Get This: The Flu Shot Is More Effective Than You Think

Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:

The flu shot is totally worth getting—it can help protect you even if you’re exposed to a different strain than what was in your shot, according to a new study. [EurekAlert]

Bill Clinton actually thanked the SCOTUS for striking down the Defense of Marriage Act today, which he signed in 1996. [USA Today]

Just when you thought Channing Tatum couldn’t get any sexier, he reveals that he used to work with baby animals when he was a vet tech. [Vulture]

Texas Governor Rick Perry called a special legislative session to revisit the anti-abortion bill that state Senator Wendy Davis had blocked with her filibuster. [Office of the Governor Rick Perry]

Even chefs have a hard time spotting seafood fraud.  [NPR]

The biggest single source of calories for adults in the U.S.: soda, closely followed by bread. [Prevention]

After getting a divorce, a billionaire released a sex tape to let ladies know he’s back on the market. *Facepalm* [The Cut]

Over the course of a lifetime, women spend close to a year stressing about their weight, according to a new survey. [Mail Online]

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Is the Flu Shot Safe For Pregnant Women?

Good news for flu-fearing moms-to-be: a massive new study confirms that the flu shot is perfectly safe for pregnant women, and could even reduce the risk of miscarriage and other complications.

Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) reviewed the medical records of 113,331 women pregnant in Norway during the 2009-2010 flu pandemic. While 2,794 expectant mothers were diagnosed with influenza, those who got the flu vaccination were about 70 percent less likely to get sick. However, women who contracted the flu while they were pregnant were more almost twice as likely to lose their babies before birth.

While there’s no firm proof that the flu directly causes a woman to miscarry or deliver a stillborn baby, the virus does appear to have a harmful effect on the fetus, according to Allen Wilcox, M.D., head the Reproductive Epidemiology Group at The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and study co-author.

That said, faulty research and hype about vaccine safety has made some pregnant women skeptical about protecting themselves from the flu. “There is no evidence of harm from the vaccine, and plenty of evidence of benefit,” says Wilcox. No wonder the World Health Organization has recommended it for years.

Wilcox says the vaccine can protect pregnant women in any trimester, the sooner the better. To locate the nearest available flu shot and schedule an appointment pronto: download the free TalkTo app or visit Talkto.com, type in “flu shot” and your location, and text the closest pharmacy or doctor’s office. You’ll get a response within minutes.

Here’s everything else you need to know to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the flu:

Flu Update from the CDC

Could This Be the Worst Flu Season EVER?

Should You Get the New Flu Shot?

5 Times You Should Call in Sick to Work

The Anti-Flu Drug That Might Not Work

Germ-Proof Your Office

6 Ways to Fight the Flu

What Causes the Flu?

Your Body On… The Flu

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

 

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Is the Flu Shot Safe For Pregnant Women?

Good news for flu-fearing moms-to-be: a massive new study confirms that the flu shot is perfectly safe for pregnant women, and could even reduce the risk of miscarriage and other complications.

Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) reviewed the medical records of 113,331 women pregnant in Norway during the 2009-2010 flu pandemic. While 2,794 expectant mothers were diagnosed with influenza, those who got the flu vaccination were about 70 percent less likely to get sick. However, women who contracted the flu while they were pregnant were more almost twice as likely to lose their babies before birth.

While there’s no firm proof that the flu directly causes a woman to miscarry or deliver a stillborn baby, the virus does appear to have a harmful effect on the fetus, according to Allen Wilcox, M.D., head the Reproductive Epidemiology Group at The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and study co-author.

That said, faulty research and hype about vaccine safety has made some pregnant women skeptical about protecting themselves from the flu. “There is no evidence of harm from the vaccine, and plenty of evidence of benefit,” says Wilcox. No wonder the World Health Organization has recommended it for years.

Wilcox says the vaccine can protect pregnant women in any trimester, the sooner the better. To locate the nearest available flu shot and schedule an appointment pronto: download the TalkTo app or visit Talkto.com, type in “flu shot” and your location, and text the closest pharmacy or doctor’s office. You’ll get a response within minutes.

Here’s everything else you need to know to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the flu:

Flu Update from the CDC

Could This Be the Worst Flu Season EVER?

Should You Get the New Flu Shot?

5 Times You Should Call in Sick to Work

The Anti-Flu Drug That Might Not Work

Germ-Proof Your Office

6 Ways to Fight the Flu

What Causes the Flu?

Your Body On… The Flu

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

 

Discover surprising walking tips, tricks, and techniques to melt fat fast and get a tighter, firmer butt with Walk Your Butt Off! Buy it now!

javahut healthy feed

The New Flu Shot: Should You Get It?

Two new strains of the flu virus will soon be spreading via cough, sneeze, or sniffle near you. And while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expect flu season to kick off in October and last as late as May, there’s good news: thanks to this year’s new and improved flu shot, you’re not necessarily doomed to catch the bug.

This year’s vaccine contains the two new strains of flu virus, which were not used in previous vaccines. Meaning? It’s locked and loaded to give you the extra line of defense you need, with about a 70-80% rate of effectiveness, says pediatrician Rasik Shah, M.D., pediatric pulmonary consultant for Continuum Health Partners hospitals in New York city, who is often among the first medical professionals to access new vaccinations. Which is a great thing, considering the flu can last up to two weeks, and inflicts fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, and fatigue upon its victims.

The CDC recommends everyone over the age of 6 months receive an annual vaccination, but fewer than 36% of 18- to 49-year-old Americans were vaccinated last year. And while having a needle stuck in your arm or a mist puffed up your nose may be far from pleasurable, getting the flu vaccine isn’t only about protecting yourself. With new strains of the virus in the picture, Shah says it’s even more vital to suck it up and get the vaccine to avoid infecting those around you. Still not feeling it? Here we debunk the most common excuses for refusing the flu vaccination.

EXCUSE: Been there, done that. I got it last year
.
Verdict: Irrelevant—you need another one.
The vaccine is only good for a year because it’s customized for that year’s flu season–and even when the same viruses are used in consecutive years, the antibodies that the vaccine created in your body last year won’t likely last to protect you for an extra season. This year’s vaccine debuts two newbies: the A/Victoria/361/2011(H3N2)-like virus and the B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like virus. So even if the antibodies from last year’s vaccine do remain in your body, you still won’t be completely protected.

EXCUSE: Yeah…I don’t do needles.

Verdict: There’s another way.

No problemo. There are two kinds of vaccinations available: The flu shot (ouch, we know) and the nasal-spray flue vaccination. According to the CDC, either vaccine’s effectiveness depends your age, health, and the similarity between the viruses in the vaccination and those you’re exposed to. However, clinical studies found the nasal spray reduced the chance of influenza illness by a not-too-shabby 92%.

EXCUSE: The flu shot is going to give me the flu.
Verdict: Patently false.

The flu shot doesn’t give people the flu. It can’t because it uses a killed virus, not a live one. Shah says the misconception comes from people who finally decide to get the vaccine once they are already slightly sick. Plus, it  takes about two weeks to work, so it won’t help you if you already have the flu. It’s also possible to catch a strain of the flu virus that’s absent from the vaccination, and get sick from that even after being immunized.

On the other hand, the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine is made with a live (but weakened) virus and, in very rare cases, can cause the flu. (For that reason, it’s not for everyone: it’s approved only for healthy, non-pregnant people between the ages of 2 and 49.)

EXCUSE: Eh, it’s not worth the side effects.

Verdict: They’re not as common as you think.

Very few people experience severe reactions to the flu vaccines, but there are some side effects. After receiving the shot, you may experience soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given, a slight fever, and body aches. Side effects of the nasal spray may include a runny nose, headache, sore throat, or cough in adults. Regardless of these symptoms, most people are better off getting the flu vaccine than avoiding it.

EXCUSE: Forget it, I’m already sick.
Verdict: How sick?

Unless you’re suffering from a fever, you can still get the shot. Otherwise, wait until you’re better.

EXCUSE: I don’t need it, I have the immune system of an ox.
Verdict: Get it anyway.

Everyone should get the flu vaccination unless you’ve had a bad reaction to past vaccines or are severely allergic to eggs. (The vaccine is grown using eggs and while most of the egg is excluded from the final product, it may contain trace amounts.) Even if you typically get a mild reaction to eggs, like a stomachache, you should still get the vaccine, says Shah, but talk to your doctor if you suffer from anything more severe.

EXCUSE: It’s too late.
Verdict: Not the case!

According to Dr. Shah, it’s only too late to get the vaccine once it’s summer (the flu doesn’t like warm weather) and we’re not there yet. Unless you’re already sick with a fever, the best time to get vaccinated is now.

The bottom line: The best way to prevent the flu is by getting the vaccine. If that isn’t possible, the second best defense is hand-washing with soap and water, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, or avoiding sick people like, well, the plague.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Narins.

photo: Jeffrey Hamilton/Lifesize/Thinkstock

More from WH:
Cold or Flu: Can you Tell?
How Not to Get Sick
What Causes the Flu?

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