Planning trips all year round… Before traveling, how about planning to boost your immunity with the “influenza vaccine”? Because each year there are different popular circulating strains. Stimulating immunity to be ready for new strains is always necessary.
Get to know the ‘strains’ of the virus to choose the right protection
The influenza virus circulating worldwide can be divided into 2 major strains: strain A and strain B. In the past, influenza was mainly caused by strain A, which includes A/H1N1 and A/H3N2. However, nowadays, more patients are infected with influenza virus strain B. Therefore, WHO recommends preventing influenza by vaccination for both children and adults, especially in high-risk groups, because it not only helps prevent the disease but also reduces severity when the disease occurs.
But why… must it be the ‘quadrivalent influenza vaccine’?
Let’s understand first that there are 2 types of influenza vaccines available: the trivalent influenza vaccine and the quadrivalent influenza vaccine. The difference between these two is that the quadrivalent influenza vaccine covers more virus strains. The 4 virus strains to be protected against in 2022 include:
- Type A virus, Victoria strain (H1N1)
- Type A virus, Darwin strain (H3N2)
- Type B virus, Austria strain
- Type B virus, Phuket strain
Who should get the ‘quadrivalent influenza vaccine’?
- Patients with 7 chronic diseases: diabetes, stroke, kidney failure, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
- Pregnant women at 4 months of pregnancy or more
- People aged 65 years and older
- Young children aged 6 months to 2 years
- People with brain disabilities who cannot take care of themselves
- Patients with thalassemia
- People with immunodeficiency and HIV-infected individuals
- Those planning to travel abroad, especially to Europe and America
- Those likely to enter crowded places or places with many people, such as pilgrims, sports spectators, or festival attendees
Don’t let yourself be at risk of severe influenza when we can prevent and reduce the severity of the disease by getting the quadrivalent influenza vaccine every year.
