Is a person contagious after a flu shot?
Is a flu vaccine contagious? This question invariably arises in the minds of people who are about to decide to get vaccinated. To answer this, you should first consider the features of influenza immunization.
Antiviral vaccination involves the introduction into the human body of a technologically processed drug that has immunobiological properties. This procedure should be carried out only under the supervision of a specialist, after a preliminary examination of the patient, in a medical facility.
After the penetration of viral particles (most often inactivated or dead), an immune response is created. This means that the immune system, using the example of these viral agents, learns the rules for combating them, which it can use later when the body attacks the real influenza virus.
Each vaccine, in addition to the direct strains of the virus, contains preservatives necessary to maintain the sterility of the substance, which have passed the WHO safety test.
Instructions for use for each specific vaccine contain a list of its components. Before vaccination, the doctor must identify the patient’s medical history and determine the presence or absence of contraindications to its implementation. If a person has previously had allergic reactions to injections of such a vaccine, then repeated immunization will be contraindicated.
The question of whether a child can be infected after a flu shot worries every parent. Experts confirm that there is no possibility of infection from a vaccinated parent to an unvaccinated child.
Vaccination does more than just prevent influenza infection: this procedure reduces the duration of the disease (if infection does occur) and reduces the risk of developing subsequent bacterial complications of influenza.
You can infect others only when the person himself is a carrier of the influenza virus. In the case of vaccines, this situation is impossible: these drugs contain only bacteria that are already weakened or dead. Whereas a person infected with the influenza virus can spread live viruses around them through coughing, sneezing, and saliva, which will infect others.
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To reduce the likelihood of adverse reactions, including those including the development of acute respiratory disease or even influenza, only proven vaccines should be given. Only a qualified specialist can select the drug, and a medical worker with the necessary skills can administer the injection. The drug must have a suitable shelf life, be properly stored, and not change in appearance or consistency.
Expert: After vaccination against coronavirus, a person is not infectious to others
A person can be contagious after vaccination only if he came for vaccination already sick, emphasized virologist Alexander Lukashev
The appearance of flu-like symptoms such as fever, weakness, and myalgia is not a sign that a person becomes infectious after vaccination. This was reported to TASS by the director of the Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases named after. E. I. Martsinovsky Sechenov University, virologist Alexander Lukashev.
“A person cannot be infectious after receiving a coronavirus vaccine because no vaccine contains live coronavirus. It is either inactivated, or it is a weakened fragment of it inserted into the adenovirus. There is no live coronavirus there, not even close. As for the flu symptoms that may appear, they should not be confused with a real infection. “Both temperature and other striking symptoms are just a normal internal reaction of the body to fragments of the microorganism and indicate that the immune system correctly perceives the administered vaccine,” he said.
At the same time, carriers of the virus who have been vaccinated continue to spread it and remain dangerous to others, virologist Viktor Larichev explained to TASS. “A person can be contagious after vaccination only if he came for vaccination already sick, and this has not been established. In this case, after administration of the drug, its infectiousness remains. However, if a person was healthy and vaccinated, he cannot infect,” he said.
According to the doctor, Russians’ concerns are due to the fact that previously developed vaccines used a live virus. In this regard, after vaccinations, people actually became infectious for a certain period of time. “I understand where this belief comes from - for example, the rubella vaccine actually contains a weakened live virus, and in principle a person can be infectious after vaccination. Therefore, this vaccine is not given to pregnant women, for example. However, in the case of Covid, such a scenario cannot happen, because even in Sputnik V, which contains a fragment of the virus, it cannot reproduce. In this case, a person cannot infect anyone,” the agency’s interlocutor explained.
Mass vaccination of adults over 18 years of age began in Russian regions on January 18. Four vaccines against coronavirus infection have been registered in Russia: Sputnik V and Sputnik Light from the Gamaleya Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Epivaccorona developed by Rospotrebnadzor, and Kovivak, created by the Chumakov Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The drugs “Sputnik V”, “Epivaccorona” and “Kovivak” are two-component, “Sputnik Light” is one-component.
Link to publication: tass.ru
If I get a flu shot, I will definitely get sick
It is very easy to get infected with the flu: during the cold season, many people spend most of their time indoors, communicating with other subjects. Not all sick people have the opportunity to refuse to visit their place of work, school or be treated at home, so they become potential spreaders of the infection. Operating central heating only aggravates the process of viral transmission because it dries out the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, increasing their susceptibility to viral effects.
Vaccination is an excellent means of preventing the spread of a viral infection, because influenza is easier to prevent than to cure. This disease does not have a single effective drug that can overcome it. Sometimes, you have to try several antiviral drugs to find the one that stops the development of the disease. The risk of getting sick decreases when a person receives the flu vaccine.
Is it possible to get infected from a vaccinated person? No, such a possibility is excluded. Much more often, a person gets sick not because of the aggressiveness of the vaccine that was administered to him, but because he did not follow the rules of behavior of a person who has just been vaccinated.
- Refusal to attend mass events (when infections may spread to seasonal levels) for 1-2 weeks after vaccination.
- Eating light foods, without including highly allergenic foods in the diet.
- Dress according to the weather: A newly vaccinated person should not overheat by dressing too warmly.
- Temporary restrictions on visiting a sauna, bathhouse, swimming pool, gym or sports hall (due to the presence of large crowds of people there who may be carriers of infections).
It should be remembered that the immunity of a person who has recently received an injection temporarily weakens because it is producing antibodies against the injected strain of the virus. This makes a person extremely susceptible to any ARVI, which forces him to temporarily limit his movements.
It is worth distinguishing the signs of a developing infection from adverse reactions after vaccination, which may accompany the vaccination process and occur even in absolutely healthy people after vaccination.
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Post-vaccination complications:
- weakness;
- deterioration of health;
- fatigue;
- increased drowsiness;
- increased body temperature;
- development of a runny nose, pharyngitis;
- pain, swelling, swelling, redness of the place where the vaccine was administered;
- anaphylactic shock: the most severe consequence that can develop in the first 30 minutes after the injection.
In order for medical workers to help a person when he experiences anaphylactic shock, he should not leave the walls of the institution for 30-40 minutes after vaccination.
According to statistics, most adverse reactions resemble a mild cold and disappear after 2-3 days without requiring medical attention. To minimize the likelihood of their occurrence, it is very important that the person is absolutely healthy before vaccination. In addition, he should not suffer from digestive disorders or have an elevated body temperature. People with such symptoms are not allowed to get vaccinated.
Contraindications to the flu vaccine:
- signs of acute respiratory disease (vaccination is also not given within a month after recovery);
- Those with an allergy to chicken protein are also not given the vaccine;
- previous severe allergic reaction to a vaccine;
- diseases of the central nervous system, endocrine system;
- pathologies of the adrenal glands, kidneys;
- chronic diseases of the respiratory system (lungs, bronchi, upper respiratory tract);
- age up to 6 months;
- hypertonic disease;
- bronchial asthma;
- anemia;
- heart failure.
What are the contraindications for flu vaccination?
It is worth considering contraindications for influenza vaccination. Prohibitions include:
- allergic reaction to chicken protein, on the basis of which the vaccine is made;
- temporary contraindication - exacerbation of chronic diseases or acute infectious diseases accompanied by elevated temperature, such as ARVI. If ARVI was mild, vaccination can be carried out immediately after the temperature has returned to normal; if it is severe, then no earlier than 14 days later;
- the appearance of swelling and redness at the injection site greater than 8 cm in diameter is also a contraindication to the administration of the vaccine next year.
A separate nuance is the combination of flu and coronavirus vaccines. “After vaccination against Covid, you need to take a break - at least 1 month,” says the specialist.
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The vaccine only protects against one type of flu, but you can get another.
People who believe that the flu shot is contagious may have another misconception, believing that the vaccine will contain a different strain of flu than the one that will be prevalent this year.
In fact, there are very few cases where the vaccine recognizes the strain incorrectly. Scientists are working on vaccines, studying the current epidemiological situation, trying to guess which strain will spread widely in the coming season. This particular type of virus will be included in the preparations used for vaccination.
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Vaccination is strictly contraindicated for people suffering from chronic diseases.
If a person has serious chronic pathologies, then vaccination for them is not only not contraindicated, but, on the contrary, is recommended. Provided that the attending physician allows the administration of the vaccine.
People suffering from chronic diseases have a high risk of developing dangerous bacterial complications that can affect those organs that suffer from constant problems. Therefore, it is very important for them to avoid contracting the flu, and the easiest way to do this is through vaccination.
