Americans Preventing Viruses

Oct, 2022 - By SMI

The majority of Americans said they will prevent viruses by masking this season instead of getting a flu vaccination.

On September 3, 2020, in Key Biscayne, Florida, Nurse Practitioner Enable Sabag prepares a flu shot for a patient at the CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic. Nearly 10,000 CVS pharmacies nationwide, along with about 100 MinuteClinic clinics, offer flu vaccines. The risks of having COVID-19 and the flu at the same time are yet unclear, according to health professionals, therefore obtaining the flu vaccination this year is crucial.

According to a poll by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, only 49% of American adults intend to receive a flu vaccination this flu season (NFID). Even 1 in 5 of people who are more likely to have problems from influenza say they will not get the vaccine.

People who are older than 65, pregnant women, children under the age of five, and those with underlying diseases are more likely to experience catastrophic consequences from a flu infection, according to the CDC.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, stated during the NFID conference on Tuesday that "we know flu vaccine remains the greatest method to protect yourself and your family against flu."

Many Americans concur. According to the NFID, over 70% of people think that taking an annual flu shot is the best approach to avoid influenza-related hospitalizations and fatalities. Nevertheless, many people are still reluctant to receive their vaccination.

Instead, as a kind of flu defence, more American adults are favouring masking. In contrast to their intention to be immunised, more Americans (58%) planned to mask at least sometimes during flu season.

Hundreds of millions of Americans have gotten their vaccinations in a safe manner for more than 50 years, according to Patricia Stinchfield, president of NFID. Why run the risk of not receiving a vaccination?