Flu vaccine or not?

Students and faculty contemplate the merits of getting the flu shot

Although the flu vaccine can reduce the risk of getting the flu by up to 74%, it can also cause problems.

Flickr Creative Commons: ictv

Although the flu vaccine can reduce the risk of getting the flu by up to 74%, it can also cause problems.

The choice of receiving the flu shot is once again at play as flu season approaches. Every year a vaccine against influenza is made available to the general public. Unlike many other vaccines that are required for entrance into public schools, the flu shot  is not a mandatory vaccine.

The flu vaccine helps prevent the outbreak of the virus and that the virus mutates every year. So why isn’t it mandatory? The flu shot is not as successful as some other vaccines such as polio or measles. Furthermore, with the modern standards of hygiene and health consciousness, people fight off the virus with their own immune system.

The responses of students and teachers varied from educated to uneducated reasons. Spanish teacher Peter Daniels describes why he receives the flu shot.

“I am moving from Virginia… Washington D.C, Virginia to Minnesota. The flu, I know, is gonna be a bit different from what I have been building immunities from back in Virginia, Washington D.C. My goal is for taking to getting the flu shot is to prepare my body to be more resistant to the local flu,” Daniels said.

After the influenza vaccine, your immune system produces antibodies to help prevent and fend off the virus. In general, though, antibody levels start to decline over time. Sophomore Lily Nestor opts to not receive the flu shot.

“Most articles that I’ve seen about [the flu vaccine] say it doesn’t really help…there is still a chance you could get the flu but from my knowledge about it they are basically guessing what strand of the flu is going be out there for each year,” Nestor said.

In past years, the influenza virus used for the vaccine didn’t correlate with the viruses circulating during the flu season. However, according to the CDC, when the flu vaccine and circulating strains of the flu are in proximity, the flu shot may reduce a child’s risk by 74 percent and among adults of all age by 71 percent.

“As a person who has Type 1 diabetes, I am more liable to the flu than most. It’s more dangerous and I really want to avoid it. Since I get the flu shot each year, my risks at getting sick are theoretically reduced,” junior Jak Kinsella said.

Those dealing with illnesses like diabetes are at a greater risk due to the possibility of the immune system’s inability to ward off infections. Additionally, illness can affect one’s desire to eat and drink which can be detrimental to blood sugar levels, which those affected with Type 1 diabetes have difficulty regulating.

Most types of flu vaccine contain a small amount of egg proteins. There are flu vaccines available called Flublok without egg proteins that FDA approved for the ages 18 and older. People with severe allergic reactions are required to be in strict medical settings and under the supervision of doctor.

“I do not [receive the flu shot] because the flu shot contains egg whites and I am severely allergic to eggs,” 9th grader Ananya Narayan said.

There are many reasons why people choose to receive or not to receive the flu shot. Some of them are medical, some are subjective, yet these are all reasons for why the flu vaccine may never be required for entrance into public places. The flu vaccine can be received at schools, pharmacies, doctors offices and additional locations.