Are such interventions as a flu shot or pneumonia vaccine a waste of time for people with chronic lung disease?
The opportunity to lesson the severity of influenza bronchitis or pneumonia is most effectively achieved via vaccination and certainly anyone with chronic lung disease has the potential for deriving benefit. The flu shot certainly does not guarantee no flu, but with people with compromised lung function, it can often times make the difference between suffering a less severe illness at home versus a more severe illness requiring hospitalization and occasionally making the difference between living and dying with this illness. The same may be true for the pneumococcal vaccine, which is likely more under utilized than the flu vaccine. The pneumococcal vaccine helps reduce the severity of illness in the setting of the most common bacterial pneumonia encountered in the community and in the elderly requires an every 5 year booster. The influenza vaccine requires annual administration for effectiveness and is directed towards a virus.
Related Questions
- What interventions are available in secondary care to prevent chronic complications in people with sickle cell disease?
- Are such interventions as a flu shot or pneumonia vaccine a waste of time for people with chronic lung disease?
- Can the seasonal flu shot be administered at the same time as the H1N1 Flu Virus vaccine?
