In: Nursing
A 68-year-old male patient is having a yearly checkup.
It is flu season and the physician recommends that the patient
receive a flu shot. When the physician leaves the room, the patient
tells the nurse that he doesn’t want to get the shot because he has
heard it will give him the flu. How should the nurse
respond?
Please answer this question using no less than 250
words.
Influenza is a potentially serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and influenza infection can affect people differently, but millions of people get flu every year, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes every year. An annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to help protect against flu. Vaccination has been shown to have many benefits including reducing the risk of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and even the risk of flu-related death in children.
How do flu vaccines work?
Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are used to make the vaccine.
The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Most flu vaccines in the United States protect against four different flu viruses (“quadrivalent”); an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus, and two influenza B viruses. There are also some flu vaccines that protect against three different flu viruses (“trivalent”); an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus, and one influenza B virus. Two of the trivalent vaccines are designed specifically for people 65 and older to create a stronger immune response.
Trivalent influenza vaccines include:
There are many vaccine options to choose from, but the most important thing is for all people 6 months and older to get an influenza vaccine every year.Vaccination to prevent flu is particularly important for people who are at high risk of developing serious flu complications.