why is is it a good idea to get a flu shot earlier in the year, before the flu s!


Question: Why is is it a good idea to get a flu shot earlier in the year, before the flu season stars?
Please give answers with scientific evidence

Answers:

Getting the flu shot early is not necessarily ideal. The strains used in the flu vaccine change yearly, based on predictions of which strains will be most prevalent within the population. The yearly formulation usually comes out in mid-February, so you don't want to get it SO early that you miss the most recent version.
On the other hand, immunity takes time to develop; for inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine (the "flu shot") it may take your body up to two weeks to develop protective levels of antibodies. If you receive the vaccine in the middle of the season, there's a good chance that you may end up with influenza before the vaccine has a chance to 'kick in.' Shortage can also be an issue (as in 2004, where vaccines had to be rationed according to need) and should be considered. Those two reasons demonstrate the importance of not procrastinating for too long after the new vaccine becomes available.

Pharm.D.



a flu shot is a little bit of flu virus..they put it in your body, and your natural immune and defense systems get to work, fighting that virus and building up the bloods strength to battle it even harder..your bloodstream starts producing mass amounts of antibiotics, and your body is prepared for the next onslaught of that particular virus.

it takes a little while for the body to produce what disease fighting cells and chemicals it needs, so they give the shot well before the flu season hits, in the same way you stack sandbags before the flood, not afterward....although it can possibly be done, you would have a hard time boarding up the windows of the house during a hurricane,..better get that task done before landfall.

the common cold has not been cured, cuz the common cold virus mutates..the minute you beat one strain, it mutates to a different strain, and you have to go thru the process of developing another vaccine for it.

some people of certain ages and conditions can't get flu shots, cuz even that little bit of virus in the shot is enough to do them damage, ..their bodies are not strong enough to fight it off ...

when you think of the flu shot, think of the saying: whatever doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger.



So your immune system learns how to produce antibodies for the predicted seasonal strain AHEAD of time.

You know, like learning to fly a plane in a simulator BEFORE you take off in a real one.

Flu has a sudden onset of 6-12 hours, if you got the vaccine after the onset, it would be pointless and it would take 2 weeks for your body to learn to make antibodies for the flu or flu vaccine. After 2 weeks you're well past the infection period.

I have a degree and worked in health care.



To prevent it for when the season gets here. No scientific evidence needed. Just common since



that way your body already has gotten the shot n there is no risk for the flu season




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