House Call: A friendly reminder about shots and flu season

As Spokane continues to embrace new ways of living, working and socializing, there are certain seasonal reminders that keep us anchored in familiar things like back to school and, of course, flu season. As we navigate daily life through the lens of recent changes, there’s comfort in knowing some things stay consistent. In this case, it’s a reminder of the importance of getting a flu shot.

Simply put, immunizations save lives. They are the best way to help protect you and your family from certain infectious diseases, reduce the spread of disease and even help prevent epidemics. Fortunately, medical innovations are making it more convenient than ever for you and your family to get immunizations.

To help maintain social distance while safely getting one’s immunizations, many clinics offer online paperwork options, which helps minimize in-office time by giving you a chance to complete this step at home. I encourage my patients every year to get a flu shot, and, of course, my family and I get them, as well.

This year, with the potential for strained medical systems and other nasty viruses that could cause back-to-back, or even simultaneous, infections, it’s more important than ever. If you’re thinking the flu is not a big deal, most of the time you might be right, but you never know when you will get a more severe illness from it.

A few years ago, a young woman in my care developed a hyperimmune response that caused inflammation of her brain that caused her to spend a couple of weeks in the ICU. She had no risk factors and, fortunately, she pulled through. Still, every year, there are many patients who don’t.

We especially encourage high-risk patients (the very young, very old, those with chronic diseases and pregnant women) to get a flu shot, but bad cases also can happen randomly, which is why everybody is encouraged to get one.

As you start planning your clinic visit for a flu shot, consider asking if you are up to date with standard vaccines if you haven’t already. Whether or not your children are returning to school in-person or studying remote this semester, it is imperative to talk with your health care provider about the standard immunization schedule, which varies by age group.

Earlier this year, millions of U.S. children fell behind on routine vaccinations, which protect against many common diseases such as measles, cases of which have been popping up due to decreased vaccination rates.

Older patients also should follow up on routine vaccinations. In addition to getting a flu shot, talk with your health care provider to determine if you should get the shingles vaccine. A new and better version is now available and more effective than the old one, although you can still get the new one if you’ve had the old one.

Another important vaccine is for common types of pneumonia. The newer pneumonia vaccine protects against strains of the most common community-acquired pneumonia. It doesn’t prevent every form of pneumonia, but it does protect against many of the most common forms.

In addition to getting a flu shot, I encourage you to talk with your health care provider about the other immunizations for which you are due. My patients tell me – and I understand – that spending time in public can be stressful, especially these days when it takes some planning ahead and “masking up.”

Still, a little planning and a few shots can go a long way when it comes to avoiding diseases that we have vaccines to prevent.

Bob Riggs is a family medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente’s Riverfront Medical Center. His column appears biweekly in The Spokesman-Review.