1 flu outbreak does not occur this year, but it is necessary that the population be vaccinated to prevent this from happening.

"The virus is among us and can infect anyone who is not immune, especially children under 5, pregnant women and the elderly," he says.

The word 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 from the Spanish flu. Thanks to vaccines developed at the time and vaccination campaigns of the population, it was contained in the world.

As 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.