Not only is the fourth corona wave rolling: the flu season is also beginning.
Freising's pharmacy spokeswoman explains who such a vaccination makes sense for and how one can protect oneself.
Freising
- Autumn is here - and with it the cold season.
Not only are the corona numbers increasing dramatically: the flu wave is slowly rolling in again.
Freising's pharmacy spokeswoman Ingrid Kaiser explains in an interview for whom such a vaccination makes sense and how one can protect oneself.
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
Ms. Kaiser, the corona vaccinations are the number one topic of conversation. But what about the flu vaccination right now?
Doctors had to order this vaccine in the spring, and in my opinion they were very reluctant to do so.
It's the same game every year, and doctors are always in a bind: on the one hand, they are encouraged to order enough, but on the other hand, if they order too much vaccine that they cannot vaccinate, they can get into trouble with the health insurance companies.
This fine-tuning is not easy.
The easiest thing for everyone involved would be for everyone to make a binding decision in spring whether they would like to be vaccinated for the coming flu season.
Then the doctors could order this sensitive vaccine as needed.
Unfortunately, this cannot be implemented in practice.
Does that mean there is currently a vaccine shortage?
I wouldn't speak of a bottleneck.
The cans that were ordered months ago were also delivered in September and October.
If there are reorders in the near future, there could be delays in delivery.
The production of the vaccine is very complex, so it is understandable that companies do not produce it in large quantities in advance.
In my opinion, the flu vaccination definitely makes sense until the end of December, as the flu season lasts until spring.
It is therefore worthwhile to wait a little longer for the vaccine.
Even if the "real" flu is only slowly rolling in, people are already coughing and sniffing a lot again. Why is that?
Last year, this cold season was almost canceled, people used masks and distance to protect themselves from the coronavirus and thus from other colds for a very long time.
During this time, the immune system has also slowed down a bit.
Now that many corona measures have been significantly relaxed, people have more contact again, which inevitably leads to a stronger exchange of germs.
Because the immune system has not been trained as hard in the past few months, we are now more vulnerable.
So is the flu vaccination even more useful this year?
It always makes sense, but as I said: our immune system is less involved in training this year.
It is particularly recommended for high-risk patients, the elderly and people with previous illnesses.
In addition, people who work in the medical field or who generally have a lot of contacts should also get vaccinated.
What can you do to prevent infection in the first place?
As with Corona, the same applies here: Avoid crowds of people and wear a mask, and you should spend a lot of time in the fresh air.
If you notice that something is approaching, I advise you to take vitamin C, a hot bath and rest.
A chicken broth can work wonders, there are also very good herbal or homeopathic remedies, you should seek advice from the pharmacy.
It is important to give the body time to recover properly - regardless of whether it is a flu-like infection or really the flu.
How do I tell the difference between a flu-like infection and the flu?
A flu-like infection starts more gently, with sore throat or shivering.
You get a cough, a sore throat and have to sneeze.
You can catch it despite being vaccinated against the flu.
A real flu, on the other hand, comes suddenly and violently, especially with a fever and severe pain in the limbs.
Both infections are contagious, you should definitely cure yourself properly - and do at least one corona self-test.
Because the symptoms - both with the flu infection and with the flu itself - can also be corona symptoms.
