Influenza Vaccine- Don't let the flu bug get you!

As we all know, an Influenza vaccine, or what is more commonly referred to as a “flu shot,” is preventative measure to protect oneself from getting the flu. However, most of us are unaware of the science behind this truly remarkable and safe substance. Each year scientists go to work on creating a vaccine different from that of the year before. Through extensive research they determine what genus of influenza is most likely infect people in the upcoming year, and use those virus strains in the vaccine. 

Because Influenza is a RNA virus, it is constantly changing and evolving. Therefore, scientists need to begin preparations for the next flu season well before the current season is over. The vaccine is made up inactivated viruses, which is just a scientific way of saying the viruses are dead. The vaccine usually contains type A as well as type B viruses that are grown in chicken eggs. For those viruses to go from eggs into the common, injectable flu shot that is in almost every drug store during the winter, they must first be inactivated (killed) by formaldehyde, purified and packaged into a vial or syringe. This process takes approximately six months, so you can see why it is important for scientists to predict what type if influenza will be present six-months or a year down the road.

 Influenza is most commonly contracted through the air from someone sneezing or coughing, but you can also getting it by coming into contact with someone’s spit. The virus then makes its way to the respiratory tract where it attaches to the plasma membrane of nose, mouth, and throat cells. It then enters the cell’s cytoplasm, and from there it goes to the nucleus.  The virus deposits its RNA, which will then be replicated. Those replicated virus particles then go and affect other cells in a process called lyses. The growing amount of infected cells weakens your immune system and increases your chances of a pneumonia related death. Influenza is a difficult disease to deal with, because medications can only be used to treat the symptoms of the disease and not the disease itself.