If you don't mind my asking, what kind of nurse are you? Just curious.
Critical care/Intensive care is where my experience lies. I've had specific training related to caring for neuro trauma and cardio/thoracic surgical patients. I used to recover CABG/valve pts. My last job was as a Trauma Case Manager in a Level II Trauma Center. I have an ASN degree with a post-nursing-school bachelor's in Microbiology. To be clear, not epidemiology.
I'm an IM resident (to be clear). I've seen quite a bit of influenza this year. A few cases of H1N1 to boot. The ER's here are in full panic mode right now. With everyone with respiratory symptom getting Tamiflu despite normal screens.
We went through this in 2009. The ER I worked in back then actually had to set up special triage areas for respiratory cases. Was crazy... we're not at epidemic levels like that here (yet) so far as I know, but I've also been off work since before Thanksgiving and haven't been following the current state of things outside of what's printed in our local rag.
I find most of the reasons for NOT getting the Flu shot are cultural, anecdotal, and/or generally silly. It can commonly cause a mild reaction, which is common and can generally be avoided by taking some Tylenol with it.
Isn't your description of why those who don't get flu shots anecdotal as well? ("I find..." as bolded above) You find reasons for not getting one "silly" because your experience and training leads you to conclude that they're silly. I doubt the patients who refuse it find it so.
Anecdotal evidence shouldn't be discounted because what works with one person may differ from what empiric data suggests vis-a-vis the stated efficacy of the flu shot, the CDC's track record for getting the strain right, and the well-documented cases of reactions to it. Do most people get sick or have reactions to the flu shot? Probably not, but my 10 years+ of experience tells me that many do, and that some reactions are pretty severe.
Again, I'm not against vaccinations. Everyone in my immediate family has had their share of various vaccines and boosters since childhood. IMO, the CDC misses more often than not when determining prevalent strains for vaccine production. Further, efficacy is BEST CASE 50% and in some years it's less than 5%. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-capitalist in any sense, but much of the push to vaccinate is driven by money, BIG money, and I simply choose not to participate for a variety of reasons.
I agree that most people would be most helped by a healthy diet, quitting smoking, and regular exercise. I'm quite sure those surgical masks won't help much, and avoiding crowds is somewhat unrealistic for most.
It won't keep you from getting the flu. It does reduce the number of people who die from influenza.
The surgical mask requirements on employees are indeed a joke, mainly because facilities let family and friends come and go as they please when visiting patients and my experience tells me that most visitors are not flu-vaccinated. Overall, family and friends spend far more time with patients than any one, particular staff member does. Visitors are exempted because the hospitals don't want any more negative reflecting on their Press-Ganey scores. The mask mandate was actually handed down by the county's Public Health Chief on the recommendation of the CDC. Interestingly, the PH Chief in our county is an IM doc with little experience in epidemiology or infectious disease.
I wore a mask on the plane ride last year because I invariably get sick after I fly... I've had people sneeze and cough directly at me with no attempt to cover it and when you sit in such close proximity to so many as you do on a plane (with poor air circulation on top of it), my belief is that masks help some. Considering that the airborne and droplet producing vectors are the most common for transmitting flu pathogens, masks certainly won't hurt when combined with meticulous hand-washing.
Many may not be able to avoid crowds, but many can. When I have to be around a lot of people during flu season, such as the trip to Costco I'm making later, I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my pocket, I wash my hands regularly, and I don't spend any more time in such places than I have to.
I won't argue that the flu vaccine reduces the number of people who die from the disease. All vaccines have that benefit. I'm not a researcher or statistician, but it'd be interesting to see what comorbidities those who died from the flu had when they contracted the disease.
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