Virtually every year, we face a new flu season with a new strain of the virus, and a new controversy. Just a few years ago, the dreaded H1N1 strain of the virus had many people, and many experts, fearing the worst, and this year brings us more disturbing news from the experts.
However, the disturbing news this time around involves a disagreement between the experts: First B.C. Chief Medical Officer Perry Kendall stated in The Vancouver Sun that a Cochrane review of medical studies found that vaccinating health care workers helps protect patients from serious illness and even death.
That provoked one of the authors of the review, respiratory infections expert Tom Jefferson, to write in the Sun that the review found no such thing. And that has led the B.C. Nurses’ Union to fight mandatory vaccination of health care workers.
However this dispute plays out, it will be unfortunate if it distracts people from protecting themselves from the flu, including by receiving a flu shot. For while the jury may be out on the efficacy of vaccinating health care workers, many organizations, including the Public Health Agency of Canada, continue to stress the value of the shot.
Certainly, there are a few groups of people that should avoid the shots, including children under six months, those who have had previous negative reactions to the shots and those with allergies to eggs. For almost everyone else, about the worst they can expect to experience is some soreness around the site of the injection.
Flu shots are especially important for children between the ages of six and 23 months, seniors over 65, people who live in residential care and those with chronic heart or lung diseases, respiratory diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis, kidney disease, diabetes and compromised immune systems.
But while important, flu shots are not the only means of preventing infection or transmission of the virus. And we should also not allow controversy over the shots to distract us from other effective means of flu prevention.
One of the most effective measures is also the simplest and the oldest: Much misery can be prevented simply by engaging in regular and vigorous hand washing. Other tried and true methods include keeping common areas of your home and workplace disinfected, and keeping your hands away from your face.
And if you are unlucky enough to become infected, there are several things you can do to lessen the agony as well as the chances that you will spread the virus.
Chief among these involves staying at home: We’ve recently heard much about the phenomenon known as “presenteeism” — the opposite of absenteeism whereby workers who feel ill nevertheless attend work, thereby risking exacerbating their illness and spreading it to others.
The best advice for those who do get the flu is to avoid presenteeism; instead, stay at home, in bed, and drink a lot of fluids. And call your doctor, of course, if you suspect the problem may be serious.
That way, you should be on the road to recovery without bringing down the rest of your workplace. And both individuals and businesses can remain healthy.