Why Influenza Vaccine (Flu Shot) Should Be Available In Nigeria

The word 'flu shot' is not very common in Nigeria. That is because is is not in Nigeria. This makes it strange in the ears of most pharmacists and medical doctors including others in the health sector.

Flu Shot (influenza vaccine)

Nigeria need influenza vaccine. It is among the world health organisation (WHO) list of essential medicine. The infection is rampant and the current treatment is the use of anti allergy medications. Unfortunately, most of these medications have some unwanted side effects or way expensive. And they only provide temporary relief from the symptoms.
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The infection affects the quality of life of the sufferer. It can lead to unproductivity of the person. Anything to prevent infection should be welcome. That is better than treatment plan.

There are many strains of the virus. Immunity is developed after each infection with one particular strain. However, this immunity is not against the other types. And to make matters worse, each stain of the virus mutate into another form making the body immunity against the parent strain useless. This makes it likely to develop another infection over time. And the number of infection yearly is more than once.

Influenza vaccine (flu shot) came to the rescue. It is a simple method of preventing influenza infection. It is made from four or five strains of the most common influenza virus prevalent in that locality in a given period. Only a few strains circulate in a given period. Designed from egg, these vaccines provide immunity from influenza virus from two weeks upward and can last from six months to several years depending on some factors.

The vaccine is given once a year. One vaccine protects against one or more strains. These viruses go through adrenergic mutation to form a new strain and the vaccine is no longer effective against it. The next set of vaccine uses the new strains to produce the next batch. That is why the vaccine is given yearly. And the best time for a flu shot is influenza season known to be cooler than the rest of the year. In Nigeria, we have the rainy and harmattan season.

How True Are These Claims

Before we go into that, let us explain two terms. Efficacy of the flu shot is defined as the degree of reduction of risk of disease under control conditions. On the other hand, efficiency is the degree of risk in real life situations. Efficiency is usually lower than efficacy. This is because many of the users may develop influenza like symptoms in the year under review. Since not every influenza like symptoms is caused by the influenza virus, it becomes difficult to differentiate between the influenza virus infection and the others. However, it has been observed that the rate of infection is down during the period under review. It has a 70-80% increase efficiency in infection rate.

To be effective, it is best taken when flu infection is common. A repeat dose is not needed in case the receiver sneeze after taking the shot.

Efficiency can be judged by immune response rate using blood test called agglutination-inhibition assay. A titre value greater than 1:40 is considered good.

Types Of Influenza Vaccine (Flu Shot)

Influenza vaccine (flu shot) are of two types. They are injectable and inhalation. The injectable is made of killed virus. It is injected into the muscle under the arm.

The second one which is inhalational is made of live attenuated or inactivated virus. It is inhaled into the nostril. Since Inhalation is live attenuated virus, it is contraindicated in children less than 2 and elderly above 50. Others are chronic conditions like Tuberculosis, HIV (human immuno virus), diabetes, immunosuppress people, etc. Children and adolescents on salicylates like aspirin should stay clear. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages.

Pandemic Influenza Vaccine (Flu Shot)

There are times when a new strain infect people. Because nobody has develop immunity against it, it spread very fast. Unfortunately, it takes about six months to develop a vaccine. Enough time for the flu to infect more people.

Pandemic flu shot are specific for the causing virus. They are produced according to the spreading virus. They are given in a campaign to stop the spread.

Advantages Of Influenza Vaccine (Flu Shot)

1. It prevent people against flu

2. It help to prevent its spread

3. It reduce the severity of the flu if a person contract a strain the vaccine did not contain

Who Will Benefit

The WHO recommend children from six months should get a flu shot two times a year. A simple way to vaccinate children under six months is to give the shot to the mother which the children get from the milk. The safety profile for children below two years is still a matter of debate. Considering the benefit to risk ratio, it is highly recommended. Also, the effectiveness of the vaccine on children below two is still questionable.

The flu shot is very effective for people below 65 years and above 2 years. However, the effectiveness of the shot on the following set of persons is debatable;

• Pregnant women (2nd and 3rd trimester)
• People that are allergic to egg or egg products
• Elderly but increase dose have shown some improve efficiency
• Those with chronic disease like HIV, lung disease, heart disease, liver disease.
• Immunosuppressed persons
• Healthcare workers

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Note: trivalent inactivated version of the vaccine is good for pregnant women with HIV to help prevent mother to child transmission.

Any Side Effects

The vaccine is generally safe. There was a theory that the flu shot cause guillain-Barre syndrome. This claim made the vaccine to be put on hold for some time calling for a more improved synthesis process. The theory was never proven true even until date. Studies have shown that the number of cases of the guillain-barre syndrome when taken flu shot as compared to those on placebo are almost the same. However, some countries ban the use of the product on patient with gullain -barre syndrome.

The side effect of injectable is different from that of the nasal. Injectable can cause temporary muscle weakness or pain or tiredness. Also include sore throat, fever, headache and some other minor effect.

Where To Get a Flu Shot

In the United States of America, the flu shot or influenza vaccine can be taken in the medical doctors office. You can also walk into your community or retail pharmacy for one. In Nigeria, the story is different.

Cost

A shot is about USD 25

Tip: so many pharmacists in Nigeria import drugs that already have a known brand in Nigeria. This is because they saw that such brand is making it without much work. Yet there are several products that have not yet been registered in Nigeria that will benefit the public. This I think is one of them.

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