SRINAGAR, OCT 24: As winter approaches, experts recommend that people in Kashmir receive flu vaccine shots to reduce the risk of a surge in viral infections.
Flu shots are doses of a vaccine that can help protect against influenza, including strains like H1N1. It is widely recognized that getting annual flu shots is the most effective defence against contracting the infection, particularly during the winter months in the cold region of Kashmir, which is susceptible to H1N1 outbreaks.
Director SKIMS Soura and a top pulmonologist of Kashmir Dr Parvaiz Koul said vaccination is important, especially for those above 50 years and less than five years of age.
He said it is also important for “those having chronic lung, heart, liver, neurologic, kidney disorders, those on chemotherapy, the immune-compromised, pregnant females, diabetics, morbidity, obese persons and healthcare workers”.
Dr Manzoor Bhat, a physician, said the ideal time for the flu vaccine is October. “It takes 2-3 weeks to develop antibodies. It’s recommended that we take an annual shot of flu vaccine these days. We get most cases like H1N1 in winters and springs,” he said.
He said that cold, body aches, fever, headaches and muscle aches are the symptoms of H1N1. “It is not necessary for a person suffering from these diseases to have H1N1. Even mild cold or fever could also be symptoms of the influenza,” he said.
Doctors said that people should maintain hygiene to prevent the virus. “It may not be fatal for healthy people. Those suffering from respiratory problems or asthma, elderly people, shall take proper medication and influenza to prevent H1N1,” Dr Bhat said.
He said flu shots are important to prevent influenza and its associated morbidity and mortality “Those who lost their lives over the years were infected with H1N1 but they were also suffering from leukaemia, malignancies, sepsis acute respiratory syndrome, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) which led to the weakness in their immune system,” he added.
