‘Should my 20-year-old daughter get the flu vaccine?’

Question: Hi Dr Zac, How do I persuade my 20-year-old daughter to get the flu jab? She is adamant she doesn’t want it, and that the flu isn’t that critical. I don’t consider she totally grasps how critical the flu is as I typically hear her say it’s just like the widespread chilly.

My 90-year-old dad visits us for prolonged durations of time and I worry having him round my unvaccinated daughter. How can I persuade my daughter to contemplate getting the vaccine?

– Karina, 46, Sydney

Answer: Great query Karin. I like to recommend you ask your daughter to precise all her doubts concerning the flu vaccine to her native GP – they are going to inform her of the dangers of not being vaccinated, particularly along with her grandfather, and may help encourage her to get vaccinated for the flu this winter. In the meantime, I’ll reply your query with all the knowledge I do know as a trusted medical practitioner.

Let me state it merely: anybody can get sick with the flu. Even in the event you take into account your self the healthiest particular person alive, you possibly can nonetheless get sick. Period. So, it’s actually vital that we perceive the dangers and impression of the illness, so we will share data with others who’re much less knowledgeable.

There are some individuals at a better threat of creating critical issues together with:

• People aged 65 years and older

• People with underlying medical circumstances reminiscent of bronchial asthma, diabetes, coronary heart illness or different persistent circumstances

• Pregnant individuals

• Children underneath 5 years previous

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals

Most younger Australians fail to recognise the severity of the flu and ignore the advantages of getting the jab or at the very least exhibiting some warning or illness unfold prevention methods. This is straightforward to know as they’ve been largely unaffected by environmental well being points, aside from sacrificing their freedoms throughout the pandemic.

I consider the questions that come from youthful generations about why we follow well being in a sure manner are integral. Health begins at residence and hopefully by way of dialog we will construct an understanding of immunity, and thru training and intentional utility we may help probably the most susceptible in our neighborhood.

Actively questioning and enhancing our well being practices is nice, however typically we throw individuals into sure ‘camps’ the second we do. This causes the individuals to change into polarised and generally aggressive of their strategy.

I used to be concerned in humanitarian assist within the Congo 22 years in the past, commonly offering lifesaving safety. All the younger kids within the village would cry after they noticed me as a result of I used to be that tall man who gave everybody needles, however their mother and father allowed me to assist as a result of I used to be giving them life saving vaccines reminiscent of polio, tuberculosis, whooping cough and extra that we simply take as a right in Australia and have in our infancy.

I at all times encourage sufferers to have a chat with me about whether or not they need to have a vaccine or not. I can share with them my expertise as I’ve had all of the vaccines that I might probably want and I perceive how they work.

I discover it unusual that with out query all of us get the whooping cough vaccination if we spend time close to kids, however for some purpose wrestle to see the worth of the flu vaccine. It is vital to get the vaccine to guard ourselves, and people round us.

Let’s begin with the fundamentals, after which delve into the vaccine

The flu, or influenza, is a extremely contagious respiratory sickness attributable to both influenza virus A, B, C or D. All of those viruses have a number of strains. They usually are not the identical because the widespread chilly, and folks have to recognise this.

Flu could cause gentle to extreme sickness, and sadly annually it results in deaths in the neighborhood.

Symptoms will be fairly fast to come back on, and will embody:

• Fever, or feeling feverish/chills

• Cough

• Sore throat

• Runny or stuffy nostril

• Muscle or physique aches

• Headache

• Fatigue

Some individuals might have vomiting or diarrhoea, although that is extra widespread in kids than adults.

The influenza virus is transmitted by way of our throats in shut contact, and it can be unfold by our palms by way of the touching of our noses and mouths, in addition to coughing and sneezing.

Most individuals who get the flu will totally get well in round two weeks, however individuals like your 90-year-old father can develop critical issues reminiscent of sinus/ear infections, pneumonia, irritation of the guts, encephalitis and multi-organ failure, which can require hospitalisation. In some sufferers these issues may end up in loss of life.

You can catch the flu at any time of the 12 months, however illness charges usually peak round winter; confirmed circumstances are undoubtedly selecting up proper now.

Now let’s talk about why vaccination is vital

I’ve mentioned this earlier than in my columns about Covid-19; vaccines work by triggering an immune response to a micro organism or virus in order that our our bodies are already protected after we encounter it. We are successfully coaching or getting ready our immune system in order that if we’re uncovered to flu, we’re much less more likely to get sick. It’s a preventative measure to mitigate threat.

Our immunisation tips advocate that we get a flu vaccine yearly. This is as a result of the influenza virus is continually evolving. Our sensible immunologists, biomedical engineers and scientists work across the clock to ensure we’re on prime of the mutations in our vaccines.

There are a number of advantages to getting the flu vaccine, and that is the right alternative to share them together with your daughter! Ask her to please learn the next:

Flu vaccination can hold you from getting sick in addition to passing it on to others

The flu jab prevents tens of millions of notifications and flu-related physician’s visits annually. Not solely is that this nice for us, it’s additionally nice for the strained medical system.

If you need it in uncooked numbers, in 2019-2020 abroad it prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza diseases, 3.7 million influenza associated medical visits, 105,000 hospitalisations and 6,300 influenza-associated deaths. And keep in mind, it helps us shield these vital to us which might be at a better threat of issues.

How would you’re feeling in the event you caught it and handed it on to your frail grandfather?

Flu vaccination has been proven to scale back severity of sickness

An complete library may very well be crammed with research that assist the idea that the flu vaccine prevents critical issues of the virus. The most up-to-date Australian examine from the National Influenza Surveillance Committee has proven that the vaccine lowered the chance of flu-related hospitalisation for adults by roughly 50 per cent.

Annual flu vaccination is really helpful for everybody over the age of six months and is just contraindicated for many who have recognized life-threatening allergic reactions to a earlier dose of the vaccine.

Got a query:

askdrzac@conciergedoctors.com.au

Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is each a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors. He was additionally a registered nurse and can also be a certified and skilled biomedical scientist together with being a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering