Vaccination against influenza: contraindications. Do I need a flu vaccine?

Seasonal flu is a disease that affects millions of citizens annually. The most favorable time for the disease is autumn and winter, when human immunity is weakened and can not cope with viruses so effectively. Different strains of viruses can cause the development of acute respiratory disease, but, despite the nature of the pathogen, the symptoms are very similar in all cases. The patient has a fever, a sore throat, a cold, a cough and a headache.

Inoculation against influenza

To prevent the onset of many infectious diseases, vaccination is carried out. After the opening of the first vaccine, doctors saved hundreds of millions of lives. Against the flu every year, millions of people are vaccinated, because the vaccine and today is considered the main preventive method in the fight against infections.

Sometimes potential patients have a question: do I need a flu vaccine? The vaccine is a weakened viral material that can not reproduce in the body. When a vaccine material is introduced to a person whose set of proteins is identical to the active virus, his immune system starts producing antibodies against the virus.

Time for vaccination

To be vaccinated against the flu is best in the fall (from September to November), because the epidemic of the disease at this time is becoming a massive one. Infection is vaccinated against children and adults. It is not recommended to vaccinate the vaccine in the spring or summer, as the amount of antibodies decreases with time, and the effect from it is not so strong.

You can get a vaccine against the flu even after the epidemic begins. If the vaccination was carried out and the next day the person was infected, the vaccine will not worsen the course of the disease. Much worse the flu will leak if such vaccinations are not done, even there is a risk of serious complications.

Who needs an inoculation

To date, vaccinations are already done to infants from 6 months of age. There is a category of people who need a vaccination against influenza in the first place. In the high-risk zone, there are elderly people, patients who are on inpatient treatment, pregnant women. It is necessary to vaccinate children and adolescents (from 6 months to 18 years), especially if they have been using aspirin for a long time for the purpose of treatment. Such patients may have severe complications after the flu. This category includes people with kidney, lung, heart problems, metabolic disorders, patients with immunodeficiency, hemoglobulinopathies, staphylococcal infection, and students and schoolchildren who are constantly in the community.

Vaccination against influenza: contraindications

The main material for the manufacture of the vaccine is chicken embryos. Not every organism is susceptible to them, and there are a number of cases when a flu vaccine is not recommended. Contraindications are primarily to those patients who suffer from an allergic reaction to chicken protein. It is not necessary to vaccinate people during an exacerbation of chronic diseases. Vaccination is undesirable for two weeks after the final recovery, because the body is weakened and can react incorrectly.

It is not necessary to inoculate patients with progressive forms of neurological diseases, as well as allergies to influenza vaccines.

What is the flu?

The disease belongs to the category of acute viral infections, is accompanied by a general infectious syndrome in severe form and affects the respiratory tract. Not all patients realize the full danger of this disease. In some cases, the flu begins with a cough, fever and a runny nose, and can end with the death of the patient. Statistics show that about 40,000 people from developed countries per year die from the flu and the complications caused by it.

Types of the causative agent of influenza

The causative agent of the virus is divided into three independent types: A, B and C. The constant mutation of the virus, which leads to a change in its antigenic structure, leads to the fact that qualitatively new varieties of the influenza virus appear and multiply. The danger for the population is that the immunity to them in the human body has not yet developed, so the virus affects the patient and can cause unpredictable complications. The transmission of the influenza virus from a sick person is carried out by airborne droplets, which allows it to spread to all categories of the population.

Influenza A type instantly spreads over vast areas and is pandemic or epidemic in nature. Local spread of the influenza B virus type allows one to fix its individual outbreaks and take timely measures. Sporadic outbreaks of infections cause influenza type C.

Benefits of Inoculation

The vaccine helps the body develop a permanent immunity, which will help to avoid getting infected with the flu. If even a vaccinated person has taken up an infection, then his illness proceeds without complications and in a lighter form than those who refused to vaccinate. Specific prophylaxis is carried out by live and inactivated vaccines. The vaccine against influenza for children over three years old is of domestic origin. Imported vaccines, which have all the necessary licenses, are intended for children between the ages of 6 to 12 months.

The maximum amount of antibody is reached 14 days after vaccination. The annual vaccination is explained by the fact that the vaccine provides the body with short-term immunity (6-12 months). Vaccination should be carried out before and during the epidemic season.

Vaccines against influenza

Vaccines aimed at fighting the flu are divided into several types. The first is live vaccines. They are made from strains of the virus that are safe for humans. With intranasal administration, they contribute to the development of local immunity. Vaccination is carried out before the beginning of the epidemic period. Live vaccines vary depending on who they are intended for - children or adults.

People over the age of 7 are prescribed inactivated vaccines. It is a concentrated and purified influenza virus, grown on chick embryos and inactivated by UV radiation and formalin. Inactivated vaccines include influenza liquid chromatographic, centrifugal and eluate-centrifugal.

Subunit and split vaccines have domestic and imported varieties. These include drugs such as Grippol, Agrippal, Begrivac, Vaxigrip, Inffluvac, Fluarix.

Refusal of vaccination

Increasingly, people refuse to vaccinate. This is explained by the fact that often after vaccination against influenza, unwanted reactions of the organism to the material occur. Illiterate introduction, poor quality of the vaccine or failure to follow the rules after vaccination leads to complications. Another reason for not taking vaccinations is that parents think this is harmful to the health of their child.

Refuse can be from all vaccinations or from some specific. Refusal to vaccinate against influenza should be argued and notified about this decision of employees of the polyclinic.

There are a number of cases when health professionals confirm that flu vaccine is not desirable. Contraindications relate primarily to the state of health of the child, when he suffered a trauma or is ill. But after the condition of the baby is normalized, the vaccine still has to be done.

To refuse the vaccination, it is necessary to write a special application in two copies (one for yourself, and the second for a school, kindergarten or polyclinic). The application must be registered in the institution's records of the institution, it should contain: a deciphered signature, a number, a document number, a seal. It is also worth remembering that the refusal of vaccinations is a decision to take responsibility for the diseases against which vaccination is carried out.

Consequences of refusal of vaccinations

Not always refusing to vaccinate the flu (sample - below) is the right decision by the parents. Preventive vaccinations are protected by law, and their absence makes life difficult for citizens. So, they are prohibited from traveling to countries that require specific vaccinations. Citizens may be temporarily denied admission to health or educational institutions, especially if there is a threat of epidemics or infectious diseases. In the absence of the necessary vaccinations, citizens have problems in hiring, where there is a risk of contracting infectious diseases. In other words, non-vaccinated children and adults are not allowed into the team if there is a suspicion of an epidemic.

Effects of vaccination against influenza

Vaccination against influenza, contraindications to which have already been thoroughly studied, may also negatively affect human health. It is about the occurrence of side effects. Before you do the vaccination, you need to undergo a checkup and consult a doctor. The maximum caution should be exercised in the case of vaccination of children, pregnant women and elderly people. Vaccination does not save from all diseases (in this case from influenza) at all, but it at times reduces the possibility of infection. Untimely vaccination can lead to flu. But even then, the disease will be much easier to transfer than by giving up the vaccine.

After inoculation, allergic reactions and chronic illnesses may worsen. To avoid this, you need to warn the doctor about their availability. Children should be vaccinated only healthy, because even a slight runny nose during vaccination can turn into a child's insomnia, loss of concentration and a decrease in immunity. Also, you must follow the rules of care for the vaccination, in order to avoid local problems on the skin. If the organism somehow reacted to previous vaccinations, then the next should be abandoned.