”My child just got a flu shot at school last week, and he still has a high fever today, how can this flu shot not prevent the flu?” The child’s mother said to me in confusion. I’ve been asked such questions several times in pediatric emergency departments, and I really don’t know how the people selling the vaccine promote it to parents. Here, I’ll explain it to you. The flu vaccine does not prevent colds at all (and it is not a legally required vaccine vaccine for children). Many parents confuse influenza with the common cold. The common cold is what we usually call a cold, or what we medically call an upper respiratory tract infection, which is mainly caused by a variety of common viruses (excluding influenza viruses), some of which are caused by bacteria or mycoplasma alone or in combination. Most people, including children, are generally susceptible to colds when the weather changes or when they are overworked. The symptoms of the common cold vary in severity, especially in children, and manifest differently at different ages. The typical cold that we usually see is a cough, runny nose, some have a fever, and some have a combination of vomiting or diarrhea, but they usually get better within a week or so. The maximum number of times a child gets a cold in a year is usually no more than 6 (if it is more than this number, pay attention and make sure to go to the hospital for a comprehensive checkup to find the cause). Since the common cold is caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria, etc., people cannot predict it and therefore cannot prevent it. And influenza (infuenza. short for influenza) is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza virus, the pathogen is influenza A, B, C virus, spread by droplets, the symptoms seen clinically are mostly heavy, such as acute onset of high fever, malaise, generalized muscle aches and mild respiratory symptoms, weak people or patients with chronic respiratory disease or heart disease are prone to complications of pneumonia or even more Pneumonia or even more serious illnesses may occur in weak individuals or those with chronic respiratory disease or heart disease. Influenza viruses (especially type A), are highly mutable and often cause outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics. However, the chance of occurrence is lower than that of common diseases. In China, there were 12 influenza epidemics of moderate or greater severity from 1953 to 1976, each caused by an influenza A virus. Since the 1980s, influenza epidemics have been mainly epidemic and small outbreaks, with no significant epidemics occurring. It should be noted that the influenza vaccine only has a preventive effect against influenza caused by a specific virus (known to humans), however, the vaccine is bred to predict the type of virus of the current influenza, and the prediction is not 100% correct, and the virus often mutates, so the influenza vaccine is not a panacea, and having the vaccine does not mean that you are ” The flu vaccine is not a panacea, and having the vaccine does not mean that you are “immune” to influenza, let alone that it can prevent the common cold.
A single flu shot can generally deal with three flu viruses, but it has no effect on other viruses or bacteria. Therefore, as a parent, to make your child less sick, you should always open the windows for ventilation, keep the indoor air fresh, note that your child should combine work and rest, add and remove clothes at any time when the weather changes, and give your child more vitamin-rich food, such as vegetables and fruits, to improve your child’s immunity level from a comprehensive level. A parent asked me, “Should my child get a flu shot?” I replied, “That’s up to you, anyway I didn’t give my child this vaccine.”