5 reasons to get a flu shot

Any day now, the first cases of influenza will start trickling into local doctors' offices and hospitals.

Some of these unlucky souls will suffer achy bodies, fevers and chills for a week. Quite a few will pass the virus on to their parents, children and co-workers. And some of these folks -- most likely the very young and very old -- will develop dangerous complications like pneumonia and die.

Yet, those facts aren't persuasive enough for many people to get shots.

So here are a few more.

1. Play the odds

Every year, 5 percent to 20 percent of the population gets seasonal influenza, roughly 200,000 people wind up in the hospital and 36,000 die. It's hard to say what an individual person's risk is in a given year, simply because it varies based on the strength of a person's immune system, his exposure to infected people and the particular strain of flu virus that's circulating.

Still, doctors say the risks of influenza clearly outweigh the risks of the vaccine.

No matter what stories you've heard, you can't get the flu from the flu shot. Someone who falls ill immediately after being vaccinated likely succumbed to a different virus.

"It's hard sometimes to distinguish between true influenza and other viruses," said Dr. Howard Baker, an internal medicine specialist with Condell Medical Center who practices in Mundelein.

Almost all people who get the flu vaccine have no serious problems from it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some people get a low-grade fever or muscle aches for a day or two. Severe allergic reactions are very rare. One person in a million may be at risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a neurological disease that is usually treatable.

On the other side of the equation, even a relatively healthy person who contracts the flu will be laid out for a week with a high fever, exhaustion and body aches. For someone whose health is already compromised, the consequences can be more dire.

"The flu is most dangerous for our elderly," Baker said. "Ninety percent of the deaths occur in people who are 65 or older. Our youngest young and oldest old are most at risk to succumbing to flu."

Most people don't die of the flu; they die of pneumonia or other complications that result. The flu vaccine can improve those odds. For a healthy person, the vaccine is 70 percent to 90 percent effective in preventing flu, according to the CDC.

"Even those who do become ill from influenza, if they were vaccinated they're less likely to die of influenza or pneumonia," said Dr. Stephen Amesbury, a pulmonologist at Condell in Libertyville.

"People tend to underestimate their risk of getting the flu," Amesbury said. "There's a lot more people who should be getting the vaccine but don't."

2. Ban the superbug

The pneumonia that can follow the flu is caused by bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, the "superbug" that's on the rise in the U.S.

Getting a flu shot is one way to protect yourself from these bacteria, which have been in the news lately for local outbreaks that prompted the disinfecting of entire schools.

When you have the flu, you develop inflammation around the heart and lungs, making your body more vulnerable to bacteria in your environment, including Staph bacteria that often live in your nose or on your skin.

The biggest risk is for people who are older, debilitated and living in hospitals or nursing homes, said Dr. James Augustinsky, director of infection control at Edward Hospital in Naperville.

"Flu may set up an environment where it's easier for bacteria to take hold," he said.

Antibiotics can treat pneumonia, but only if doctors choose the right ones. Standard antibiotics used to treat the early stages of pneumonia don't work against resistant strains.

"With MRSA, we don't know that's what they have until we've been able to test specimens from their blood or sputum," said Dr. Russell Robertson, chairman of family medicine at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, which tests all inpatients for MRSA. "There can be an unintentional delay between diagnosis of pneumonia and selection of the proper antibiotic."

In the case of avian influenza, don't count on your seasonal flu shot to protect you in a pandemic. The seasonal vaccine doesn't target those strains. Some experts say an annual flu shot is still a key precaution, however. In case of pandemic flu, at least you won't be hit with a double whammy.

3. Protect grandpa

Older people don't build up the same levels of antibodies in response to the influenza vaccine, making it less effective (though still recommended by doctors). Rather than preventing influenza altogether, the flu vaccine's biggest benefit for older people is heading off serious complications. Among people over 65, those who are vaccinated are less than half as likely to be hospitalized.

Besides a flu shot, older people need additional levels of protection -- from their grandchildren. Vaccinating children can help protect older, vulnerable people they know.

"Children are known as the great transmitters," said Dr. Henry Bernstein, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on infectious diseases.

When school absences spike over the winter, doctors expect to see the same infections in adults several weeks later, Bernstein said. Workers call in sick, and older adults show up at the hospital with pneumonia.

Some scientists have proposed that vaccinating the nation's schoolchildren against influenza would be the best way to protect the elderly.

Getting a flu shot yourself can also help protect other vulnerable people in your household, including infants under 6 months old who can't get the vaccine and other people ineligible for flu shots due to allergies or certain illnesses.

4. No shots

Being a sissy is no excuse for avoiding the influenza vaccine. FluMist, the nasal spray, is just as effective as the injected versions, says Bernstein.

Unlike the injected vaccine, which uses a dead virus, FluMist contains a weakened, live virus that will trigger your immune system to produce antibodies. People who've had a history of asthma, heart disease or diabetes, or pregnant women should not get FluMist. It's also not going to work as well if you've got a stuffy nose.

"If you don't inhale the right way, or you cough it out, or you don't have the right contact with your upper respiratory system, there's a chance you might not get exposed to enough antigen and produce enough antibodies," Augustinsky said.

Besides being a needle-free option, FluMist does have another benefit, particularly for parents worried about some of the ingredients in traditional flu vaccines. FluMist is produced without thimerosol, a preservative that contains ethylmercury. While studies have proven there's no link between thimerosol and autism, parents still worry about it.

"FluMist doesn't have any mercury preservative in it, so that's a worry that can be set aside," Robertson said.

The majority of injected flu vaccines available in the U.S. still contain thimerosol. But some flu vaccines contain only trace amounts of thimerosol and will be labeled "preservative free." Some vaccine is produced with no thimerosol and will be labeled "thimerosol free." You can ask your doctor whether one of these options is available.

"If it makes you feel better to request thimerosol-free, you should," Bernstein said. "But if they don't have it, I would hope you don't avoid the vaccine altogether. That would be a big mistake."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently lowered the age limits for FluMist, so now kids as young as 2 can get it. It's available for adults up to age 49.

5. Save a bundle

A flu shot offers a pretty good return on your investment.

If your employer doesn't offer free flu shots to workers, ask your doctor for one. Most health insurance plans cover flu shots, both the injected vaccine and the nasal spray. Medicare also covers flu shots.

If you don't fall into one of these groups, it's still worth it to pay the $25 at a flu shot clinic held at a local drug store or health clinic. You can find one near you at www.findaflushot.com.

"You're going to be down two to three days from the flu," Robertson said. "From an economic perspective, especially if you're an hourly employee, it's an investment in your own back pocket to pay for the vaccine yourself."