We are officially in the fall season which means that flu season has started.  The flu, short for influenza, is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever, severe aching, cough, congestion, and runny nose. In order to avoid the flu, it is recommended to get a flu shot. The influenza virus is constantly changing and that’s why it’s recommended to get a yearly seasonal flu shot to protect your health.

The way that flu shots work is that they make your body produce antibodies that provide protection. It usually takes two weeks for the vaccine to set in and during this period, it is very likely that you will suffer side effects such as low-grade fever and general aches and pains.

Many parents, though, have made the decision to not vaccinate their children. The top reasons why parents aren’t vaccinating their children are concerns about side effects, they don’t believe in the effect of the flu shot, or they believe that since their baby is healthy, they don’t need to be vaccinated. According  to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 179 children died from the flu last season and 80 percent of the children who died were unvaccinated. Hundreds were also hospitalized with flu-like symptoms.

Personally, I think that everyone over the age of six months should be vaccinated to create “herd immunity.” To begin,  if everyone in a community is vaccinated, the chance of them acquiring the virus is less and babies/people with diseases would be protected. Secondly, many healthcare plans cover preventive care, which influenza shots are part of due to the Affordable Care Act.

In my opinion, it is a shame to not take advantage of a free opportunity that will benefit your health. It’s a good idea though to always check with your health care plan in order to verify that the flu shot will be covered. Thirdly, it is very easy to get a flu shot and it is provided at many retail stores/pharmacies. You no longer have to go to the doctor’s office in order to get the flu shot. The following are some places that you can get a flu shot: CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Costco, and Walmart.

Furthermore, I also believe that getting a flu shot every year should be mandated for everyone up until the age of 18. States demand that kids are given immunization shots such as measles tetanus, and polio by the time that they reach kindergarten. It has also been proven that the flu is much more deadly than those diseases. I understand that parents don’t want to feel like the state owns their children and that it takes away individual rights, but I don’t think that people should have the freedom to possibly spread a virus that can lead t0 death.