Dr. Sheila Baker wants students to get their influenza vaccinations.

Baker, Health Services Medical Director, said flu season is in full swing at Eastern.

The flu is a contagious disease caused by the influenza virus, which can spread from person to person through the nose or throat by those infected.

The flu is often mistaken for a severe cold, but Baker says there are simple ways of differentiating between the two.

“With colds you get stuffy and runny noses or maybe have a little fever and some minor aches and pains,” she said. “But the flu hits you very quickly with some fairly significant symptoms such as severe body aches, sever headaches and high fevers, which is a little uncommon for the common cold.”

Stronger flu cases can hospitalize and even kill their victims and can lead to lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

Another common misconception among people is that some believe that the flu shot can give you the virus or is ineffective against it, but this is not the case.

The vaccination for the virus is actually made from a dead or an inactive virus making it impossible to catch the virus from the vaccine.

One thing Baker says people don’t realize is that the vaccine only protects against the influenza virus, itself, and not against other viruses.

“Many people may be protected by the flu virus when they get their shot, but they may be susceptible to other colds or even other bacterial infections throughout the year,” Baker said.

“And I think people then equate it to, ‘Well I got sick. So the flu shot didn’t work or the flu shot must’ve gotten me sick.'”

The flu vaccine isn’t always 100 percent effective at protecting against the virus, but just getting a flu shot can help to reduce symptoms, said Baker.

“In other words your body will have better immunity towards it, and it’ll be able to fight it off more readily, and you’ll have fewer symptoms,” She said.

But sometimes there are other reasons why the vaccine doesn’t work. Sometimes there is a mismatch in the ingredients used for the virus due to anticipation of another strain of the virus that comes through.

“You think you’ve chosen the right ingredients to kill this upcoming virus, but it’s not quite right. So people get the flu shot, but the strain of flu that comes through the area is not quite the same, and people still get sick,” Baker said.

Some might think that it’s too late to get the flu shot during this time, but as long as someone is still healthy it isn’t too late; however, not everyone can get the shot.

The vaccination is also made using eggs.

“If you have an egg allergy or had an allergic reaction to the flu shot before, then you shouldn’t get it,” Baker said.

For those that are allergic to the shot there are alternatives. There is a second kind of vaccination that is a spray, containing a live virus. Other medications include inhalers, such as Rulenza, and pills, such as Tamiflu.

Shots can be obtained for free at Eastern’s health services while supplies are available.

Many students like Andrew Dalton, a history major, have not taken advantage of the free vaccination and have already had the flu.

“I don’t really think about the flu that much,” Dalton said. “I didn’t know that the school was giving them out for free.”

Other students like Neal Stack, an undecided major, don’t really care too much to get the shot.

“I already had the flu this year,” Stack said. “I know they’re free, but I don’t really care too much. I wasn’t that sick.”

Michael Schwader can be reached at 581-7942 or at mwschwader@eiu.edu.

(Drawn from the news/Andrew Hicks)

(more…)