Fall is a time when
the topic of influenza vaccines or flu shots becomes prevalent. Many
communities make flu shots available for older adults. A large population
believes the vaccine reduces the risk of dying in nursing homes.
How well are
nursing home residents improved by flu shots? Research reported in
the Journals
of Gerontology shows a lot depends on
residents’ functional status. In a study done over several months with 711
nursing home residents, participants were divided into these categories: good
functioning, intermediate functioning, and poor functioning. In terms of
functionality, influenza vaccination was associated with reduced all-cause
mortality in older nursing home residents with different functional statuses. Influenza vaccine efficacy in reducing mortality declined with increasingly impaired
functional status.
What about the importance of
flu shots for the rest of the population? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a US government agency focused on improving overall public health. This agency advises
everyone to get a flu shot. For many, this is still a controversial issue. Some say the shots are safe,
convenient, and may save lives. Others say they are not safe for some
people, do not guarantee people won’t get the flu, may have side effects, and may
even cause people to get the flu (not true because viruses are dead). What do
you think?
Frances Shani Parker,
Author
Becoming Dead Right: A
Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes
is available in paperback at many booksellers in America and other countries
and in e-book form at
Amazon and Barnes and Noble booksellers.
It's good that flu vaccines are giving nursing home residents a sort of protection. Most of these residents already have existing health problems that limit their performance of ADLs, we wouldn't want them catching other sickness inside the facility specially those that can worsen their situation
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