The influenza virus, more commonly known as the flu, affects thousands of people every year. Symptoms can range from a runny nose and slight fever to a fatal illness. According to Time Magazine, the influenza virus kills about 36,000 Americans every year. While there is no cure for the flu, great advancements have been made in preventative measures. The flu vaccine is a shot that is changing every year to keep up with the adapting flu virus.
The Flu in America
According to Time Magazine, influenza is a modern-day disease. As the world became a global community and advancements in travel technology made its easy to move quickly across the world, the flu virus was carried from city to city. Supporting this idea is the fact that the flu virus was non-existent among Native Americans until European settlers from more global regions arrived. Having no immunities to the diseases, many Native Americans died from the flu. According to Time Magazine, influenza outbreaks occur about every hundred years, but there is little evidence of these outbreaks before the 18th century due to incomplete or non-existent medical records.
Discovering the Vaccine
According to Time Magazine, the influenza virus was discovered in the 1930s, and by the 1940s the flu vaccine had been created. The vaccine was first used on WWII soldiers to protect them from infection. The original flu vaccine was an inactive version of the virus that was injected into the body, allowing the body to build natural immunities to the virus without catching the disease. According to the Center for Disease Control, the flu vaccine contains three different strains of the flu, including one A (H3N2) virus, one A (H1N1) virus, and one B virus.
History of Side Effects
According to the Center for Disease Control, side effects of the flu virus are usually mild, and can include redness or swelling at the injection site, a fever or minor aches. It is a common misconception that you can catch the actual flu virus from the flu shot, as the influenza virus that is injected inactivated. According to Time Magazine, however, a swine flu outbreak in 1976 caused President Gerald Ford to attempt to vaccinate the entire United States population. After being vaccinated, hundreds of Americans developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, an illness characterized by nerve damage and paralysis, and a national panic ensued. To calm the masses, the Ford family got vaccinated for the flu virus on national television. About 40 million people were vaccinated for the flu that year, and it set the precedent that the government encourage Americans to get their flu shots every year.
Updating the Vaccine
According to Time Magazine, The responsibility of choosing which virus strains to include in the flu vaccine each year falls on the shoulders of the World Health Organization, a global network of scientists who work together and track virus patterns and strain changes. As soon as the WHO determines which strains of the virus are to be included in that year's vaccine, scientists begin work on a shot. The Food and Drug Administration must then approve the shot before it is released to the public.
A New Option
In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration also approved the use of a nasal-spray flu vaccine that contains a live, weakened flu virus. According to the Center for Disease Control, this vaccination is only suggested for healthy people between the ages of 2 to 49 years old who are not pregnant.
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