Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Why I'm getting the flu shots
Dr. Michael Camardi
Recent columns
About Dr. Michael Camardi
Dr. Michael Camardi is a geriatrician at Carilion's Center for Healthy Aging. Age Matters is his new Roanoke Times column, appearing the third Tuesday of every month.
Camardi has been with Carilion for about three years and was one of the experts who reporter Beth Macy spoke to for her series, “Age of Uncertainty.” He wanted to start this column to help answer questions he’s often heard as part of his job.
Camardi was founder and past medical director of the geriatric liaison program for Jacobi Medical Center (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) in Bronx, N .Y.
Camardi trained at Winthrop University Hospital (Stony Brook University Medical School), where he was chief medical resident. He has received numerous commendations for his contributions to education, patient advocacy, community relations and hospital administration.
If you have questions for Camardi, please mail them to him at Center for Healthy Aging, 2118 Rosalind Ave., Roanoke, VA 24014, or e-mail them to extra@roanoke.com with “Age Matters” in the subject line.
Editor's note: This is a special edition of Dr. Michael Camardi's monthly column.
Dr. Camardi: Are you going to take the flu shot? I just want some honest answers from somebody, but all I get is a bunch of "yeah, buts": "Yeah, you should take it but ..."
It drives me crazy. Should we take this swine flu shot -- yes or no? It's just that simple.
And listen, I don't care what the government says because I don't trust the government. But I'm kind of afraid not to. What if they know something we don't?
And when we went to talk to our doctor about it yesterday, he didn't say anything that made a difference, he just left it up to us. What do I know?
If you tell me straight that you are going to take the shot, I'll take me and the wife to get it.
-- Roanoke
As you might imagine, I have been asked repeatedly over the past few weeks for my opinion concerning this serious national health care risk, especially concerns about the "live" vs. "dead" vaccines in geriatric practice, so allow me at the outset to give the answer you deserve: Yes, I will take the swine flu vaccine as an intramuscular shot as I have already taken the Influenza A vaccine.
In my situation, I have an ethical obligation, given the potential risks this health care problem may present, to protect myself in any way I can and not compromise my ability to remain in the field and continue to care for patients.
From my experience in dealing with diseases that are now preventable through vaccination, I am not at all concerned about taking every vaccine I can to protect my health as I care for the sick. Anything less in my opinion is irresponsible.
Now our situations are different, and as such they are not directly comparable. But let me offer you my bottom-line analysis of your situation: The chances that you would have regretted not getting the vaccine and falling ill are far greater than if you did take the shot and got a potential side effect.
I say this because of the serious nature of this new strain of flu virus that is spread easily from person to person.
Please note there are two different ways to take the vaccine. The first is a "live," or weakened vaccine that is taken as a nasal spray and the second is a "dead," inactivated vaccine that is given as an intramuscular injection.
Understand something very important, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IF YOU ARE OLDER THAN 50 YOU SHOULD NOT TAKE THE NASAL VACCINE.
If you are older than 50, you should only take the injection. This has less to do with the vaccine and more to do with the general state of the body as we age and how we deal with these specific types of vaccinations.
Let me be clear about one other issue: Because of the nature of the infections, we need to take both the usual Influenza A shot and the swine flu shot in order to be as protected as we can be. If you are older than 50 and somebody offers you the swine flu vaccine as a nasal spray, I'd ask you to refuse it and ask for the intramuscular vaccination instead. The side effects of the swine flu shot are essentially the same as the regular Influenza A shot.
As for not trusting any of this because it comes from an authority source ("the government") that has had credibility issues in the past: Well, I must say I frankly cannot blame you for doubting. As government is made up of human beings with very human faults, well, we do have a right to question.
But I'll say this: In my experience, when we are faced with issues such as this one, we as a country tend to pull it together and get it right more often than not. In this case, I feel we have the information we need to reason it through.
Finally, just take a moment and think about how many people actually depend on each one of us for so many things every day and think how they would feel if we were cut down by something that didn't have to be.
It just makes sense to protect yourself as best you can so you can get on with your life and care for those who depend and need us.
Roll up that sleeve!
Dr. Michael Camardi is a geriatrician at the Carilion Center for Healthy Aging. His columns run monthly in Extra.
If you have questions for Dr. Camardi, please mail them to him at Center for Healthy Aging, 2118 Rosalind Ave., Roanoke, VA 24014 or e-mail them to extra@roanoke.com with "Age Matters" in the subject line.
