One day during the end of September, my sister had came from student teaching to share the details of her day. She explained that some of her students were coughing during class and she was afraid that they may be getting sick. That’s when it happened. “Achoo!” It was the first sign of the 2015 flu season. Brace yourselves. Get ready for fever, cough, sore throat, muscle pain, and headache. Mix that with a tightly packed college community during midterms and finals and you have a toxic mess waiting to blow over. There is an antidote: an annual flu vaccination.
In order to first actually get vaccinated to build a healthier community, I understand that patients must be informed as to what exactly they are being given with their vaccine and what the vaccine is for. There has recently been a lot of information circulating that vaccinations do not work and cause other health issues. This is actually a common misconception among KSU students, as I found out from running a health fair at Marietta Campus.
Earlier in this semester, I was doing a myth-buster approach to sharing knowledge about the truth about the flu vaccine on the Marietta campus, and one of the questions at my table was asking whether or not flu vaccines are helpful. Many of the students who believed that flu vaccines are dangerous explained that flu vaccines must be dangerous because that contain the influenza virus within the vaccine.
Yes, the flu vaccine does contain a part of different strains of the influenza virus. However, as I have learned through taking biology and genetics courses as part of my pre-med major concentration, the virus is engineered and deactivated so that it can help the body build antibodies to help fight against that specific form of the virus without letting the virus be active and harm the body. Thus, the vaccine provides active acquired immunity from popular strains of the flu. The flu vaccine is a method of prevention rather than you getting the flu and dealing with the symptoms and stress later on.
Another issue among KSU students is that many students explained to me that they do not believe in the flu shot because they received the shot and then got the flu anyway. The reason behind this is that the flu shot can only prevent the most common strains of influenza, not all strains.
If you get vaccinated today but go to your dorm to find that your roommate has a different strain of the flu and they do not practice healthy habits such as washing their hands frequently, there is a chance that you will get the flu. Again, it is important that you have healthy habits to prevent this situation. It is not fair that you get vaccinated, and your roommate still gets you sick from his or her poor health habits.
In order to get a stronger and healthier community, especially on a college campus where we have other health issues to deal with such as stress and nutrition, I think it is best that everyone get vaccinated. There will always be that person who coughs into their hands, doesn’t wash their hands or just simply brings their germs into your bubble. Your family can get vaccinated and your roommates can get vaccinated, but only you have the ability to do what your body needs to keep itself strong in the face of illness and disease. Getting vaccinated not only protects you but also those around you and in your community who have also been vaccinated.
