Influenza Vaccine And The Flu Virus

The vaccine that was chosen for this report is the influenza vaccine. Influenza, also called the flu, is an acute viral infection of the upper or lower respiratory tract. (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica) This specific topic was chosen due to the fact that the influenza virus, or the flu virus, is such a well known and common illness. The flu affects people all across the world on a daily basis because it is very hard to fight. The illness has many different forms which causes problems for doctors and people every year. The most effective way to fight back against this illness is the influenza vaccine. The vaccine itself, the symptoms, the target population, and treatment plan to fighting the virus will all be included along with much more.

The influenza vaccine is given annually in order to fight against the influenza virus. The flu is an illness that resides in the respiratory tract. The flu, as you may know, is most commonly associated with the winter and spring seasons. It is generally a mild illness that results in cold-like symptoms on a larger scale. These symptoms include mild headaches, dry cough, a sore throat, a runny nose, extreme fatigue, and muscle weakness. However, the flu cannot be diagnosed on the symptoms themselves. The proper procedure to diagnosis varies on the patient’s preference. If the patient seeks a quick result, a rapid influenza diagnostic test will be performed on the patient. Because the test is a rapid one, the accuracy of the test is affected. There is the chance that a negative test will occur when the patient actually is sick with the flu. That is why there is another test. Although these diagnostic tests are much slower and can take up to a couple days, the accuracy is greatly imp...

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...s been stated the flu vaccine does decrease the probability of getting the flu but it is not error free. The flu comes in many different forms and strains which makes it very tough on the scientists because it is their job to predict which strain of the flu will most likely rear its ugly head. This is the clear downside to the flu vaccine because there is no guarantee that the vaccine will work against the certain year’s strain of the virus. As studies have shown, the flu vaccine can work very efficiently against one strain of the virus but the very next year there is a huge outbreak of a different strain. There is research going on now that has a goal of discovering a universal vaccine which would effectively fight against any strain of influenza. Until this research is completed, scientists will continue playing the guessing game of what vaccine to give each year.