Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine) Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen said that cold weather can be passed with 'disease-free' or 'mild illness' thanks to flu and pneumonia vaccines to be made before winter comes.
The most common diseases in winter and cold weather are flu and pneumonia. Assoc. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen, one of the doctors of Medicana Health Group, stated that adults over the age of 18 and individuals with chronic diseases should have flu and pneumonia vaccines in order to spend the winter without getting sick, and emphasized the importance of vaccines.
Stating that they recommend the flu vaccine to all adults over the age of 18, Medicana International Samsun Hospital Internal Medicine Specialist Assoc. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen said, “Adult vaccination is a very important and neglected issue. We internal medicine specialists and family physicians attach great importance to this. In adults over 18 years of age, the World Health Organization recommends annual flu vaccination for every adult. It is especially recommended for some special risk groups such as diabetic patients, patients with coronary artery disease, patients with heart failure, chronic lung patients with asthma-COPD, individuals with neurological diseases and pregnant women. Winter is approaching, the flu vaccine is not a live vaccine and there is no harm in administering it to pregnant women. We recommend people over 65 years of age, pregnant women and those with diseases in the risk group to get influenza-flu vaccine.”
“Since the flu vaccine is not a live vaccine, it is a safe vaccine”
Pointing out that a living organism is not given to the body in the flu vaccine, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özen said, “In all vaccines, the virus or bacteria, that is, the factor that will cause infection, is weakened and either the whole or a part of it is given so that an immune response is formed in the body against it. This is the logic of the vaccine. You either give a weakened microbe or a part of that microorganism. The flu vaccine is such a vaccine. It is a safe vaccine because it is not a live vaccine. Vaccines are very effective on the severity of the disease. It is done to reduce or eliminate deaths due to the disease. There is no such thing that a person will not get the flu just because they have had the flu vaccine. It allows them to get over the flu very lightly. It especially minimizes the risk to life. Therefore, it must be done without neglect.”
Speaking about the importance of pneumonia and other vaccines, Özen said, “Pneumonia vaccine is not a seasonal vaccine. It can be done at any time of the year. We see the disease mostly in winter. Again, pneumonia vaccine is recommended for all adults over the age of 65. Under the age of 65, we also recommend pneumonia vaccine for anyone with chronic diseases. The pneumonia vaccine is not an annual vaccine like the flu vaccine. Regardless of the season, we recommend hepatitis-B vaccine for all adults who have not had the disease. Adults over 50 years of age should also be vaccinated against shingles. Flu and pneumonia vaccine can be administered at the same time. Both can be administered at the same time from different arms.”
İHA Haber Kodu: 20240930AW297968