Get Vaccinated!

I felt like posting something (and procrastinating on my late essay hehe) and I only have one post in my medical nerd tag LOL So here's some of my homework from my microbio class~ Not exactly the homework but just what I learned overall and summarized in a few paragraphs. I learn so much in that class omg. I love learning about medical terminology <3

**DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert on vaccinations. This is just a few things I learned in class from my professor that has a doctorate degree. Technically students address her as "Dr." and not "Professor". Just sayin... Also, this is my opinion. Don't take it so personally if vaccines aren't for you. Just don't be near me during flu season.**

I cannot stress how important it is to get vaccinated. You literally put yourself and other people at danger if you don't get vaccinated because you're more susceptible to getting the virus that causes influenza. There is a significant distinction between getting the flu and having a cold. With a cold, you're able to function. Not properly because you know coughing and a having a stuffy nose but you can still walk, go to school, go to work, eat, and all the events people do in their daily lives. However, you cannot possibly function when you have the flu. Influenza will drive your body into extreme exhaustion and will leave you feeling fatigued. Plus you have a fever, feel headaches, and bodily aches and pains so... yeah. Drastic difference there. I can't imagine someone wanting to get up with all those symptoms occurring at the same time.

Now, people will bring in the argument that even though they've been vaccinated, they still got sick.

Scenario 1: A woman said that she got the stomach flu despite being vaccinated a few days before.

Vaccinations take about two weeks to kick in. You have to let the dead virus or whatever is in the vaccine to multiply and then get into effect. Also, there is a difference between a bacterial infection and a viral infection. The flu shot only targets viruses. Not bacteria. I can go into detail the differences between the two but that would take a while (just look it up).

*Quick note: Influenza is a viral infection and the stomach flu is either a viral or bacterial infection. Most likely bacterial if you're able to function properly the next day.

Scenario 2: You get the flu even though you got a flu shot even after waiting it out for about three weeks.

Two factors contribute to this: #1 Because viruses are always constantly mutating, it's very difficult to create a perfect vaccine that will prevent the flu from everyone permanently. #2 Genetic differences. Some people's genes respond nicely to the vaccine and are less susceptible to having the flu. Some are not so lucky and are more likely to have the flu. That doesn't give a valid reason though to not get a flu shot. It's better than being an exposed target to getting the virus without any protection. It's like going to war. Would you rather go out to war with no weapon or a sword?

A few other questions:
- Why do I need to get a flu shot every year?
*See scenario 2, factor #1 from above.

-What if I'm allergic to eggs? (Because vaccines are made normally with eggs.)
There are alternative ways to making the vaccines besides using eggs. I'll provide the link to the alternative and its process along with some other cool ones.

-Why can't I take antibiotics like the ones I get from the doctor?
Different antibiotics target one specific thing that will eventually lead to the deterioration of the pathogen. An antibiotic cannot wipe out a virus. Plus the antibiotic might be specifically only for bacterial or some type of eukaryotic pathogen and not viral ones.

Well, that's that. I hope you learned a thing or two from this and I really hope you get vaccinated, especially around this season when the weather is cold and everyone gets sick. It's the fall season over here in San Francisco. At one point, everyone in my apartment was sick. It was horrible. Hope you had a great day, afternoon, evening, whatever time it is where you are.

Links
Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine

How Influenza (Flu) Vaccines Are Made