What is the flu?
This is a disease caused by influenza viruses. Influenza viruses infect the nasal cavity, upper respiratory tract, pharynx and lungs. The flu spreads easily and can cause serious illness, especially in young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma or diabetes).
What are the symptoms of flu?
Flu symptoms may include:
In most cases, the recovery process takes from several days to two weeks.
How dangerous is the flu? What complications are possible?
Millions of children get the flu every year, and thousands of them are hospitalized. The CDC estimates that since 2010, between 7,000 and 28,000 children younger than 5 years of age have been hospitalized in the United States with the flu. Children with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, nervous system disorders) and children younger than 5 years of age are at greatest risk of hospitalization due to influenza illness.
Adults at risk can experience complications from the flu (such as pneumonia) that can lead to hospitalization and even death. Mild complications of the flu include sinus infections (sinusitis) and ear infections (otitis media). Pneumonia ("inflammation of the lungs") is a serious complication of the flu, which can be caused either by the flu virus alone or by co-infection, i.e. a mixed infection caused by the flu virus and bacteria. Other possible serious complications of the flu include:
An infection of the respiratory tract caused by the influenza virus can cause an excessive inflammatory reaction in the body and lead to sepsis ("blood infection") - an extremely dangerous reaction of the body to infection. Influenza can also aggravate the patient's chronic diseases. For example, individuals with asthma may have asthma attacks, and individuals with chronic cardiovascular disease may experience increased symptoms when they have the flu.
Who belongs to occupational and medical risk groups?
How can you get infected?
Influenza is spread through the air: an infected person spreads virus particles with droplets of mucus or saliva when they sneeze, cough, or talk to other people at close range (less than 1.5 m). A less common way of infection is contact, when a person touches an infected surface and then his mouth or nose.
Infected individuals can shed the virus and infect others from the first day of symptoms until day 5-7 of the disease. In children, as well as in adults with a severe course of the disease, the infectious period may be longer.
How to protect yourself from the flu?
Today, the most effective means of preventing influenza is vaccination. It is held annually, every epidemic season. The vaccine includes 3-4 strains of flu that will circulate in a particular season. Children aged 6 months to 9 years who are being vaccinated against influenza for the first time need two doses of the vaccine with a minimum interval of 1 month (and continue to receive one dose annually), all others - one dose of the vaccine (and continue to be vaccinated annually). The most effective vaccination is before the beginning of the epidemic season (October - mid-November). However, if you did not have time to get vaccinated before the episeason, it is still worth doing. After all, even after getting sick with one strain of flu, you remain vulnerable to others. And even if you are already in the incubation period of the flu, vaccination will not worsen the course of the disease. Moreover, it can facilitate its course, acting as an emergency vaccination
Can you get the flu from a flu shot?
No, it's impossible. All vaccines used in Ukraine are inanimate, so they do not contain a living causative agent of the disease and are not capable of causing it. On the contrary, the flu vaccination protects against the disease.
However, it is necessary to take into account the fact that in some cases post-vaccination reactions (fever and related general malaise) can be confused with flu symptoms. Usually, reactions to the introduction of inanimate vaccines are observed in the first 72 hours after vaccination and pass on their own. Also, take into account that it takes at least 2 weeks for immunity to develop after vaccination. So, theoretically, during this time, you can catch the flu (although in this case, there is a possibility that the vaccination will work as an emergency, and the disease will progress more easily). It is also worth understanding that many people call any viral disease, "cold" with a runny nose, cough and (or) symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract "flu". After contracting any viral infection, patients may believe that it happened "because of the vaccine" or that they got the flu despite the vaccination. However, the flu vaccine only protects against a few strains of the flu virus, not any viruses at all.
Do I need to get the flu shot if I'm pregnant?
Yes. Changes in the functioning of your immune, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems during pregnancy increase your risk of severe flu. Therefore, pregnant women are recommended to be vaccinated against influenza. If possible, it should be done before the end of October to ensure the most optimal protection against the flu. You can get vaccinated against the flu in any trimester of pregnancy. Your vaccination can also protect your newborn baby from the flu. (The mother transfers protective antibodies to the baby during pregnancy).
Why should my child get a flu shot?
Flu vaccine:
Which flu strains are most likely to circulate in the northern hemisphere in the 2024-2025 season?
Due to constant antigenic changes of the influenza virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) annually updates its recommendations on the composition of the influenza vaccine. Thus, for the prevention of influenza in the upcoming 2023-2024 season, the following antigenic composition is proposed for the quadrivalent vaccine against influenza viruses that are likely to circulate in the northern hemisphere:
It is these strains that will be part of the quadrivalent influenza vaccines that will be used this episeason.
Is the flu vaccination included in the National Vaccination Calendar?
Currently, vaccination against influenza in Ukraine is recommended, that is, it is carried out at the patient's own expense. The vaccine can be purchased at a pharmacy and administered at the communal medical facility where you are served, on the referral of a family doctor or pediatrician, or you can sign up for vaccination at a private medical facility. Also, thanks to the support of international partners, the state has the opportunity to provide free influenza vaccination to medical workers .
What influenza vaccines are currently available on the commercial market of Ukraine?
In the 2024-25 season, two non-live 4-valent influenza vaccines are available for purchase in Ukraine: Gysi Flu Quadrivalent and Vaxigrip Tetra.
According to which schedule is it necessary to get vaccinated against influenza?
Children aged 6 months to 9 years who are vaccinated against influenza for the first time should receive 2 doses of the vaccine with a minimum interval of 1 month. All others - children and adults - 1 dose (in the future, it must be repeated every year).
What are the contraindications and precautions for influenza vaccination?
Inactivated influenza vaccine is not administered to a patient with a documented severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock) to a previous dose of this vaccine or with a confirmed severe allergic reaction to one of the components of this vaccine (except egg white ). Precautions include an acute illness of moderate or severe severity with a fever of 38 C: in this case, the vaccination is postponed until the condition stabilizes. (Mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing or "residual" cough are not grounds for postponing vaccination). Guillain-Barre syndrome, manifested up to 6 weeks after the previous dose of the flu vaccine , is also a precaution against influenza vaccination .
Can people with an egg protein allergy be vaccinated against the flu?
Yes. Patients with egg protein allergy can be safely immunized against influenza in the same way as all other patients, without following special administration protocols (see MOH order 2070 , clause 5.5.2).
Is it too late to get vaccinated against the flu in January?
No. After all, even after getting sick with one strain of flu, you remain vulnerable to other strains and can get protection against them. Flu season in the Northern Hemisphere usually lasts from October to April, so there is still time to develop immunity against the disease.