Here's why your flu vaccination helps you and others to stay safe and healthy

Now is the time to be doing all we can to strengthen our immune systems and to protect ourselves and our loved ones from both COVID-19 and any flu strains.

How serious is the flu - can it cause severe illness?

For some people, contracting the flu can result in very serious illness. This includes children under the age of 5 with the highest risk for those younger than 2, people over the age of 65, pregnant women and people with underlying have chronic illnesses.

Here's what you need to know:

Most people who get flu have mild illness with symptoms like fever, a dry cough, headaches, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose and generally feeling unwell. However, for some people getting flu can be serious or even deadly. Up to 5 million people across the world and 45 000 South Africans get severe flu illness each year that causes bronchitis or pneumonia, and almost half of these people need to be hospitalised.

Being vaccinated against the flu directly protects us from flu-related complications and saves lives. Having our flu vaccination decreases the likelihood of severe illness especially for those at high risk.

What can we do to stay safe and healthy against flu and COVID-19?

• Adhere to preventive measures, hand hygiene and physical distancing.
• Look out for the availability of the flu vaccine at your local healthcare provider or pharmacy in our network, and have your vaccination as soon as you can.

Does the timing of my flu vaccination matter?

To get the full benefits of the flu vaccination, you want to have it before the flu season hits, ideally in April as it becomes available. However, it will still offer you protection against serious flu even if you have it at any point during the flu season.

Can I have both a flu vaccination and a COVID-19 vaccination?

You can. Clinical guidance suggests that we should space the flu vaccination and the COVID-19 vaccination approximately two weeks apart. Keep in mind that each vaccination provides a degree of immunity against the specific illness it's been designed to protect against. The flu vaccination cannot protect against anything but the flu. COVID-19 vaccinations only protect against COVID-19.

Can I get flu from a flu vaccination?

Flu vaccines have been in use since the 1950s and are perfectly safe. The flu vaccine contains dead (inactivated) flu viruses, so it cannot give you the flu. The inactivated viruses simply enable your body to develop the antibodies needed to fight the flu. Your arm may feel a bit sore where you were injected, and some people get a mild fever and aching muscles for a couple of days afterwards, but serious reactions are very rare.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the flu vaccine is about 50-70% effective in preventing the flu, but if you do get sick having had the flu vaccination will decrease the severity of infection.

Why do we need flu vaccinations every year?

Flu viruses are constantly adapting and changing and as a result the immune response developed against a specific strain of flu may not always offer protection against a new strain. This means that last year's vaccine will not be effective against this year's flu. That is why new flu vaccines are released every year to try to keep up with changes to the new flu strains that are most prevalent that year. That is also why you need a new vaccination each year. The vaccination usually provides protection for the duration of the flu season for that year.

The above information was compiled by our administrator Discovery Health. Where applicable Anglo Medical Scheme (AMS) specific information was added.

Published: April 2021.