A shot of truth about the flu

Valerie Winkler

The Signal

The flu claims, on average, 36,000 lives each year in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year.  Flu season runs from October until the end of March.

“We follow CDC and State of Texas Health Department recommendations that all people over six months old be vaccinated,” said Susan Leitner Prihoda RN, MS, director of health and disability services at UHCL and family nurse practitioner. “Senior citizens are receiving a more potent vaccine this winter which is funded by Medicare.”

In 2009, a new flu virus called H1N1, also known as the swine flu, spread worldwide making it the first flu pandemic in more than 40 years.

“The flu vaccine that is being given this year is a combination of seasonal flu and H1N1 so only one shot is necessary for the entire flu season,” Prihoda said.

Getting the flu shot early in the season is instrumental, Prihoda advises.

“It is very important to get the flu shot as soon as possible; last year we really didn’t see many cases until late October, this year we saw patients with the flu in early September,” said Kerry McCarroll, doctor at Medic Lane Physicians located in Alvin.

Many people are under the impression that you can get the flu from the flu shot, but the CDC reports this is completely false. CDC reported that the viruses contained in the flu shot are inactivated (killed) which means they cannot cause a person to get the flu.

“The flu shot has a two-week incubation period, so if you come in contact with the flu virus in that time period, you could contract the flu,” McCarroll said.

The flu vaccine used for adults has small amounts of mercury and thimerosal. Thimerosal is a preservative that has been used in vaccines for more than 70 years and is added to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi in multi-dose vials.

“Data from several studies show the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines do not cause harm, and are only associated with minor local injection site reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site,” reports the CDC on their website. Now ever since 2001, no vaccines for children under six have included thimerosal as a result of allegations that link it to autism. To date, no studies have been able to prove exposure to thimerosal is linked to autism.

Some doctors do not believe the flu shot is a necessary precaution to the flu season.

“There are many studies that link mercury in vaccines to Alzheimer’s Disease, I don’t want to give a shot that could maybe contribute to that,” said Wayne Browne, D.C. (doctorate of chiropractic), A.C.N. (applied clinical nutritionist), at the Center for Alternative Medicine.

“There are virtually no side effects from the flu vaccine,” Prihoda said. “We have not seen any major side effects from the flu vaccine. I personally experienced a bit of point tenderness in my arm after the injection for about 24 hours.”

There are certain people who could experience major side effects and should not get the flu shot. People who have ever had severe allergic reaction to eggs or to previous flu shots or people with a history of Guillain-Barre Syndrome that occurred after receiving the flu vaccine should not get a flu shot reports the CDC.

Browne gives his patients herbal supplements that help boost a person’s T-cell counts to help prepare their bodies in case of coming down with the flu.

“The herbal supplements will not prevent a person from getting the flu, but if a person contracts the flu while on the supplements they will probably get a much less severe case and be able to fight it off more efficiently,” Browne said.

Browne said that when people get the flu and use the supplements, it allows their bodies to naturally defend itself against the virus, so that if they ever get it again their bodies can fight it off physically.

One preventive that he likes to give his patients ahead of flu season is a vitamin D supplement.

“Most people are vitamin D deficient, and research shows in several cases that people that contract the flu are deficient in vitamin D,” Browne said.

Doctors’ opinions may differ on whether or not to get the flu shot, but all agree that the flu is a serious virus and needs to be treated one way or another.

“The flu can be life threatening,” Prihoda said. “It particularly is dangerous to the very young, elderly and chronically ill. The time to get vaccinated is now.”

The flu shot is widely available at local pharmacies and the UHCL Health Center. The flu shot cost students $25 in the student health center.  For more information, visit www.uhcl.edu/health or www.flu.gov.