Why is Influenza Dangerous?
The Influenza virus is an enveloped virus that causes symptoms such as fever, nasal congestion, a sore throat and a cough. While there have been many advances to protect us from influenza, it is still considered to be a lethal virus. This is due to the influenza’s ability to mutate and evade our immune system. The influenza virus contains two types of surface proteins called hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). These surface proteins are what trigger an immune response from our bodies. The virus mutates via Antigenic Drift, however, the changes are typically small, and with small changes to the virus our immune system is still able to protect us by using the same antibodies that we may have against a similar influenza virus. These small changes can eventually add up over time and result in an influenza virus that is much different than the influenza virus that our immune systems has defenses against (via the flu vaccine). Thus, individuals can still be susceptible to the flu even if they have already had it in the past. The results of antigenic drift is one reason why the flu can be so dangerous, because, each year as changes in the influenza virus occur, new vaccines must be made to keep up with this dynamic virus.
Should you get the Influenza Vaccine?
In todays climate there seems to be a large amount of hesitancy and uncertainty when it comes to getting the flu vaccine. This is evident with decreased vaccination rates in recent years. Some of the alleged reasons that people have given for not getting vaccinated or for choosing to not get their children vaccinated vary. A large amount of people avoid the flu vaccination because they believe that it is not effective. The effectiveness of the flu vaccine changes with each flu season as the influenza virus mutates and our immune systems are left vulnerable to getting the flu. While the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine varies each year, getting the vaccine is safer than giving your immune system no introduction to the influenza virus to your immune system. It was recently found that “vaccination reduces pediatric-influenza related deaths in healthy children by 65%.” This shows that people and parents should vaccinate themselves and their children in order to provide protection against the influenza virus.
How does non-vaccination affect others around you?
While not getting vaccinated is a choice that everyone has, it can be a dangerous to others. This is because others in you’re surrounding such as young babies who are immunocompromised and cannot get the vaccine could contract the virus from an individual who isn’t vaccinated and gets the flu. Additionally, behind the scenes, researchers are working hard to find a “universal flu vaccine” that would be able to work more than just one flu season. Ideally, it would also be able to provide protection against several variations of the influenza virus. There is also work being done to decrease the production time of vaccines, which is important because as of now vaccines in the Northern Hemisphere each October are based on strains from the previous February when the seasonal flu is still in action. This lag leaves time during which viruses can have changes that could allow them to bypass the vaccine. Thus, attempts to reduce production times, could lead to more effective flu vaccines.
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