Get Your Flu Jab!
It’s that time of year again - the days are getting shorter, the temperature is starting to drop and the NHS is talking about flu jabs! There are a lot of misconceptions out there about flu jabs so I wanted to write this article to hopefully clear up some of the myths and encourage you to go and get your flu jab!
Genuine real flu is absolutely grim and in some cases can be fatal. A lot of people say they have flu with a bad cold, but real genuine flu is a lot more severe. It will put you in bed for several days to a week with a high fever, muscle aches, severe fatigue, sore throat, headaches and cough. It can lead to pneumonia and other complications, particularly in at risk patients with a weakened immune system, pregnant women, babies under 6 months and people aged over 65.
So first things first. Let’s clear up the biggest myth of all. The adult flu jab CANNOT give you flu. It’s an inactivated (dead) vaccine so it does not contain any live flu virus and therefore it can’t give you flu. If you get the genuine flu soon after having your flu vaccine you were just very unlucky and were already carrying the flu virus at the time of having your jab or picked it up in the 2 weeks it takes for the vaccine to become effective. The flu vaccine works by triggering your immune system to recognise it and start building up antibodies to protect you against flu. This immune response in some people can cause a low grade fever, some aching muscles and sometimes redness at the injection site but this means your immune system is doing the job it is supposed to do.
You need to get the flu jab each winter because each year the vaccine is tailor-made to target the specific types of flu which are active around the World each season. There are 3 different kinds of flu vaccines this year: one for the over 65 year olds, one for those under 65 and a nasal vaccine for children aged 2 to 17.
The NHS offers free flu vaccines to people with certain medical conditions as well as people over the age of 65, pregnant women, healthcare workers and carers. In addition all primary school children will be immunised on the NHS and any child aged 2 or 3 on 31st August 2019 as well as any children with an eligible underlying medical condition. If you qualify for a free flu jab make an appointment with your GP or alternatively visit a pharmacy and they can give it to you there.
The medical conditions which qualify for a free flu jab are:
Asthma if treated with a steroid preventer inhaler or has led to admission in the past
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease/Emphysema
Diabetes
Chronic kidney, liver or heart disease
Chronic neurological disease eg Parkinsons
Weakened immune system eg on daily steroids, HIV, chemotherapy
Problems with the spleen
Overweight with a BMI over 40
In addition all children aged 2 to 10 as of August 2019 are entitled to a free flu vaccine. School aged children will be vaccinated at school.
If you don’t qualify for a free NHS flu jab you may want to consider paying to get one at your local pharmacy. I would strongly urge you do this as flu is horrible and for a relatively low cost (£10 to £13) your protection from chances of getting flu should be reduced. When you think of loss of earnings from flu it’s definitely worth it. Click on the below pharmacies to learn about how to book a flu vaccine with them:
You shouldn’t have the flu jab if you have had a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction to it in the past. If you are allergic to eggs you will need to speak to your GP about whether it is possible to have an alternative flu vaccine, as the standard flu jab is made using eggs.
And honestly mine didn’t hurt at all and was over literally within a second or two! As your arm can be slightly sore for a couple of days after having the jab I’d recommend having it done on the opposite side to the arm you sleep on, just to minimise any discomfort.
So go and get your flu jab, you really don’t want to be stuck in bed with flu regretting you didn’t get it done!
Photos thanks to @judithfineartphotography
