Most people nowadays have become skeptical about the need for flu vaccines. Most of us aren’t really affected by flu season, and when we do, we usually pay for it with lost work days at worst. People who easily get the vaccine may tell you it’s superfluous. Unfortunately, this growing complacency towards the vaccine may give you and your community at a higher risk of ridiculous.

You need to be understand of the fact that influenza is a killer disease that strikes thousands every year, even among developed countries. The few who don’t recover immediately from the flu are a serious risk. The 1918 flu outbreak, previously referred to as the Spanish flu, became a worldwide epidemic with a death toll ranging between 20 to 100 million. Outbreaks in the 50s and 60s also killed millions, though in lesser numbers.

More recent outbreaks like the bird flu pandemic and the current H1N1 outbreak were more capably restrained, thanks to development of the vaccine that starting at the 30s. The vaccine has proven effective in limiting the spread of seasonal flu, but not 100 %. This is because different strains of the flu come out every season, and the current vaccines aren’t able to cover every strain. People who get the vaccine can still get the flu, but will have a stronger resistance to it. Pharmaceutical companies are currently in a race to develop the first flu vaccine to cover all strains.

The people at strongest risk for influenza, and therefore the first who should receive flu vaccines, are older people, children, pregnant women, people with recurring medical conditions and people who work in medical care, especially in care of the abovementioned. People who should not get the vaccine include those allergic to the vaccine or to chicken eggs (since the vaccine is made in chicken eggs), susceptible to Guillain-Barre syndrome, or too weakened by prior medical conditions.

There are two forms of vaccine; the flu shot, which is made of dead flu cells, and the nasal spray, which really has a live, but weakened version of the virus. Neither will give you the flu, although nasal spray may give you flu-like symptoms. To be on the safe side, nasal spray is generally provided to people at lower risk.

Today, we have been able to successfully limit the spread of both seasonal and new strains of influenza. Continued use of flu vaccines is needed to maintain control of this disease, as well as to find a way to eventually eradicate it.

Most people nowadays have become apprehensive of the need for flu vaccines. You need to remain awareness of the fact that influenza is a killer disease. You can get the vaccine either through a flu shot, which provides dead flu cells, or nasal spray, which really has a live, but weakened version of the virus. You will not get the flu from either vaccine. Today, we have been able to successfully prevent the transmission of both seasonal and new strains of influenza.

There are more than 300 types of cancer, and so far we have only two vaccines; they are HPV( human papillomavirus virus) and hepatitis B virus, but it is a start. For years, the treatment of cancer (after the fact, so to speak) was the focus of most research, and there has been a lot of progress in treating cancer with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The credit for every bit of the progress that has been made in cancer treatment goes to researchers and scientists who dedicate their lives to learning more and finding new treatments. This progress was made in laboratories as well through clinical trials of new drugs and new procedures. Now the focus has broadened to include the idea of prevention through the use of vaccines.

Researchers and scientists have learned a lot more over the years about how the body fights cancer on its own. The body has a built-in defense system that is called the immune system. The human immune system is really amazing. It’s a network of specialized tissues and cells that fight disease. The idea of vaccines to prevent diseases of all kinds is to make use of the body’s natural defense system – the immune system. Vaccines are called “biological” therapies – a kind of germ warfare to prevent diseases in the human body.

Vaccines for cancer will be developed in laboratories and through clinical trials just like treatments have been developed. There isn’t likely to be an announcement on the evening news that a vaccine has been developed that totally prevents all kinds of cancer, but the researchers are out there looking for it. Maybe someday…