PSA: Get your flu jabs ASAP

[matgb]

Last night was the worst night of my adult life. The fever finally broke at about 4am, and by 6am I could feel the medications I'd been dosing myself on actually take effect.

I work with kids. If I'd thought about it, I should've known to go get a flu jab, the thing is, every dose of flu I've had up to now has been a mild form of "knock you out for a few days, Lemsip'll help" type.

This dose of flu? Bloody awful. I've had it since last Sunday, thought I was getting over it Thursday, only to have it kick back in with a vengeance Friday afternoon. Apparently, total number of cases this year is about normal but the Govt is being criticised for not spending enough money on an advertising campaign to get people to go get their jabs.

Me? I always wondered why spending money on adverts for this sort of thing were needed. We have newspapers, TV news, radio news, etc. Govt ministers could simply push it as a news item and get the media to cover as an essential public interest story.

And those of us with some method of communicating news could help spread that message. Right?

Does this actually make sense, or is my brain so flu addled it's coming up with daft ideas again? If I'm right, feel free to link to this post, write your own, tweet it, share it on Facebook, etc. If I'm wrong, well, y'know, my brain is barely working.

Oh yeah. Merry Christmas. You're not supposed to take alcohol alongside a chunk of the pills I'm using to take the worst off. So I'm stone cold sober watching The One Ronnie. I think being sober is a mistake for this one.

Comments

[sobelle]

I never got them when I was younger... then I got old... and I'm willing to take the chance that it might prevent me from getting that particular strain; because otherwise? having the flu makes you wish you were all the way dead =O

Get well as soon as you can! =)

[fearmeforiampink]

Even if you're not an at-risk group? I had what was probably the same, rather didn't enjoy it, hit 38.5 degrees, took some paracetamol and got better.

I'm certainly very much supportive of the at-risk groups being innoculated, but I've not seen anything suggesting it for everyone. If there is, fair enough.

[matgb]

Don't actually know how they define at risk groups, or why.

But it'd be up to Doctors to decide who should get a jab, and I think everyone should be encouraged to ask.

[fearmeforiampink]

At risk groups are people who are:

• are 65 or over
  
• are pregnant (This year (2010), it is recommended that pregnant women not in the high-risk groups who have not previously been vaccinated against H1N1 flu have the seasonal flu jab.)
  
• have a serious medical condition:
  
  • chronic (long-term) respiratory disease, such as severe asthma, COPD or bronchitis,
    
  • chronic heart disease, such as heart failure,
    
  • chronic kidney disease,
    
  • chronic liver disease,
    
  • chronic neurological disease, such as Parkinson's disease or motor neurone disease,
    
  • diabetes, or
    
  • a weakened immune system due to disease (such as HIV/AIDS) or treatment (such as cancer treatment.)
  
  
• live in a residential or nursing home
  
• are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill
  
• are a healthcare or social care professional directly involved in patient care
  
• work with poultry
  
• If you are the parent of a child (over six months) with a long-term condition, speak to your GP about the flu jab. Your child's condition may get worse if they catch flu.

I think that those groups and the fact that those groups should be getting the jab should be rather more heavily publicised. I agree that if someone is worried/unsure they should be able to go and check if they should have it. I don't agree that everyone should go and ask a doctor about it, as I don't see it as an efficient use of time if you sufficiently publicise what the at-risk groups are and get those people to get done.

[birguslatro]

I kinda assume every adult knows by now that you can get a flu jab if you want it. Thus it makes sense to only make a big noise about expected very-nasty strains.

As to advertising - I'm surprised the pharmaceutical companies don't do it. But then if the govt. will do their advertising for free, why bother?

[matgb]

NHS, flu jabs are free and paid for by the Govt, who've stocked up on jabs already at a negotiated rate.

Ergo, pharma companies get no benefit at all from advertising. It hadn't occured to me before because, frankly, I've never had flu this bad before. Plus this is the first time I've been working with kids during a bad outbreak, apparently this years seasonal flus are a bit worse, and Swine Flu is finally actually doing damage in the UK.

[chris]

Eep! Sorry to hear it and hope that you get well very swiftly.

[norfolkian.livejournal.com]

I'd go as far to say that this is probably the first time you've actually had flu. Other times were probably just bad colds. I have only had proper flu once and it really does knock you for six. Wishing you a speedy recovery. x