In the Oct. 12 story “Protect yourself, protect others,” Columbian staff writer Marissa Harshman wrote about the positive reasons to get a flu vaccination, and I agree.
Working in the health care field, my husband and I diligently get our flu shots every year. Though the vaccine hasn’t always prevented us from getting the flu (last year’s version was only 19 percent effective) we both got the flu shot this year, because the vaccine provides a kind of training ground for the immune system to build antibodies, and vaccinating is about more than just self-protection. Getting a flu shot decreases the odds that those at risk of getting seriously ill from the flu (like newborns, the elderly, and those with chronic health conditions) will get sick. This is called herd immunity, meaning when enough people are vaccinated, those who can’t or won’t get the flu shot are still safe.
Working in the labor and delivery department in an Oregon hospital, I received the quadrivalent vaccine this year, which protects against two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses, because the health of my patients matters just as much as my own.
No one enjoys getting shots, but in this case it is worth having a sore arm for a couple of days.
