Thread: Flu jabs UK
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Old 4th September 2017, 11:56
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pompeyfan United Kingdom pompeyfan is offline
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I always recommend having the flu jab unless there are known clinical reasons not having it. My recommendations are based entirely on my former job seeing literally hundreds of people die every year having had the flu or indeed a heavy cold. I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous the flu is. It was not the flu itself that killed people but complications such as pneumonia. For example, time and time again we would write Bronchopneumonia as the cause of death due to influenza.

People with a wide range of medical conditions from respiratory problems, heart or many other diseases should have the jab as well as people over 65. The problem with flu is that it weakens the immune system. Even people not in the at risk group could be affected with a secondary condition that actually kills them. We saw a lot of younger people die for that very reason, which is why I recommend the jab for any age group.

Many of those who came our way would have survived had they been treated sooner. The problem was, and still is, the fact that the flu, like a cold, is a virus. Antibiotics are of no use, but when the virus changes to bacteria they can be used. But my job found that there was a very fine line, which many people missed including nursing homes and doctors as well as people at home. By the time antibiotics were given, it was too late. It was so frustrating because we knew the person could have survived had they been treated with antibiotics sooner.

Please speak to your doctor because he or she should know if you are in a high risk group or could be when the immune system is shot to pieces. We saw that all the time too. Therefore, from a general point of view, I would recommend everybody has it because despite what some may say, the flu jab cannot give you flu because the vaccine does not contain live viruses. The vaccine may cause problems for a few days from a sore arm to aching muscles, but everybody is different, which is why each individual should get medical advice. Some people may already have the flu or a cold before having the jab because incubation time is around 1 to 4 days. Also of course, a virus may appear not included in the annual vaccine. In Feburary, the World Health Organization assesses the strains of virus most likely in the northern hemisphere the following winter. Production of the vaccine is March each year, so time for a new strain to surface before vaccination takes place from September onwards.
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