Why Should I Get a Flu Shot?

According to the New York State Department of Health (DOH), achieving and sustaining high influenza vaccination coverage among health care personnel will protect staff and their patients, and reduce disease burden and health-care costs. That’s why New York is one of the many states enacting a mandatory influenza immunization (or formal refusal) for health care workers. Yet despite the benefits and availability of the vaccine, many health care personnel have concerns and misconceptions about it, just as many other people do. Whether you are a health care worker or not, debunking the myths about influenza vaccine will enable you to make an educated decision:

Will I get the flu from the flu shot?

According to the DOH, this is not possible. If you had a flu shot previously and have gotten sick, you may have gotten sick for several reasons:

You may have already been sick when you got the vaccine (but didn’t have any symptoms yet).

 You may be infected with the flu after vaccination, but before the vaccine has had time to fully protect you (it takes two weeks for the vaccine to fully protect you).

 Other germs besides flu are around and can cause you to feel sick like the flu, but it isn’t the flu.

Is the flu vaccine safe?

Absolutely! Reactions include redness or soreness at the injection site. Other illness is rare.

Why should I get a flu shot?

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death. If you are a healthy adult, you could be carrying the disease and infect others. This is why health care workers have an obligation to protect their patients and get a flu shot. Furthermore, if you get the flu shot but still get sick with flu, the symptoms may be much less severe.

Who should get vaccinated?

According to the CDC, people who:

 are aged 6 months through 4 years (59 months);

 are aged 50 years and older;

 have chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, neurologic, hematologic or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);

 are immunosuppressed (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus);

 are or will be pregnant during the influenza season;

 are aged 6 months through 18 years and receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who therefore might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection;

 are residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities;

 are American Indians/Alaska Natives;

 are morbidly obese (body-mass index is 40 or greater);

 are health-care personnel;

 are household contacts and caregivers of children aged younger than 5 years and adults aged 50 years and older, with particular emphasis on vaccinating contacts of children aged younger than 6 months;

 are household contacts and caregivers of persons with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for severe complications from influenza.

Who should not be vaccinated?

 People younger than 6 months of age

 People who have had Guillain-Barre syndrome

 People who are sick at the time

 People allergic to eggs must opt for an egg-free vaccine

Special note for health care workers:

The DOH notes the following: “The New York State Department of Health, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Association for Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, the Gates Foundation, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the Department of Health of the United Kingdom, UNICEF and many other reliable organizations around the world all agree vaccines are safe and they save lives. This is why health care workers are strongly urged to be vaccinated. We have an obligation to protect our patients and the public. Flu shots are one way in which we can.” References Centers for Disease Control (2013).

Key facts about seasonal flu. New York State, DOH, (2013). Flu shots.

To find an excellent doctor who is right for you, make an appointment with a Mount Sinai Doctors physician. With extended hours and same-day appointments often available, it’s a convenient location to get your flu shot.

Eradicating Cervical Cancer

As an oncologist, I am often confronted with patients with advanced gynecologic malignancies with limited successful options to cure them. The success of treating and curing patients with cancer depends not only on the skills and technologies, it is very much dependent on the patients and the stage of their diseases. Too often, we are not able to detect these malignancies early because we do not know what causes the disease and there are no early detection tests so that by the time a patient is in my office, the disease is at an advanced stage. Cervical cancer, however, is one of the few gynecologic malignancies that we know is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that can be detected by a simple pap smear. Furthermore, cervical cancer can be prevented with an HPV vaccination.

(more…)

Flu Myths vs. Facts

Dr. Cindy Feely

In my daily practice at Primary Care Associates, I get asked many questions about the flu and the flu vaccine. Despite improved access to accurate, responsible information in the media and on the web, a number of myths about the flu and the vaccine still exist. So here it is, point-by-point, information for you to make informed choices for your healthcare.

Myth #1: The flu vaccine gives you the flu

Facts: The vaccine, including this year’s version, consists of a dead virus which cannot infect you. What it can do is make your body produce the antibodies necessary to fight that virus if you come in contact with a live version of it. The live virus is included in the Flu Mist – a nasal spray, not an injection – but it is engineered so that it will not make you sick.

Myth #2: If you weren’t vaccinated by November, there’s no point in getting it now

Facts: While we are seeing a large number of cases right now, the flu often doesn’t hit its peak until February or even March. And while it does take two weeks to be fully effective, the vaccine will help lessen the severity if you do get the flu.

Myth #3: There’s no treatment for the flu

(more…)

The Flu Epidemic: What YOU can do

Influenza has officially reached epidemic proportions in several regions of the United States. Approximately 7.3% of deaths (exceeding the 7.2% threshold) are now attributed to pneumonia and the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionMount Sinai is taking a number of actions in order to continue to provide optimal care to all of our patients and to protect our patients and staff from exposure to influenza.

What can you do to protect yourself and others from influenza?

  • It’s not too late to get vaccinated. Click here to make an appointment online with one of our primary care doctors or call 212-241-6585
  • Dr. Prarthana Beuria recommends being vigilant about washing hands every time you’re out in public and around lots of people, whether in the subway or at the office, and to avoid touching your face with your hands.
  • If you have the flu, Dr. Beuria recommends that you “stay home from work until the fever has been gone for 24 hours. If people around you have compromised immune systems, stay away.”

Click here to view the full infographic

  Aquí está la influenza gráfica en Español

Who is at risk of getting the flu?

(more…)

Pin It on Pinterest