Influenza is an infectious illness that can be spread from one individual to the next. It can be transmitted by means of saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. It can also be spread by coming in contact with the virus on contaminated surfaces. Influenza is responsible for an average of 36,000 deaths and for more than 226,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States. (Davidson, 2007-2009, Davis, 2007). It is my goal for this paper to explain how flu vaccines are made, how long it takes to create the vaccines, and when they will be ready for distribution for the upcoming flu season. I will also present some exciting new research that may provide for a newer, faster method for making flu vaccines that would enable the vaccines to be ready and available in less than the traditional eight months.
Influenza viruses are divided into three classes. These are A, B, and C. It is influenza viruses A and B that are the most virulent and responsible for causing outbreaks of the flu every year. Influenza virus C, on the other hand, produces only a very mild respiratory infection or no symptoms at all and does not pose a severe public health threat. The aim of receiving an annual vaccine is to prevent spreading infections. Because flu outbreaks fluctuate, it is recommended that individuals receive a vaccination for the flu every year, especially for those at high risk for developing serious complications from influenza infections. (Davidson, 2007-2009, Davis, 2007).
Vaccines are created using several different methods. However, all vaccines share a similar general goal. That is to weaken the virus or bacteria in a manner that enables the recipient to develop an immune response against the virus at the same time avoiding any s...
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This generation is debating if flu vaccinations are good or bad. There is a ton of mixed emotions for this topic. Starting with how vaccines can affect you positively, and negatively, and lastly, the important ones you should take.
However due to globalization, import and export viruses is more easily transmitted. Over the past century the global community especially Asian has been affected with new strains of the influenza virus. The changes in the virus can occur in two ways “antigenic drift” which are gradual changes in the virus over time. This change produces new strains that the antibody may not recognize. “Antigenic shift” On the other is a sudden change in the influenza virus which ‘’ results in a new influenza A subtype or a virus with a hemagglutinin or a hemagglutinin and neuraminidase combination that has emerged from an animal population,” as seen with H5N1 virus. This change leaves people defenseless against this new virus. (CDC, 2013) Currently there is no vaccine to combat all strains therefore “Planning and preparedness for implementing mitigation strategies during a pandemic requires participation by all levels o...
In 1976, due to an outbreak of influenza at Fort Dix, New Jersey, the United States set a precedent in immunology by attempting to vaccinate the entire population of the country against the possibility of a swine-type Influenza A epidemic. While a great many people were successfully immunized in a very short period of time, the National Influenza Immunization Program (NIIP) quickly became recognized as a failure, one reason being that the feared epidemic never surfaced at all. But this massive undertaking deserves more analysis than just a simple repudiation. For example, all evidence linked to the pathology, microbiology, and historical cycle of influenza and the outbreak at Fort Dix suggests that the reactions of the scientists and other personnel involved in the NIIP were correct. However, one must also acknowledge the many complications and misjudgments that plagued the program after its initiation, from biological difficulties, logistical problems, to tensions with the media. The swine flu is a historical event that needs to be evaluated, regarding both its successes and its failures, so that lessons can be learned for future immunization programs.
To get the flu vaccine or not to get the flu vaccine? This is a huge controversial question millions of Americans today ask themselves every year. There are many myths that come along with the topic of the flu vaccine that lead to people questioning the effectiveness of the medication. Safety for our families and loved ones is what we aim to achieve, but what are the pros and cons of this vaccine? What are the consequences and what are myths, but most importantly: what are the reasons we should get it in the first place? In this paper you will learn the many reasons for the flu vaccination and how it affects different populations beginning with children all the way to the elderly population. First of all, what is the flu vaccine and its purpose? According to Wikipedia, The influenza vaccination is an annual vaccination using a vaccine specific for a given year to protect against the highly variable influenza virus. Each influenza vaccine contains antigens representing three (trivalent vaccine) or four (quadrivalent vaccine) influenza virus strains: one influenza type A subtype H1N1 virus strain, one influenza type A subtype H3N2 virus strain, and either one or two influenza type B virus strains. Influenza vaccines may be given as an intramuscular injection, also known as a flu shot, or as a nasal spray.
Influenza is a major public health problem which outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people. In the United States, every year between 5 to 20 percent of the population is affected by influenza. As a result of this, between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths have occurred per year (Biggerstaff et al., 2014). Therefore, the influenza vaccine is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. This essay will examine two significant reasons for influenza vaccination which are the loss of workforce and economic burden as well as one effect regarding herd immunity.
Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like influenza are very contagious, they can spread easily from hcw to Patient and back to hcw. The most efficient and effective method of preventing influenza infection is vaccination(The best way to prevent influenza is with annual vaccination).(Sullivan,2010) (Gregory,Tosh &Jacobson, 2005). Motivated by a desire to actively avoid illness Influenza may increase the risk for death in people with existing heart, lung, or circulation disorders. In fact, the higher than average number of winter deaths in people with heart disease may be due only to the occurrence of influenza during those months.Vaccination provides immunity to fight against infection.To increase resistance to harm by modifying the environment to minimize preventable illness (NEED TO CHANGE WORDING)
Jensenius;, J. C. (2006). Vaccine Against Spanish Flu. Science, 311(5767), 1552b-1552b. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.sciencemag.org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/content/311/5767/1552.2
At no time was a search for the cure for influenza more frantic than after the devastating effects of the pandemic of 1918. The pandemic killed somewhere between twenty and a hundred million people, making it twenty five times more deadly than the ordinary cough and sneeze flu. The symptoms of this flu were like something straight out of a horror movie: the victim’s facial complexion changed to a dark, brownish purple, the feet turned black, and they began to cough up blood. Eventually, death was caused, literally by drowning, when the victim’s lungs filled with their own blood. The first scientist to claim to solve the enigma of influenza was Dr. Friedrich Johann Pfeiffer. He isolated a bacterium he named Hemophilus influenzae from the respiratory tract of those who had the flu in the pandemic of 1890. He was believed to be correct in his discovery until the pandemic of 1918, when scientists searched the respiratory tracts of influenza victims and only sometimes found his bacterium. Robert E. Shope and his mentor Paul Lewis were the next to attempt to crack the code of influenza. They chose to study the disease in pigs, a controversial choice because many people believed that the swine influenza pigs were contracting was not the same as the human flu. The first experiment they ran was ba...
Gardam and Lemieux (2013) state that the effectiveness of the current influenza vaccine has been exaggerated in the medical literature and media. The seasonal flu shot protects against the three or four influenza viruses that researchers indicate will be most common during the upcoming season (CDC, p.1, 2015). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 2013’s vaccine was “only 55% effective against laboratory-confirmed influenza A and 70% effective against influenza B” (Gardam & Lemieux, 2013). Health care providers receiving the flu vaccination does not guarantee that patients may not be affected by different strains. Additionally HCP are not the only individuals who may expose patients to these pathogens, visiting family, and community members can also play a
An estimated 36,000 people in the United States die each year of influenza-related illness, therefore, increasing influenza vaccination rates among high-risk groups is a public health priority. Noel T., B., & Hallman, W. K. (2006). In the case study, Influenza Vaccine Shortage, a young college student is faced with a dilemma, when she fears she may not receive a greatly needed influenza vaccine. Alison, a 19-year-old who suffers with moderately severe asthma, desperately requires an influenza vaccine in order to greatly reduce her risk of contracting the virus. In the past, Alison has been hospitalized as the result of an infectious cold and significant merciless asthma attacks. Consequently, contracting the influenza virus presently will deteriorate
Currently, one cannot explore the news without coming across the topic of the swine flu, scientifically known as H1N1. Swine flu is a respiratory infection derived from the influenza virus. The virus contains genetic materials from human, swine, and avian flu viruses. It was first identified in spring 2009, and since then has spread rapidly across the globe. The infection’s spread has been verified as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. As soon as the swine flu virus was isolated, scientists quickly developed a swine flu vaccine. Four vaccines have been approved by the FDA for the prevention of the swine flu. The vaccines will be ready for distribution in October 2009. Now the question is: To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate? Millions of people are now preparing to answer this question.
Influenza viruses are constantly evolving due to the mechanism of antigenic drift. This results in seasonal vaccination to target only specific strains, which puts us in a race against the clock in the prevention of the next pandemic. One key to solving this is the development of a universal influenza vaccine, which would elicit a broad antibody response. This would target either multiple strains or strains from the past, present, and future in a single vaccination. As vaccine may target sites such as the neuraminidase (NA) or the M2 Ion channel, hemagglutinin (HA) is preferred by most approaches due to the consensus amino acids found throughout the different subtype, specifically the stem region (3). However, there are boundaries to the stem approach, such as, that some antibodies have reduced affinity for the stem region (1).
A vaccine is assessed by its efficacy; the extent to which it reduces risk of disease under controlled conditions, and its effectiveness, the observed reduction in risk after the vaccine is put into use. In the case of influenza, effectiveness is expected to be lower than the efficacy because it is measured using the rates of influenza-like illness, which is not always caused by influenza. However, studies on the effectiveness of flu vaccines in the real world are difficult; vaccines may be imperfectly matched, virus prevalence varies widely between years, and influenza is often confused with other influenza-like illnesses. However, in most years, the flu vaccine strains have been a good match for the circulating strains, and even a mis-matched vaccine can often provide
The flu vaccines have been an ongoing controversy for many years. While many people are against getting vaccinated for the contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses, I on the other hand; support the effectiveness of being vaccinated. There’s no doubt that flu precaution shouldn’t be taken seriously, especially during the winter and seasonal changes. Flu can cause mild to severe symptoms and possibly even lead to death. It’s important to understand how the influenza viruses usually spread so that you can help prevent catching the virus. Majority of the time it is spread by microscopic droplets produced by people that are infected with flu when they cough, sneeze or talk. Some typical symptoms when infected may cause you to experience: cough, sore throat, fever, muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, diarrhea, and vomiting. I believe most people especially over the age of 65 and health care providers should get vaccinated against flu because there is enough evidence to support it decreases someone’s risks of catching it. Most studies have shown that people above the age 65 with weaker immune systems are more susceptible to catching the
November begins the flu season in the Northern Hemisphere, so people have to be vaccinated. Flu shots must be taken every year unlike other vaccines that people only need to take once. But recently researchers have discovered a vaccine that protects against many other types, or strains, of the flu virus, and this might be able to lead to life lasting protection from the flu. Flu shots teach the immune system how to identify the flu virus, and that can help the body reject an infection. The flu virus evolves rapidly, and if your body does not recognize the newest version, it could infect you, so people have to get the newest flu shot every year. But researches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have discovered a new vaccine that might last