Wrong Perception About Vaccine Components Hinder People from Getting the Flu Shot
When it comes to the flu, myths, and misrepresentation swarm. The most dangerous of which and totally wrong claim is that one cannot really develop flu from getting the flu shot.
The perception behind this, which not totally incorrect, is due to the fact that the flu itself has an influenza virus, however, in a manner that will make one ill.
In a health news report, infectious disease specialist at NYU, Tania Elliot, MD said, "The flu shot is made of either killed virus and proteins that are a part of the virus," which vitally tricks the deceives the immune system into developing a reaction known as the antibodies to kill the virus.
This means that, when a person's body gets exposed to the dead virus or parts of the virus, it expectantly learns to battle against the virus so that, if he encounters it, he does not turn ill, or he does not become severely ill as he would sans protection.
Notably, it is essential to highlight that the flu shot is not the same universal vaccine administered every year. There are different variants of the flu shot to pair with the famously circulating viruses.
"There are many strains of influenza virus," explained Dr. Elliot, and thus every year, scientists from all over the world gather to find out which strains of the flu virus are possible to spread that year, and those are the ones to include into the flu shot.
According to Sherif Mossad, MD, an infectious disease expert at Cleveland Clinic, some years need more tweaking compared to others. Specifically, he added, "In some years, only one strain has to be changed," while in others, "Multiple strains have to be changed."
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A health care worker prepares a flu vaccine at a temporary vaccination center during the second wave of COVID-19 on October 14, 2020 in Las Rozas, near Madrid, Spain. Madrid regional government started today an early flu vaccine campaign as a measure against the coronavirus pandemic, with stock of 1.300.000 doses.
Egg Protein in Flu Vaccines
The Flu vaccine does not have inactive or parts of the flu virus. More so, while there is no single flu shot ingredient list since multiple flu vaccines are on offer each year, there are certain components of the flu shat that an individual is likely to look up what the flu shot contains.
One of the components in the list is the egg protein. Many may have heard that those allergic to egg cannot or should not get the flu shot. The reason for this is that some flu shots have egg protein.
While this thinking is true that there is egg protein in many influenza vaccines, because many of them are made in chicken eggs, having an allergy in the egg does not mean you should not get the vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that egg allergies should not hinder one from getting the flu shot as the amount of egg protein in this shot is very low. According to Waleed Javaid, MD, infection prevention, and control director at New York-based Mount Sinai Downtown, it would not result in any allergic reaction.
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Preservatives in the Flu Shots
Preservatives like formaldehyde, for one, are included in some vaccines to prevent contamination in the mixtures. While it is reasonable to worry when one hears that a substance like this is in the vaccine, he is getting injected into his body, explained Dr. Javaid, it is essential to "keep the big picture in mind."
Specifically, the flu shot's size is 0.5 milliliters. The amount of formaldehyde in a vaccine is not enough to hurt an individual.
Stabilizers and Antibiotics
Stabilizers, in particular, are added to vaccines to keep their efficacy while being transported to the doctors' offices and pharmacies and stored. According to the CDC, examples of stabilizers added to vaccinations include sugar and gelatin.
Essentially, antibiotics combat bacterial infections. The fact that they are included in the flu shot formulation makes sense. Antibiotics are in the flu vaccines, Dr. Javaid explained. Therefore, he added, "Bacteria don't grow."
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Oct 20, 2020 07:00 AM EDT
