Flu Shots

[Guest guest]

Here is an article that appeared in my local paper. I love the part that says

that this vaccine is only 25% effective. Great odds hey!!!

Check out these sites for flu vaccine info:

http://www.healthy.net/library/articles/IVN/FLU.htm

http://home.sprynet.com:80/sprynet/Gyrene/flu.htm

Millions of Canadians are rolling up their sleeves for flu shots,

but many question if the autumn ritual is just a shot in the

dark.

" Patients under our care, we do not recommend they take the

flu shot, " said Dr.

Malthouse, a general practitioner in . " I

think the idea of giving flu

shots to people who are healthy is actually putting them at

risk. "

Malthouse is skeptical because there are no long-term studies

on the ill effects

caused by the vaccine and he is against giving a generic shot

for millions of people

with diverse immune systems.

The opinion pendulum swings all the way to doctors who

believe almost everyone

should get a shot, including those who have never had

flu-like symptoms.

" Should all healthy people be vaccinated? " asked Dr.

Ward, a microbiologist

and infectious disease consultant at McGill University in

Montreal.

" That would be very nice from a public health point of view,

because you then could

protect the most vulnerable. "

Evidence has proved that a person can unwittingly carry the

influenza bug and

transmit it to another individual, who in turn becomes very

ill, Ward said. So it

would be generous for a healthy person to get a flu shot and

prevent such spread.

A survey of 1,000 Canadians released last week suggests

people are confused

about the flu and the vaccine.

Only 18 per cent said they had been vaccinated last year, and

40 per cent said they

didn't get a shot because they were not at risk of getting

the flu.

The vaccine was designed particularly to protect people with

weak immune systems

- the elderly and those with serious diseases. Made up of

three influenza strains, it

provokes the body to release antibodies that will then be on

guard when the real

thing comes along.

Some people who have had the vaccination said it immediately

made them sick or

didn't do any good because they got the flu weeks or months

later.

Ward, a champion of the shots, said he has found that five to

10 per cent of those

vaccinated become sick with minor symptoms including sore

arms, stiff necks and

mild fevers.

Those who get full-blown influenza - headaches, mild sore

throats, muscle aches

and pains, general weaknesses and dry, irritating coughs -

likely got infected before

the vaccination, Ward said.

The shots certainly aren't foolproof. Dr. Tarrant,

another flu-vaccine

advocate, said they're only about 25 per cent effective for

those over 80.

" But that still works because of a herd effect in seniors

homes, " said Tarrant, acting

head of family medicine at the University of Calgary. " If

everybody is vaccinated, it

does help. "

Vaccines against flu aren't as reliable as those used for

measles or smallpox, said

Tarrant.

" It may not fully protect you, but it's the best there is, "

he said.

" I myself had influenza B infection proven, even after I had

the shot. "

The vaccine kicks in after two weeks and is effective for

only a few months, so

someone who gets it at the beginning of October won't likely

be protected for a flu

onslaught in February or March, Tarrant pointed out.

Each February, experts from around the world gather in Geneva

to forecast the

strains expected in the next flu season - nine months ahead.

This year the worldwide

vaccine is aimed at Type A-Sydney flu, which was so virulent

last winter, as well as

Type A-Beijing and Type B. That still leaves hundreds of

other flu viruses on the

attack.

" It's not 100 per cent and it never will be, " said Dr.

Gully of Canada Health,

which launched its annual flu immunization campaign last

week.

" But if you get influenza proper, you're going to be laid low

for a number of days

and feel pretty rotten afterwards, " Gully said.

Should all Canadians line up for a shot every fall?

" It's going to be up to them to look at how disruptive

influenza would be in their

lives, " Gully said.

" In terms of perhaps saving money to the country, there are

lots of economic losses

to consider, " he said.

" But that's an individual decision - and discuss that with

your physician. "