#Flu vaccine

[gumjrop]

This year’s flu shot will be missing a strain of influenza it’s protected against for more than a decade.

That’s because there have been no confirmed flu cases caused by the Influenza B/Yamagata lineage since spring 2020. And the Food and Drug Administration decided this year that the strain now poses little to no threat to human health.

Scientists have concluded that widespread physical distancing and masking practiced during the early days of COVID-19 appear to have pushed B/Yamagata into oblivion.

This surprised many who study influenza, as it would be the first documented instance of a virus going extinct due to changes in human behavior, said Dr. Rebecca Wurtz, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

“It is such an interesting and unique story,” Wurtz said, adding that if it were not for COVID, B/Yamagata would still be circulating.

One reason COVID mitigation efforts were so effective at eliminating B/Yamagata is there was already a fair amount of immunity in the population against this strain of flu, which was also circulating at a lower level, said Dr. Kawsar Talaat, an infectious disease physician at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 was a brand new virus that no one had encountered before; therefore, masking and isolation only slowed its transmission, but did not stop it.

The absence of B/Yamagata won’t change the experience of getting this year’s flu shot, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to everyone over 6 months old. And unvaccinated people are no less likely to get the flu, as B/Victoria and two influenza A lineages are still circulating widely and making people sick. Talaat said the disappearance of B/Yamagata doesn’t appear to have lessened the overall burden of flu, noting that the level of illness that can be attributed to any strain varies from year to year.

The CDC estimates that between 12,000 and 51,000 people die every year from influenza.

However, the manufacturing process is simplified now that the vaccine is trivalent — designed to protect against three flu viruses — instead of quadrivalent, protecting against four. That change allows more doses to be produced, said Talaat.

Ultimately, the costs of continuing to include protection against B/Yamagata in the flu shot outweigh its benefits, said Talaat.

"If you include a strain for which you don't think anybody's going to get infected into a vaccine, there are some potential risks and no potential benefits," she said. "Even though the risks might be infinitesimal, the benefits are also infinitesimal."

Scientists and public health experts have discussed for the past couple years whether to pull B/Yamagata from the flu vaccine or wait for a possible reemergence, said Kevin R. McCarthy, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research. But McCarthy agrees that continuing to vaccinate people against B/Yamagata does not benefit public health.

Additionally, there is a slight chance of B/Yamagata accidentally infecting the workers who manufacture the flu vaccine. The viruses, grown in eggs, are inactivated before being put into the shots: You cannot get influenza from the flu shot. But worker exposure to live B/Yamagata might occur before it's rendered harmless.

That hypothetically could lead to a reintroduction of a virus that populations have waning immunity to because B/Yamagata is no longer making people sick. While that risk is very low, McCarthy said it doesn’t make sense to produce thousands of gallons of a likely extinct virus.

It is possible that B/Yamagata continues to exist in pockets of the world that have less comprehensive flu surveillance. However, scientists aren’t worried that it is hiding in animals because humans are the only host population for B lineage flu viruses.

Scientists determined that B/Yamagata disappeared in a relatively short period of time, and this in and of itself is a success, said McCarthy. That required collaboration and data sharing from people all over the world, including countries that the U.S. has more tenuous diplomatic relationships with, like China and Russia.

“I think the fact that we can do that shows that we can get some things right,” he said.

Sarah Boden is an independent health and science journalist based in Pittsburgh.

[pixierainbows]

Pixie had to get 2 vaccines , covid and flu .

Is absolutely not what Pixie want . but .

Pixie be good and go with guardian Librarian and not object very much .

And . Pixie be very good tolerate getting both …

Because . the reward is . go gluten free Bakery and !!! get lots very good fancy tasty treats !!

but Pixie is hurt so much arm hurting not feeling good and so not can go walking with caregiver :(

[mindblowingscience]

Researchers have opened a new avenue in the attack against influenza viruses by creating a vaccine that encourages the immune system to target a portion of the flu virus surface that is less variable. Their approach worked well in experiments with mice and ferrets and may lead to more broadly-protective influenza vaccines and less reliance on an annual shot tailored to that year’s versions of the virus. Even with vaccines, influenza kills about a half-million people each year around the world. This new vaccine approach, described in the journal Science Translational Medicine, is part of a five-year-old effort to develop a longer-lasting universal flu vaccine that would be able to foil all versions of the virus.

Continue Reading.

[arctic-hands]

I will forever despise people who defend chickenpox parties–even the ones that happened pre-vaccine.

Because some parents decided to send their poxy son to daycare when I was ten–pre the vaccine being widely available–I nearly died from shingles when my immune system completely collapsed six years later and I horrifically contracted an atypical case of shingles. The pustules were everywhere on my body–down my throat, up my genitals, ON MY INTERNAL ORGANS. My skin underneath the pustules turned green. I was in the worst pain of my life and delirious with a fever. My hometown E.R refused to look at me for "just chickenpox". My mom called the hospital an hour and a half away and they told her to get me there ASAP. After I got there, the E.R team said that had she waited just two more hours to leave I would have been dead on arrival. I was admitted to the PICU and given a PICC line, and even after I was discharged I was still hooked up to an IV pole with acyclovir going straight to my heart for MONTHS. My academic life never recovered and this is a contributing factor in my dropping out the next year. I still have pox scars on my chest.

In contrast, when I got chickenpox as a ten year old I just had a mild rash on my stomach for like a week. My mother was sensible enough to keep me home that week. The parents of that boy weren't sensible, and I paid the price for it.

Anyway if you're a parent who doesn't vaccinate your kids I hope you get them removed from your "care" for your atrocious neglect. That goes for all diseases we have vaccines for, like covid. And if you intentionally infect kids "to boost their immune systems" because you're too stupid to look up how vaccines work? I hope you get your ass beat.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario residents who are six months and older will be able to receive their free flu shot and the new COVID-19 vaccine starting on Monday.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced the immunization program rollout on Sunday, saying people should make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations to stay safe and healthy during the season when respiratory illnesses typically surge.

Full article

Note: This is in effect as of October 30th

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[hidefdoritos]

Reminder to get your health stabs!

My pharmacy had a flu shot poster up today, so I asked for that and a COVID booster. Then the pharmacist recommended a new vaccine for pneumonia. Since I have frequent lung illnesses and already survived pneumonia once, it was an easy choice.

I went at lunchtime, had a mild fever for a few hours, took a couple ibuprofen, and was fine by evening. My shoulder is tender, like I pulled a tricep, but overall well worth it.

[jangillman]

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A post shared by Pieter Shapes (@pietershapes)

Lying piece of 💩🤬🤬🤬

[dr-robert-chase-apologist]

Taking a break from my usual fandom posting to tell y'all to GET YOUR FLU SHOTS.

I am typing this with one arm double the size of the other, tucked up close by my body, because of the flu shot. I am allergic to it. Every year since I was 4, the flu shot has made me swell up near the injection site for days, sometimes even as long as two weeks. It looks like there's an egg under my skin, and I can feel the fluid moving when I walk.

And y'know what?

I STILL GET THE SHOT.

Because I would rather be in pain than spread the flu. Because there are people in my community who could die if they got the flu. And getting the vaccine is a simple precaution I can take to reduce their risk of getting the flu. I do not want their death (or life-threatening illness, or long-lasting complications, or even just unpleasant sickness) on my conscience.

Vaccines work. When everyone gets them, the herd immunity can protect those whose vaccines weren't as effective, or those who can't get a vaccine (like those with severe egg allergies).

Unless you will go into anaphylactic shock from a flu shot, or your doctor has told you not to get it, you should go get your shot. It protects you, and it protects the vulnerable people around you.

At least in the US, the flu shot is offered for FREE at many large supermarkets (ie Kroger) and pharmacies (ie CVS), in addition to clinics and vaccination drives run by organizations near you. For more information or if you don't live in the US, you can check with your county/other local government's website. They should have a page directing you to places to get vaccinations.

[raleydrew]

Someone, please help, I've been given shots and I'm dying

[thechronicpaingame]

Had my flu & covid vaccine yesterday afternoon and man are they hitting me hard this year. I think it's mostly the flu jab as I'm usually super and hit and miss with how it affects me. Covid I've always done okay with. Fever, aches, headache, crippling nausea, the whole 9 yards this year.

[im-adrienne]

The COVID and flu shots got me fucked up

Running a fever of 100.2, runny nose, wheezy, coughing, injection sites are hot, swollen and sore.

Feel like I got hit by a Mack truck. My hypermobile joints are SCREAMING.

This is why it's so important to get vaccinated because I do not want to get Covid or flu in full capacity. I really feel like Covid would take me out.

[idiotwithanipad]

Just got out from having my yearly flu jab and I can't stop laughing rn. It rained all day today so I got wet while walking up to the doctor's and I stupidly forgot to take off my headphones while getting the needle. My hoodie was wet so when I put my phone in the pocket it accidentally pulled up a video on my camera roll and proceeded to play through my headphones still clamped around my head. Idk how many of you have tried to hold back fits of laughter while in a doctor's office, while soaking wet, while pretending nothing is wrong, while being forced to listen to that which is making you want to howl while there's a fucking needle in your arm.

Said video I now have a vendetta against:

[dddemigirl]

Stupid American healthcare system!

I wasn’t able to get my vaccines today because my health insurance doesn’t cover it. I had to wait at CVS for an hour just to find that out.

[iibislintu]

lil badger got a 'flu shot

[ladyshivs]

anyway i’m being very brave because my arm always feels like it’s falling off after my flu shot but i get it every year and get to listen to my coworker vomit mildly racist conspiracy theories to justify herself not getting one (she gets the flu every year)

[snapthistiger]

get your flu 😷 shot..