Myths About Flu and What Is True?

Myths about Flu and What is True?

 Protect yourself and others too against flu:

Flu spreads rapidly. Approximately one in three people infected with the flu virus don’t show any symptoms BUT they can still spread flu to other people. Protecting yourself from flu by being vaccinated can also help protect your family, friends, colleagues and patients.

 Flu is just a bad cold:

Flu can cause severe cold like symptoms to include high temperature, sore throat, shivering and generalised weakness. In healthy people flu is unpleasant and can take up to two weeks to recover from however it can cause far more serious complications and potentially life threatening diseases. Flu is not only dangerous to the elderly and people with underlying medical conditions for example diabetes and heart disease; it can affect healthy people too.

 Flu vaccine makes you ill:

Flu vaccination does not give you Flu as it does not contain any live viruses. The most common side effect from flu vaccination is pain; swelling and redness at the injection site, less common symptoms include high temperature, tiredness, headache, shivering, muscle and joint pain. These symptoms usually resolve within two days. If the symptoms were to persist you should seek advice from your GP. Following vaccination protection should be achieved within fourteen days.  Vaccines don’t work:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) makes recommendations for the Winter Flu strains for the following season each year. In 2014/15 the Flu vaccine provided limited protection. This was due to a mismatch between the strain selected for the vaccine and the actual circulating strain. It is important to know that this occurs rarely. Vaccinations cannot offer total protection against flu however Public Health England state Flu vaccine is still the best protection against an unpredictable Flu virus that can cause severe illness and deaths each year.

 Flu vaccinations are available for all health care workers from 28 th September 2015. Please see your peer vaccinator or drop into a clinic.

Dates for clinics can be found on Flu intranet page http://nuth-vintranet1/cms/GeneralInformation/Influenza.aspx

To show just how quickly flu can spread in a hospital environment please watch this video.