Did you get your flu shot yet? I usually like to get everyone in my family vaccinated as soon as the shots or flu mist come out, in late September or early October. But this year we were delayed by some particularly bad chest colds, and needed our entire immune systems fighting the bad bugs messing with our lungs. We finally got our flu vaccinations a couple of weeks ago. Now is the time to get vaccinated, says UTHealth infectious disease expert Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, M.D., in my latest article for UT HealthLeader. Ostrosky says to get vaccinated for the flu as early as possible, because it takes two to three weeks to build up immunity to the influenza virus.
So far, flu activity has been light, he adds, but that could change. While the flu season can begin as early as October, it usually peaks in the United States in January or February and can continue as late as May. And infectious disease experts are closely watching a new strain of swine flu called H3N2v that has infected people in close contact with pigs at state fairs in the Midwest, killing one person and hospitalizing at least 16. While there has been some person to person spread of the virus, a widespread outbreak has not occurred.
Don’t like shots? Healthy people who are between the ages of 2 and 49, can opt for the flu mist--a live-attenuated (weakened, but alive) vaccine administered through a nasal spray. Needless to say, both of my shot-hating kids opted to get their “flu sniffs,” as they nicknamed the mist.
Now, I don’t like shots any more than my kids, but the shot cost half what the flu mist cost. So I gritted my teeth, rolled up my sleeve and braced myself for a good, old fashioned flu shot.
Ouch!
“Did it hurt mommy?” my kids inquired as the nurse put a SpongeBob bandage on my upper arm (my pediatrician’s office offered parents the vaccine).
“No, it was just a little pinch,” I said, letting out my breath. “Not bad at all!”
Yeah, right. Next year, mommy wants flu sniffs!