To vax or not to vax: How the flu vaccine actually works
Whenever flu season arrives, people battle with the decision of whether to get the flu vaccine.
Flu, cold, illness. Pixabay
CapeTalk's Sara-Jayne Makwala King is joined by Dr Unben Pillay, chief medical consultant for Unu Health.
Flu season has arrived early in South Africa - according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), it started weeks early compared to the norm, in the week of 24 March this year.
Flu season normally runs from the last week of April till mid-June, and we see an 8-fold increase in illness over this period.
Despite public campaigns to vaccinate, many people are still hesitant, for a host of reasons that are often based on misconceptions.
RELATED: Keep safe, vaccinate: NICD warns of earlier than usual flu season
Dr Unben Pillay, chief medical consultant for digital health platform Unu Health, explains just how the flu vaccine works.
While it is a vaccine, it's an inactivated particle, or part of a virus that is created annually.
"The World Health Organization (WHO) would sit down prior to a flu season so they do this twice a year - for the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. They determine which are the viruses most likely to be contagious in the flu season that's to come."
Dr Unben Pillay, Chief Medical Consultant - Unu Health
"You could call it a predicted vaccine because we predict which are the most dangerous viruses for the upcoming season, and they create the vaccine for those specific viruses - usually three, and in some cases four viruses."
Dr Unben Pillay, Chief Medical Consultant - Unu Health
The uptake of the flu vaccine in South Africa is low - around 12% of the population.
One of the misconceptions putting people off, is that getting the vaccine will actually make them get the flu, or get a worse case of it.
This is not possible, Dr Pillay emphasizes, because it is not a live vaccine.
He also notes that the vaccine does not prevent you from getting the flu.
"What actually happens is that the flu vaccine protects you by building up your immunity so that you get a milder version of the flu or less complications."
Dr Unben Pillay, Chief Medical Consultant - Unu Health
While earlier is better when it comes to getting the jab as the vaccine takes around 2 weeks to become effective, it's not too late to vaccinate says the NICD.
Dr Pillay also covers common side effects of the flu vaccine and the less common severe ones - take a listen in the interview audio