Influenza, commonly shortened to ‘flu’, is a virus that the scientific world perhaps knows most about, but its general perception amongst the public is often misconstrued, and many people think the flu is merely a heavy cold. Unfortunately it can be much more serious than that, and a flu vaccination is a way of managing this risk and safeguarding both your own health and that of someone else also.
During a typical year, between 5-15% of the world’s population will contract flu, but severe cases can total between three to five million globally, and severe cases can lead to hospitalisation and even death. In fact there are typically around 650,000 flu-related deaths each year, so flu is far more than just a heavy cold.
So what exactly is flu?
Influenza/flu is an acute respiratory illness which is experienced as a result of being infected by the flu virus. The symptoms include coughing, sneezing, blocked and runny nose, headaches, aches and pains, fever and chills and severe fatigue. These symptoms can be experienced for up to ten days, but a healthy person can shake off the effects of flu between two and seven days. However, the key here is ‘healthy person’. The problematic issue with flu is that it can complicate underlying issues and it can affect vulnerable people more severely, such as:
- young children
- elderly people
- pregnant women
- people with heart problems, chest problems, kidney disease, liver disease, who have had a stroke or who have diabetes
So if any people in these particular groups contract flu, the affects can be more severe and they can be hospitalised, or in extreme cases contracting flu can even lead to death.
Why is flu so hard to control?
Flu is a virus which infects the windpipe and the lungs, and because it is a virus and not a bacteria, there are no simple anti-biotics which can treat it. We can only try to manage the symptoms. Flu is highly contagious and is picked up by breathing in the virus through droplets in the air if someone sneezes, or by touching a surface which an infected person has touched, so simple hand hygiene is one way to try and control the spread of a contagious disease, but another major problem with flu is that it is unpredictable.
There are different strains of the flu virus every year, and each one is a mutation of a previous one, so the flu vaccination is the most effective way to manage the flu virus because it is changed every year to match the specific strain that has been detected.
What is the flu vaccination?
The flu vaccination is how a person can be protected against the expected strain of the flu virus. How flu mutates can be predicted ahead of the traditional flu season over winter, and hence if a person is vaccinated ahead of this time, in Autumn for example, they can safeguard themselves and others from the worst effects of flu. The flu virus is no guarantee that you won’t be affected by flu, but it can:
- Increase the likelihood of not being infected by the flu virus
- Reduce the severity and duration of the flu symptoms
- Reduce the chances of the virus being transmitted to others
- Protect vulnerable people in society
- Create a community/herd immunity
- Alleviate the burden on the health system
If you or your business are offered a flu vaccination you should accept this offer because you are protecting yourself as well as others from the worst potential effects of the virus. You are also reducing the burden on the healthcare system and enabling them to channel resources in better ways. The flu vaccination is a way to reduce the spread of the virus and it is directly formulated each year to attack the specific strains that are active in each flu season, so maintaining an annual flu vaccination programme ensures that you and your business are positively reacting to how the flu virus mutates.
Contact FluClinic2You for a friendly and professional flu vaccination
At FluClinic2You we have a wealth of experience in delivering effective flu vaccination programmes to businesses of all sizes and in many different industry sectors. We carry out detailed, friendly and personable one-to-one vaccination deliveries with your personnel through on-site flu vaccinations, so that you can ensure you are carrying out your duty to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of your workforce. Contact FluClinic2You and book your corporate flu vaccination today.