A Flu Vaccine is the Perfect Holiday Gift - http://clapway.com/2015/12/04/flu-vaccine-perfect-holiday-gift123/

The National Influenza Vaccination Week runs from December 6th to 12th to encourage the community to get a flu vaccine. Despite the mixed opinions shared by the public, it’s important to stay healthy this holiday season. With the late onset of winter this year, a flu vaccine could be the difference between Christmas with family or in bed.

The Flu Vaccine is Pivotal During the Holidays

It’s important to get the flu vaccine before winter sets in, since thousands upon thousands of people will be traveling with the Holidays fast approaching. This makes people without the flu vaccine especially vulnerable.

Flu season reaches a peak on February, and the CDC has advised that the best way to keep the flu at bay is to get vaccinated every year, which is why they host the Flu Vaccination Week. Throughout this event, the CDC and the Department of Public Health will review the importance of vaccinations and good health habits like hand washing, avoiding contact with the eyes during the peak of flu season, as well as how to treat those who have contracted the flu.

Not Getting the Flu Vaccine Does More Bad than Good

There have been mixed opinions on the effectiveness of the flu shot, but the CDC maintains that it is the safest way to shield people from the flu. Anyone over 6 months old is strongly advised to receive the vaccine, especially pregnant women, people over 50, people with chronic health problems and people who live in long term care facilities.

Health Workers Should Also Protect Themselves

People who work in health care and caregivers are also strongly encouraged to get the flu vaccine. The general public should view the flu vaccine as an early holiday present to their health, as it is best to stay healthy than to spend the holidays bedridden or nursing flu symptoms, which include fevers, chills, even pneumonia and bronchitis.

 

 

A Flu Vaccine is the Perfect Holiday Gift

Ohio Makes People Belive They Need A Flu Vaccine - http://clapway.com/2015/11/29/ohio-suggests-people-to-take-a-flu-vaccine123/

The season that nobody looks forward to is alive and well, flu and cold season. Thousands of people across the world get sick every year and, unfortunately, some end up dying from whatever sickness they have. The flu vaccine is always recommended by doctors and health officials, but it is safe to say not everyone takes it and believes in it.

Image: PhotoLizM

WHY SO MANY DO NOT TAKE THE FLU VACCINE

As the Franklin County Health Commissioner for Ohio Susan Tilgner states, many people do not take the flu vaccine because they claim that they never get sick. Tilgner states that people simply underestimate the flu and the massive problems that it can cause. She continues and says that for these people who finally get it, that it just simply takes everything out of you. There was actually a survey taken by Truven Health Analytics and National Public Radio that revealed that 48 percent of the people who participated said they would not get the flu vaccine because they deemed it unnecessary. Also, the survey revealed that only a startling 16 percent of the people were worried about the side effects. What Tilgner was mainly trying to say to these naysayers out there was even though they do not get sick, if they do get sick they will regret not taking the flu vaccine. She also went on record as to warn people that if they did not take the vaccine this year that they could get nailed this year.

SO, IS THE FLU VACCINE NECESSARY

There is no denying that the flu is a lethal sickness that can lead to death if it is serious enough. However, is the flu vaccine really worth it? The author of this article never takes it and has not had the flu in years, knock on wood. There have also been various stories around the web that have stated that people who get the vaccine, immediately get the flu. It then has to be considered that the flu vaccine can be risky to take. The choice is yours, are you going to get a flu vaccine shot this year?

Ohio Makes People Belive They Need A Flu Vaccine

Are We on the Brink of a Universal Flu Vaccine? #theflu #fluseason #fluvaccine - http://clapway.com/2015/08/25/universal-flu-vaccine123/

Two independent studies have devised a method to target multiple strains of the flu virus using a single vaccine. This universal flu vaccine strategy could soon prevent the need for seasonal flu shots. The Scripps Research Institute and the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson collaborated on one of the studies, whereas the second study was conducted by the Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH.

The universal flu vaccine targets the part of the virus that remains unchanged across multiple strains

When designing a vaccine to a virus, features that separate the identification of one virus from another virus are built into the antigen. This process, though specific for that particular virus, renders the vaccine useless against slightly different strains of the virus. This is the case of our regular flu vaccines that need to be regularly updated because of minor-but-constant changes in their virulent strains. A hypothetical universal flu vaccine should therefore have a molecular characteristic common to most flu viruses, for it to be effective.

Vaccine uses the invariable parts of a commonly expressed protein called hemagglutinin

The influenza virus expresses proteins on its surface called hemagglutinins. These proteins are expressed in all subtypes of the flu virus, and are the virus’ gateway to the human cells. Mutations in this protein allow the virus to keep evading detection by vaccines. The hemagglutinins are tethered to the human cell with a stem-like region, which was discovered to be surprisingly unchanged across various strains. Scientists in both the studies therefore aimed at developing a vaccine containing the invariable stem region of hemagglutinin.

The vaccines were successful in rodents and nonhuman primates⎯a step closer to humans

In the Scripps study, the scientists successfully stabilized the hemagglutinin antigen without the head and delivered it to rodents and nonhuman primates. They found that the antigen elicited antibodies that bind to the vaccine components the same way they would bind a virus. This effect was seen over many subtypes of the virus, even in the bird-flu (H5N1) strain. The study at the NIH used a similar stem-specific antigen on iron nanoparticles to deliver the vaccine. They found a similar activity in mice and ferrets across flu subtypes and the H5N1 strain.

The prototype universal flu vaccine has so far shown remarkable effects in animals. Though, they have to undergo multiple trials in humans to be successful, this is definitely one step closer to a life-long protection from the flu virus.

Learn more about other universal flu vaccine strategies

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Staying hydrated is the key to also staying healthy. Sometimes you just need a little reminder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwnF1BfXqlA

Are We on the Brink of a Universal Flu Vaccine?

Protecting against the #flu would make everyone"s #winter a much better #season. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/22/universal-flu-vaccine-may-save-humans-from-next-influenza-pandemics-234/

Scientists are joining forces to develop a new universal flu vaccine able to protect humans from all strains of this constantly mutating virus. The vaccine has already shown to offer significant protection in mice.

A universal flu vaccine

Though scientists still have to test whether the vaccine is safe and revolutionary in humans — clinical trials could begin in about a year — they hope the vaccine could prevent both seasonal flu and future influenza pandemics.

“We think this is a very simple, practical, straightforward approach to trying to make a vaccine that might offer broad protection in humans,” said study researcher Jeff Taubenberger, a pathologist and infectious-disease specialist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Save lives, dollars in next flu outbreak

Each year, scientists create a flu vaccine that protects against a few specific influenza strains. New vaccines must match the particular viruses that are circulating, such as H1N1, for them to offer protection.

Different strains of the flu virus can mix and match their genes to make news combinations. They mutate quickly and are able to evade the immunity from vaccines thus having significant impact of morbidity and mortality. These factors explain why the 2015 flu shot for instance didn’t work as well as hoped as the dominant flu strain’s genetic code changed.

Because vaccines are unlikely to protect against a “divergent strain” of the flu virus, or a new pandemic, scientists are developing a so-called “universal” vaccine, saving humans from a wide variety of lethal influenza.

“What we have done is design a strategy where you don’t have to think about matching the vaccine antigen to the virus at all,” Taubenberger explained.

A pre-pandemic vaccine

Researchers used a virus-like particle “vaccine cocktail” that expressed a handful of different subtypes of a key surface protein of the influenza virus. They hoped that the different viral proteins could stimulate the development of “cross-protective immunity” against multiple subtypes. To do so, researchers picked specific subtypes (H1, H3, H5 and H7) that have been the major causes of human seasonal flu outbreaks since 1918 and recent bird flu epidemics.

Overall, they said there are 16 different hemagglutinin subtypes that circulate in birds and are thought to be the basis for current and future influenza pandemics.

Successful in protecting mice

In a series of experiments, the researchers found that 95% of mice vaccinated with the “vaccine cocktail” were protected against a lethal challenge with eight different influenza strains expressing seven different influenza. Almost all of the animals that were vaccinated survived.

Additional experiments showed that the flu vaccine was durable; effective for at least 6 months, and that it worked well in older mice. The study was first published in the journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

What do you think of this new universal flu vaccine and future influenza pandemics? Share your views in the comments section below.

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“Universal” Flu Vaccine May Save Humans From Next Influenza Pandemics