As the popular meme goes, this is the world without one specific vaccine. A lot of miscommunication and apprehension surround vaccinations in the modern age. This isn’t new because it’s never finished being debated.
It’s important to understand that nuance exists and nothing in science is (or should be) 100%. That’s why weighing the benefits of the flu vaccine should be done. There are many benefits and most people should receive a flu vaccine each year.
The most important benefit isn’t always to the individual getting the vaccine. It is to those that can’t receive a vaccination for reasons related to allergies or immunocompromised conditions.
Table of Contents
Benefits of Flu Vaccine
The benefits of a vaccine start locally and grow globally. Any given person that is protected by a vaccine is one more personable to work, attend school, and go out in public as normal. They do so safely, knowing that they are unlikely to get sick (more on that in a minute) and also won’t spread the disease to others.
Illness Prevention
The main reason to get a flu vaccine is to lower the overall risk of getting ill yourself. Unfortunately, unlike other vaccines that can offer a lifetime of protection against diseases, such as polio or smallpox, a flu vaccine has a shorter effect.
For starters, this is because the flu is not one thing. There is no flu but many hundreds of strains of influenza. The seasonal vaccine offers solid protection against several of the most common strains each year.
Getting a flu vaccine reduces the chances you’ll need to see a doctor or take up hospital resources by as much as 60%.
Limiting Contact
Not going to the hospital is more important this year than many others. Not only are you not losing time from work or family, but you are avoiding coming into contact with other pathogens that can be found in hospital settings.
Indeed, one reason that flu vaccines are offered cheap or free is to help the rest of the medical world. The cost-benefit analysis of flu vaccines is that subsidizing them or covering them under insurance saves insurers and hospitals cash.
Check out the coverage options available near you at MedicareWire.com
Avoid Complications
Even healthy individuals can run into unknown complications when contracting something like influenza. For those with a chronic health condition or known comorbidity, getting a flu vaccine helps prevent complications.
If you qualify for Medicare you know that complications are something to avoid.
A Better Society
Every vaccinated person reduces the spread of flu (or other diseases they’ve been vaccinated for). Slower spread means fewer people get it which further slows spread.
This matters for those that can’t get a vaccine such as pregnant women and infants.
Getting a vaccine also means less lost productivity from work and fewer chances of a global shutdown that tanks economies.
Live Better
These benefits overlap with each other. Essentially, each benefit reinforces each of the other benefits, which is a benefit in itself.
Bottom line: it takes so little to protect yourself and others.
The only thing we want to go viral is our content! Come back here for more topics that you can’t seem to get away from
As the popular meme goes, this is the world without one specific vaccine. A lot of miscommunication and apprehension surround vaccinations in the modern age. This isn’t new because it’s never finished being debated.
It’s important to understand that nuance exists and nothing in science is (or should be) 100%. That’s why weighing the benefits of flu vaccine should be done. There are many benefits and most people should receive a flu vaccine each year.
The most important benefit isn’t always to the individual getting the vaccine. It is to those that can’t receive a vaccination for reasons related to allergies or immunocompromised conditions.
