Why you need a flu shot this season
Close-up hands,nurses are vaccinations to patients using the syringe.Doctor vaccinating women in hospital.Are treated by the use of sterile injectable upper arm.
It’s nearly that time of year to book in for your flu shot to protect you, your family and the wider community against the highly contagious strands of Influenza (the flu). Influenza (or the flu) is a serious illness which can take (a normally healthy person) some weeks to recover. In severe cases, it can also cause death. Members of the community that are highly affected by the flu virus are the elderly and the very young, as their immune systems could be slightly weaker, as the main concern with catching Influenza is that it weakens the body which leaves the sufferer wide open for secondary illnesses like Pneumonia.
The Influenza virus attacks the respiratory tract which lead to the following symptoms:
- high fever
- chills and sweats
- sore throat
- weakness
- muscle and joint pain
- headaches
- cough
- and a general feeling of being unwell
The difference between a cold and the flu is a normal cold’s symptoms are; nasal and head congestion and will only last for a couple of days whereas the flu can affect someone for up to two weeks with crippling body symptoms as discussed above.
The more people in the community that get vaccination against the flu the less likely the virus will spread throughout our community and cripple us during the colder months.
The good news is, the Government has announced that they will be funding two new flu shots for Australian citizens over the age of 65 to try and prevent a similar outbreak of the flu as seen last year (2017) and the related deaths that occurred.
To read more, click on the link to the ABC article relating to this announcement.