FLU SHOTS

FLU SHOTS

Its time to get your flu shot. Unfortunately flu shots have to be taken annually. Many people say they are not sure if they are worth paying for, well fortunately after Obamacare almost all insurances pay for them.

Why get a shot?

Apart from the obvious discomfort of being ill, think about all the other inconveniences getting the flu in the winter causes : time out of work, the expense of buying medicines and trips to the doctor, making other people and your family sick etc.

Flu season usually begins with regularity the Monday after Thanksgiving after ‘sharing the love’ and everything else in abundance. The idea is to be adequately protected before then.

School children and certain professions are at particularly high risk of contacting the flu. The elderly and very young are most susceptible to the more severe complications of the disease like pneumonia and death.

Conditions like Diabetes, COPD and Asthma also increase you risk.

Every year I hear a plethora of excuses and rumors as to why people don’t want to get a flu shot:

“I have never had one”, “I don’t get the flu”,  “I got one before and I still got the flu” but I often think they have not really taken the time to understand why the medical profession advocates them.

Every year the most likely strains to cause disease are determined and these are included in that year’s shot. The researchers could be wrong or leave out a strain that could be a problem as its not an exact science but either way you will have an opportunity to boost your immunity to some strains. The downside is minimal.

Every hospital and health care facility now requires all its staff to get that year’s strain of flu shot, they do this based on research and the fact that it works.

Unfortunately you don’t know which year is a particularly bad season until you are right in the middle of it which does not allow time to generate immunity. Every year we have a new viral epidemic, SARS, Chikungunya, Ebola, Zika and no idea what's next. At least protect yourself from things that are known and give your body a chance against things that are not.

If you would rather not get your flu shot at the same place as you pick up your milk, veggies and meat please feel free to stop by the office and get one, you don’t need an appointment. Prevention is always better than cure.  Sincerely, Dr. Tuakli