Concorde Staff
Beginning today and running through Dec. 10, it's National Flu Vaccination Week. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. An annual flu vaccine is the best way to protect against the flu. We want all of our Concorde students, faculty and associates to have the best health care awareness about the flu and flu vaccine.
We enlisted the expertise of Lu-Ping Gamble, RN, MSN, PhDEd, Director of Nursing at the Concorde campus in Garden Grove, CA, to help give us more health care awareness about the flu and flu vaccine with some more useful information.
Health care awareness about the advantages of the flu shot
Here are just a few of the advantages of the flu shot, according to Gamble.
- Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses and pneumonia.
- Flu vaccination can reduce missed work and school.
- The flu cannot be treated with antibiotics. Flu vaccination can help make your illness milder if you do get sick.
- Getting vaccinated yourself also protects people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people and people with certain chronic health conditions.
- The flu virus is most active between the months of December and February. It takes about two weeks after your flu shot for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against influenza virus infection, so don't wait! Get your flu shot today!
More health care awareness about flu vaccinations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have some other key messages they put out about flu vaccination.
Despite the unpredictable nature of the flu, you should know:
- You need the 2017-18 flu vaccine for optimal protection against the flu this season because, one, flu viruses are constantly changing, and this season's vaccines have been updated to protect against the viruses that will be most common this year, and two, a person's immune protection from vaccine declines over time.
- While seasonal flu outbreaks can happen as early as October, flu activity is usually highest between December and February, though activity can last as late as May. As long as flu viruses are circulating, it's not too late to get vaccinated, even in January or later.
- With flu activity increasing and family and friends planning gatherings for the holidays, now is a great time to get a flu vaccine if you haven't been vaccinated yet this season.
- Find a place near you to get a flu vaccine with the HealthMap Vaccine Finder.
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