Saar Kuzi
Alessandra Coutinho Fernandes
William Cope
Richard Tapping
Kashif Ahmad
Reda Sadki
Shubhra Kanti Karmaker Santu
Adam P Rusch
Elle Meisner
Nereyda Ochoa
Landon J. Kunzelman
James DotimasFA16 Immunization Module’s Updates
Adverse Effects of Influenza Vaccinations
According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, the flu is a contagious repiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. Influenza viruses are capable of eliciting a quite robust list of symptoms that includes things such as a mild cough and headache to severe vomiting. With this in mind, many would rather avoid these symptoms by having a vaccination.
After reveiwing the information found on the CDC's website, it seems that vaccinations offer a solution that, for most, will be worth the risks involved. To use a direct quote from the CDC, "Flu vaccines are very safe". However, they do not ignore the known side effects that have been documented. They recognize common side effects such as "Sore, red, or swollen arm from the shot, hoarseness, red or itchy eyes, cough, fever, aches, headache, itching and fatigue". Furthermore, young children who are also vaccinated with the pneumoccal vacine may be at increased risks for seizures which are due to high fevers caused by the vaccines. Other very rare reactions to the influenza vaccine include severe should pain which causes reduced range of motion and servere allergic reactions. While these side effects are particularly severe, it must be stressed that these reactions are exceedingly rare. The reported rate of severe allergic reactions to the flu vaccine is less than 1 per 1,000,000 doses of the vaccine.
In conclusion, it only makes sense to be vaccinated against influenza viruses. While there are side effects to the vaccine, the rate of hospitalization due to influenza complications is far greater than the rate of hospitalization due to complications associated with the vaccine.
Facts included in this breif summary came from a variety of locations and are sited below.
- http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/flu-vaccine.html
- http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-guide/adult-flu-symptoms
I also don't think that many people understand that during the process of reacting to a vaccine, your body is going to generate an immune response (fever, mild swelling/irritation at the site of injection, etc.). It sounds like the side effects that you have listed are due to the immune response reaction, not to the vaccine itself poisoning someone. This may be a little off topic from this thread, but does anyone know whether or not live attenuated vaccines give a higher rate of these symptoms than inactivated vaccines?
@Erin Hinckely mentioned how some parents might choose not to vaccinate their children due to adverse side effects of certain vaccines. I can somewhat understand, after reading the side effects of this flu vaccine, as to why some parents might feel apprehensive about vaccinating their children, and instead, choose to take a risk of being infected with the flu virus.