A virus is an organism in which it needs to find a host to have the ability to replicate and prosper. One of the most popular viruses that are usually around during the cold months of the year is Influenza, causing the Flu illness.
The Flu is special in it’s own way because it has a unique way of structuring and it has many different strains that are created everyday. A Flu virus genome, or the set of genetics to make up the organism, has eight different segments in which allows the ability for the virus to continue into an antigenic shift during viral replication and reproduction. This process causes completely new genomes to be created by genome segments from two unique Flu viruses. The production of antigenic shift creates a new strain of the virus and depending on the different parts of the new genome, it can be unique from any other type of Influenza. The virus also has the ability to find a new host, able to pick up different mutations and segments from the organism, clarifying how quickly the virus can change and how unique each strain can become from the other.
In which this virus can go through this process, means it can be either benign or extremely dangerous since the virus is able to change so severely from year to year. The Flu pandemic of 1918, also known as the Spanish Flu after the First World War, was a major turning point for the advancement in Flu vaccinations. After 50 million people had died from the virus in 1918, more people than who actually died from the Great War, people were devastated and ready to find a vaccination to cure the disease. New technology and new advancements always lead to controversy. In this case, people are so debatable on the Flu vaccination today because of the differences in the virus that spark up every year.
People will argue that the Flu vaccination is dangerous and causes side effects that are not worth it, yet they are wrong; the Flu vaccine may have side effects, but it is not worth jeopardizing your health by not becoming immune to the illness while the side effects are nothing near as harmful as Influenza itself. Influenza, caused by the flu virus, is a quite dangerous and contagious respiratory illness that can be harmful and sometimes fatal. Anybody can become sick of the virus, whether they are healthy or not. The type of segments that make up the virus are very meaningful to define whether or not the virus is dangerous. The Influenza virus usually approaches one’s system suddenly and causes possible symptoms such as, fever, cough, sore throat, congested nose, body and muscle aches, fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting. The flu virus is also very harmful because it can cause chronic health problems to be worse and more fatal. The symptoms of the virus usually won’t last any longer than two weeks, but it still can be very dangerous because the virus can turn into something else more harmful. These extra illnesses that can caboose the flu are called complications.
These complications consist of pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections. Beside the alarming factor of the complications, there is another petrifying factor, the spreading of the Influenza virus. The virus is spread when one who is ill of the disease coughs, sneezes or talks and droplets form and move from their person and land in others space causing them to become ill.
Or, another way that’s a little bit more uncommon, a person touches a surface with the virus on it and then infects themselves by touching their face, mouth or eyes. The virus is very unpredictable, causing the most controversy out of the vaccination topic. Many people will tell you all of the negative arguments and try to convince you not to become vaccinated while it’s much safer than putting your health at risk. Not all people should be vaccinated. Some people are allergic to eggs, causing an allergic reaction to the flu vaccine. The reaction can occur up to a couple hours after getting the shot. The symptoms of the allergic reaction to the vaccine are hives, swelling, trouble breathing, dizziness, fast heart rate and weakness.
These symptoms are obviously much more dangerous than the regular side effects as for someone without the allergy. These symptoms can be severe causing emergency visits and possible fatality. Of course this is only for people with the allergy so others without it will most likely not get any symptoms, and if they do, they are much less severe than the real flu symptoms. Also to oppose, there is a possibility of becoming diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. This rare chance of occurring usually happens to the people who have had this condition in the past.
This is a condition that is uncommon, the symptoms consist throughout your body of weakness and paralysis. Allergic reactions are obviously not fun and neither is the Flu. The best bet for somebody with an allergy might just have to talk to their doctor about it and find an alternative way for immunization. On the other hand, the Guillain-Barré syndrome is still a possibility for those who have had history with it, so they should not deal with the vaccination and find another way to be treated. During the 2016-17 Flu season, there was nearly the same number as half of the United States population vaccinated.
Out of those 145. 9 million people, only about one to two percent of the 146 million actually had a fever as a side effect. That’s less than 1. 5 million of the 146 million people. This data shows that the small side effects, that rarely happen, are much less dangerous than having true Influenza symptoms.
Also a mild side effect that will most likely not happen is a much safer path than risking your chances of actually become sick of the illness. Another topic people will argue over is whether or not the government distributes these Flu vaccinations to the public to make people more susceptible to the flu itself. They are wrong.
The Flu shot consists of a inactivated Influenza virus, which can not infect anybody, therefore there is no possibility of it. The reason to get a Flu shot is to become immune to the unforeseeable disease, obviously, and people are blinded by that. As the Flu shot is taking place, the Influenza viruses are killed from the ingredients in the vaccination and they can not infect or replicate much longer after the vaccine sets in. A fortnight, or in other words half a month, is the estimated time it takes for somebody to reach full immunization after getting the Flu vaccination.
So it is possible to get the flu during those two weeks, but it is not from the shot. Once upon a time, somebody got the Flu immediately after the Flu shot and argued that it was caused by the vaccination. They were absolutely wrong and then it was proven that it was coincidental.
