Sunday, November 17, 2013

Get your flu vaccine!

It's been way too long since I posted here (2 years??!??). This fall I'm teaching 4 classes for 3 community colleges on 4 different campuses! So life has been pretty crazy and there's not a lot of time to do much else, especially since 3 of the classes are new preps!

So while I think about what my next topic will be, and do the research, I encourage everyone to get their influenza vaccine! And if you can get your titers checked for pertussis (whooping cough), I recommend that as well. You may need a booster. Remember that the main goal of vaccines is protection of the population. There are many people who cannot be vaccinated because of underlying medical issues. As more people are vaccinated, there will be fewer susceptible people and the spread of the virus will be limited. The bonus is that you will be protected as well. The flu vaccine is not 100% effective; and many vaccines aren't. But if you do contract the virus, your symptoms will be less severe and the course of the disease will be shortened.