In the area of influenza prevention awareness, many people are caught in the wrong zone: the influenza vaccine is the same every year and does not need to be repeated. This misperception has led many to ignore the importance of annual influenza vaccinations, putting themselves at higher risk of infection during the flu season.
Influenza viruses are highly degenerative and their surface antigen structures – blood condensers (HA) and neurosamate (NA) – are subject to frequent variability. These variations allow the influenza virus to continuously evade the identification and attack of the human immune system, and even if the human body has been infected with the influenza virus or vaccinated against it, there may still be a lack of sufficient immunity to become infected in the face of new strains. Through the Global Monitoring Network, the World Health Organization (WHO) is closely following the variability of influenza viruses and adjusts the composition of the influenza vaccine on an annual basis, based on the predicted advantage of the strain. For example, in a given year, where the prevalence is mainly some kind of H1N1 subgeneric strain, the influenza vaccine of that year will be prepared for the poison, and in the next year, if the dominant strain becomes another H3N2 subgeneric strain, the vaccine component will be updated accordingly. It is precisely because of this high variability of the influenza virus that it was decided that the influenza vaccine needs to be redeveloped and inoculated each year to ensure that it matches the prevalent strains and provides effective immunization protection.
In terms of actual immunization effects, annual influenza vaccinations can significantly increase human resistance to the current season influenza virus. Numerous studies have shown that during the flu season, the number of people vaccinated against the influenza vaccine for the year was significantly less at risk of influenza than the unvaccinated, and that even if infected, the symptoms were relatively light, and the likelihood of serious complications such as pneumonia, respiratory failure and so on was significantly reduced. For example, studies on the elderly, children and populations at high risk of influenza, such as chronic basic diseases, have found that routine influenza vaccinations can reduce influenza-related hospitalization rates by 30-70 per cent and mortality rates by 50-80 per cent. If repeated vaccinations are stopped because the vaccine is considered to be the same every year, the human immunity protection will decline over time and the risk of infection will increase each year in the face of a changing influenza virus.
In addition, the levels of antibodies generated by human influenza vaccinations decline gradually within a year. In general, six to eight months after vaccination, the incidence of influenza virus-specific antibodies in the body is significantly reduced, and the effect of immunization protection is reduced. This means that even if the influenza vaccine received in the previous year had some cross-immunization with the current year ‘ s epidemic strain, it is still difficult to provide reliable protection because of insufficient levels of antibodies. It is therefore essential to maintain an adequate level of immunization against influenza before the onset of the flu season each year.
At the same time, vaccination against influenza is not only a need for personal health protection, but also an important component of the building of mass immunization. When a sufficient number of people are vaccinated against influenza, it is possible to create an immunization barrier among the population, reduce the spread and spread of the influenza virus, and protect those who, for reasons of age, health, etc., are unable to immunize or have a low immune function, e.g., newborns, persons with immuno-deficiency. If everyone abandons annual influenza vaccinations because of misconceptions, the effectiveness of group immunizations will be severely compromised, and the influenza outbreak may become more frequent and severe, threatening the public health security of society as a whole.
Influenza vaccine is not the same every year, but is updated to reflect the variability of the influenza virus, and human immunity protection will decline over time. In order to effectively prevent influenza and protect the health of individuals and groups, we should move away from misperceptions to a timely annual inoculation against influenza, and be proactive in reaching the point of inoculation before the onset of the flu season, so that ourselves and their families can have a solid immunity “shelter” against the “threat” of influenza.
