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Female Voiceover: Let's say a patient comes in the clinic and they're trying to decide
if they want to get the flu vaccine.
As with any decision, they're probably going to weigh the risks and the benefits of the flu vaccine.
As healthcare workers, it's really important that we understand these risks and benefits
so that we can talk to our patients about it and help them make an educated decision.
So let's start out by thinking of the more common risks and benefits.
With the flu shot, the most common risk is going to be pain at the site of injection
or muscle soreness wherever the patient receives the intramuscular injection.
For some patients, particularly those who are afraid of needles,
you also might hear reports of lightheadedness after receiving the flu shot.
So although these are the more common risks associated with the flu vaccine,
let's remember that they're not experienced by everyone.
Not everyone thinks that the flu shot hurts.
Not everyone is sore the next day and certainly not everyone feels lightheaded
after getting the flu shot.
For patients who are particularly concerned about this,
if available you can offer them the nasal spray, Flumist.
This provides the same protection against flu without using needles.
Let's counter these common risks with the common benefits of the flu vaccine.
The most obvious of which of course is you have a decreased chance of getting sick with the flu.
For patients who are particularly pain averse,
they don't want to get the flu vaccine because they think it's going to hurt,
I would counter this by saying, "You know what? Flu hurts a lot.
"You're stuck in bed for days. It's completely miserable,
"and if I was a patient making this decision, I would go with the flu shot
"in this case because I would rather have soreness in the arm
"for a few days than be stuck in bed for three to five days."
Let's turn our focus now to some of the more rare risks and benefits.
In 1976 there were reports of muscle weakness after patients were getting the flu vaccine.
We found out that this was because of something called Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a nerve problem that leads to muscle weakness
and although there was never any proof that the flu vaccine actually caused Guillain-Barre,
since 1976 we've been screening for this condition
to make sure that it doesn't lead to severe complications.
In contrast to this rare risk,
we have some less common benefits associated with the influenza vaccine.
That is a decreased chance of hospitalizations
and a decreased chance of death as a result of complications of the flu virus.
So if you remember from before, flu can cause up to 200,000 hospitalizations every year,
and anywhere from 20 to 40,000 deaths every year.
So again, if I was a patient trying to make this decision
based on these more rare benefits and risks,
I would go with the flu shot in this case as well.
Because I would much rather avoid hospitalization and death if at all possible.
So these are some considerations to think about on an individual level.
Another important consideration is the impact that the flu vaccine has on the community.
What happens to this patient's family members
or their coworkers, or classmates if your patient
is a healthcare worker. How does the flu vaccine affect their patients?
Well, there is no risk involved in getting a flu vaccine when you think about it
from the perspective of a family member.
If you get vaccinated it's not going to affect your family member in a negative way.
It can really only affect your family members in a positive way.
That's because if you're less likely to get infected by the influenza virus,
you're also less likely to spread it.
We call this herd immunity.
Herd immunity protects those around you,
your close contacts and as a result it's definitely a benefit of becoming vaccinated.
So when we think about all of these benefits together,
I think it's pretty clear to see the benefits outweigh the risks
and that getting vaccinated against the flu virus is a good decision.