Volume 1, Issue 4

Should You Get a Flu Shot?
Contributed by:  Erin Smith, R.Ph.
                       Hen House Pharmacy--Lee's Summit

October 2002

Kids are back in school, the Chiefs are back on the field, and the weather is finally beginning to cool down.  Fall is nearly upon us.  While fall brings all kinds of wonderful changes, it also marks the beginning of flu season in Kansas City.


Influenza, more commonly called "the flu", is caused by a virus that affects the respiratory tract.  It is easily spread from one person to another and can result in severe illness or even death.  About 20,000 Americans die annually from complications resulting from the flu.  The good news is that the flu is easily preventable with a yearly influenza shot.


Flu shots are recommended for individuals who are at increased risk of serious complications:

· People age 50 or older
· Residents of nursing homes or long-term care facilities
· Adults or children (older than 6 months) with chronic health conditions like diabetes, asthma, chronic heart or lung conditions, chronic kidney disease, or a weakened immune system
· Women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy


Flu shots are also recommended for household members of high-risk individuals, health-care workers, students that reside in dormitories, and individuals that provide essential community services (police, fireman, etc).


Flu shots should not be given to the following

groups before consulting with their physician:

· People with a severe allergy to chicken eggs (cannot eat foods containing egg)
· People who have had a severe reaction to a previous flu shot
· People who have developed Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting a flu shot


The most common misconception about flu shots is that the vaccine can cause the flu.    The vaccine that is used in the United States is made from an inactivated, or killed, virus and cannot cause illness.  There is a lag time before the vaccine begins to be effective and this can explain why some individuals get the flu after having been vaccinated.  The flu shot protects you from the influenza virus and not the stomach flu so you can still be sick with this form of the flu.


The flu shot is the best way to prevent the complications that arise from influenza.  Flu shots will be available at your local Hen House Pharmacy this fall.  Check with your pharmacist or with your physician to determine if the flu shot would be beneficial for you.

Co-edited by:
John Witt, Pharm.D.
Sarah Kerner, Pharm.D.

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