- Because the virus strains that circulate in the community change in most years, so a new vaccine has to be made.
- The effectiveness of the vaccine begins to decline after 6-8 months
- Yes. The World Health Organization estimates between 250,000 - 500,000 die from influenza related causes every year
- In adults, the symptoms of influenza can include:
- Fever
- Dry cough
- Muscle and joint pain
- Tiredness/extreme exhaustion
- Headache
- Sore throat
- In children, influenza may present as:
- High fever
- Listlessness or lack of energy
- Cough
- Children can also get diarrhoea and vomiting with influenza infection.
- Duration of symptoms - typically 1-2 weeks for influenza, a few days for a cold.
- Influenza often produces a high fever, with muscular aches and shivering.
- It may take several weeks to fully recover from influenza, even for healthy younger people, and for some people the infection may lead to serious consequences including hospitalisation and death.
- No. The vaccine contains only inactivated viral particles (a virus killed and broken apart) and therefore is incapable of causing influenza infection. People who develop a runny nose or sore throat may have been exposed to another virus before they received the influenza vaccine.
- The most common side effects are pain or tenderness around the injection site.
- Some people may experience fever, headache or irritability. These symptoms are mild and usually clear up within a few days.
- Vaccination is contraindicated in case of severe egg allergy, including anaphylactic reaction.1
1. World Health Organization (WHO)
More information: http://www.who.int/influenza/vaccines/use/en/