Nursing Update

National Immunization Awareness Month provides us an opportunity to think about how far the development and advancement of immunization science has come, and its impact on public health. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plays a key role in immunization by evaluating vaccines for safety and effectiveness before they are made available to the public.

Why are vaccines important? They help provide protection from an infectious disease and can lessen the severity of illness. If you are immune to a disease, you can be exposed to it without becoming sick. Simply put, because of advances in medical science, vaccines can help protect us against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of people have been eliminated primarily due to vaccines.

And it’s not too soon to start thinking about influenza (flu) viruses which typically spread in fall and winter. The flu is a contagious respiratory disease that is caused by influenza viruses which infect the respiratory tract (nose, throat, and lungs). The flu is different from a cold because the symptoms and complications can be more severe.

A lot of the illness and death caused by the influenza virus can be prevented by a yearly influenza vaccine. The CDC recommends that most individuals 6 months of age and older get the flu vaccine every year. It is especially important for people in high-risk groups.

Source: FDA Recognizes National Immunization Awareness Month | FDA