One of the things keeping your doctors and public health officials up at night is the possibility of a "twindemic" this fall. If a bad flue season meets a global pandemic, the results could be catastrophic. And it's 2020, so we really do mean catastrophic. Flu patients' symptoms can be mistaken for COVID-19 leading to waiting rooms and emergency rooms full of symptomatic people, shedding all over each other. Patients with preventable flu inffections could occupy hospital and ICU beds needed for others. Influenza would leave your immune system more susceptible to COVID-19 and being infected with both would be disastrous.
Image by Rob Tornoe of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
So it might be a little earlier in the year than usual, or maybe you don't usually do it, but it's time to go get your flu shot. We can't put it off. We have to do it now. Why right now? (Like RIGHT now? Today?) I'm glad you asked.
The flu vaccine needs two weeks to take full effect. Put Oahu's current stay-at-home to good use. Get your shot and then watch Netflix at home while your body's immune system (proverbially) pumps iron. Antibodies: don't leave lockdown without them.
It's true that even then the flu vaccine isn't 100% effective. The influenza virus evolves very quickly and each year scientists have to make their best informed guess as to which strains of type A and B will dominate. Mutation happens rapidly. But even partial immunity from a imperfect vaccine is better than no immunity. Partial immunity can prevent complications and hospitalizations even if you do get the flu later.
Does the flu shot give you the flu? No, it does not. Some people will feel symptoms like body-aches, but those are a sign that your immune system is mobilizing and learning to respond to the flu antigen. It's not a sign that you have the flu, more like soreness after your system has (proverbially) pumped iron.
But does it really matter? Oh, yes. Let's take a look at Australia. The Southern Hemisphere's winter is ending now, so they are currently at the end of their 2020 flu season. During strict Australian lockdown, getting a flu shot was only one of the reasons citizens could leave home. Vaccination rates climbed. And in combination with mask-wearing, social-distancing, and better hand-hygiene, Australian flu cases dropped 99%. Not a typo!
You can call your doctor, check your local pharmacy (including the ones inside big box stores), or visit the DOH's Vaccine Locator to find a flu shot near you.
FYI: Mt. Sinai hospital in New York City recorded its first confirmed case of flu on Friday, September 11.
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