Influenza, often called the flu, is a viral illness that infects your nose, throat, and lungs. While this means nothing more than a sore throat and feeling crummy to some, it can mean hospitalization and possible death for others. Every year more than 200,000 Americans are hospitalized with the flu, and in 2018, more than 50,000 Americans died due to the flu. While the effectiveness of the flu vaccine varies year to year, the CDC estimates that the flu vaccine reduces the risk of getting sick from the flu by between 40% and 60%, and in 2019-2020 alone, the flu vaccine prevented 7.5 million illnesses, more than 100,000 hospital visits, and more than 6,000 deaths.
Even if you are not personally at risk of being hospitalized by the flu, getting vaccinated ensures that your loved ones who are at risk also stay out of the hospital. Babies and children younger than six months old are not eligible for vaccination, and the elderly and chronically ill face a higher likelihood of severe complications if they get the flu. By getting the flu vaccine, you ensure the most vulnerable among us will not contract the flu.
Not every case of the flu will end up in the hospital, but almost all cases of the flu will keep you out of the office. The flu accounts for up to 111 million lost workdays annually. Additionally, if your child has the flu, they will have to call in sick to school, and parents will have to stay home to take care of them. Getting a flu vaccine means you are more likely to be able to save your PTO for a vacation.
The influenza virus constantly evolves to create new strains not covered by last year's flu vaccine. So every year, the Center for Disease Control tests what strains of the flu are likely to be the most common that year and updates the year's flu vaccine to target those strains of the flu. By getting a new flu vaccine yearly, you ensure you are protected most from that year's flu!
Vaccines work by introducing your immune system to a small amount of a virus so your immune system can learn how to fight off an infection before it happens. However, the flu vaccine cannot give you the flu. The flu vaccine includes inactivated flu viruses that cannot reactivate or small parts of the flu virus that are not infectious. So while you might notice some temporary side effects from the flu vaccine, such as soreness, headache, and fatigue, the flu vaccine will not give you the flu.
Over the past 50 years, hundreds of millions of Americans have received the flu vaccine with few side effects. While some individuals may have an allergic reaction to the flu vaccine, this reaction occurs very soon after the vaccination. To ensure this is not a problem, you will often have to sit at the clinic for several minutes after receiving a flu vaccine to ensure that you can receive immediate medical care if you do have a reaction.
By law, all insurances must cover the flu vaccines without charging a copayment or coinsurance. However, before going in to get your flu vaccine, call your insurance provider to ensure that the location you are planning to get your flu shot is covered by your insurance. If you do not have insurance, the flu vaccine is $40 for the standard vaccine and $90 for the Flublok and high-dose vaccine, but Alluvion Health will not turn anyone away based on their inability to pay.
Alluvion Health offers flu vaccines as a walk-in service with no appointment necessary at Alluvion Health's Main Clinic at 601 1st Ave N or the Alluvion Health Clinic at CCHD at 1115 4th Street N. To learn more about Alluvion Health's locations and hours, visit https://www.alluvionhealth.org/location-and-hours/.
Information taken from the CDC. To learn more about the flu vaccine, visit www.cdc.gov/flu/