How Long Do Vaccinations Last
The list below outlines the usual duration of protection once the vaccination course is complete. For some vaccines, the duration of protection is uncertain.
- Chickenpox long-term
- Cholera – up to 2 years
- Diphtheria – 10 years
- Flu vaccine – up to 1 year
- Hepatitis A – Probable lifetime protection
- Hepatitis B – Lifetime
- Japanese B Encephalitis – 2 years to , depending on the vaccine used
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella – Life time
- Meningitis – new conjugate vaccines give up to 5 years protection
- Pneumonia – > 5 years, probably life time
- Polio booster – Life time
- Rabies – Immune memory persists for life booster doses needed only
- Tetanus – 5-10 years
What Is A Flu Vaccine
Influenza vaccines are vaccines that protect against the four influenza viruses that research indicates most common during the upcoming season. Most flu vaccines are flu shots given with a needle, usually in the arm, but there also is also a nasal spray flu vaccine.
How To Knock Out Flu Shot Pain
While soreness can be unpleasant, its nothing compared to the whole-body pain caused by the flu.
Here are four tips to relieve flu shot pain:
1. Distract Yourself
Take a few deep breaths to clear your mind and relax your body and look away to avoid tensing your muscles . It may help to also chew some gum or suck on a breath mint.
2. Use Pain Reliever
If you are typically pretty sore after your shot, ask your doctor if its safe for you to take acetaminophen or ibuprofen before and/or after the shot.
3. Keep Moving
Growing up, has someone ever told you to just walk it off when you get hurt? While you shouldnt just walk off any injury, there is some truth to this somewhat harsh rationale when it comes to the pain from your flu shot.
Dont baby your arm. Its not an injury. Moving your arm around after the shot will help spread the vaccination away from the injection site and increase blood flow. You may want to consider doing some light exercise after as well.
4. Cool It
Use a cool compress on the injection site to help reduce any swelling and pain. After a few days, you can try a warm compress to relax your muscle and increase blood flow.
Getting your annual flu shot can protect you, your loved ones and those around you from the flu and complications from it. A momentary discomfort is worth the thousands of lives who can be saved. Its one of the easiest ways to contribute to community health.
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Flu Vaccine For Frontline Health And Social Care Workers
If you’re a frontline health and social care worker, your employer should offer you a flu vaccine. They may give the vaccine at your workplace.
You can also have an NHS flu vaccine at a GP surgery or a pharmacy if:
- you’re a health or social care worker employed by a registered residential care or nursing home, registered homecare organisation or a hospice
- you work in NHS primary care and have direct contact with patients this includes contractors, non-clinical staff and locums
- you provide health or social care through direct payments or personal health budgets, or both
Treatment For Shoulder Tendonitis From A Vaccine
In mild cases, a medical professional will perform a physical examination and often prescribe a course of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. If the injured person is still suffering from a limited range of motion, a course of physical therapy will be recommended. Physical therapy will usually be prescribed two to three times per week for a course of around three months. If physical therapy is not beneficial, an orthopedic surgeon may recommend corticosteroid injections. These steroid injections, also known as Cortisone injection, have the ability to relieve inflammation in some instances. In severe cases, other treatment options include surgery. The damage to the shoulder capsule or subacromial bursa could be substantial enough to require removal of the bursa or repair of ruptured tendons.
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Why Does My Arm Hurt After A Flu Shot
- Lung Health and Diseases
- Pneumonia
Getting a shot at the doctor’s office might not be the most enjoyable experiencewith the needle and the doctor and that pesky arm pain that can come after for somebut vaccination is necessary to help your body defend itself against dangerous diseases, including seasonal influenza . There’s a reason CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age and older get a flu shot each year: Anyone can get the flu and it can hit hard. The 2017-2018 flu season particularly demonstrated the impact: Around 80,000 Americans lost their lives due to influenza and 900,000 people were hospitalized.
The flu shot is safe, and you cannot get the flu from the flu shot. Most people have little or no reaction to the flu shot and the most common side effect is some discomfort in your arm hours after receiving the vaccination, including soreness, redness and/or swelling. A sore arm is much better than catching the actual influenza viruswhich can knock you out for days or weeks with high fever, cough and muscle achesbut why do some people experience this particular side effect of the flu shot?
Diagnosing Shoulder Tendonitis From A Vaccine
If the injured person’s shoulder pain does not resolve in a short period of time, it is likely a serious injury. A person suffering from lingering shoulder pain following a vaccination should see their primary care physician as soon as possible. The primary doctor will likely refer the injured person to an orthopedic doctor who specializes in shoulder injuries. In order to diagnose the injury, the orthopedic doctor will often order an MRI of the shoulder to be done. MRI’s are the most effective testing method when it comes to diagnosing shoulder injuries. The MRI may show inflammation, fluid collection, or swelling. After the orthopedic reviews the MRI, they can prescribe a specific course of therapy for the shoulder injury.
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Can The Flu Shot Cause Tendonitis
A proper vaccine injection technique is critical for intramuscular vaccines such as the flu shot. Specifically, the Center for Disease Control advises that the needle should be inserted at a 90-degree angle to the skin, as close to the deltoid muscle as possible. While this may seem fool-proof, mistakes are common and can lead to tendonitis and other musculoskeletal injuries in the shoulder and arm. Improper vaccine administration can allow for the needle to cause damage to the nerves, muscles and other subcutaneous soft tissue. Moreover, many inactivated vaccines contain an adjuvant. Adjuvants are vaccine components that enhance the immune response to an antigen.
These components can cause a local reaction to an improperly placed needle at the injection site, causing pain, redness and swelling. Tendonitis, specifically, is an inflammatory reaction at the rotator cuff or biceps tendon. Tendons are thick cords of tissue that attach muscle to bone. Tendonitis normally occurs as the result of a tendon being pinched by inflamed surrounding structures. In severe instances, nerve damage or impingement syndrome can also be diagnosed.
How Long Does The Flu Shot Protect You From The Flu
A flu shot should help to protect you for the duration of the current flu season. However, youll need to get another flu shot next fall.
You may be wondering why you need to get a flu shot every year. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is related to the virus itself while another has to do with your level of immunity.
Influenza viruses are continually evolving throughout the year. Because of this, last years vaccine may not be a good match for the viruses that are prevalent this flu season.
The flu vaccine protects against the strains of influenza that research predicts will be the most prevalent in the upcoming flu season.
Your vaccine will typically include four strains , but may sometimes include three .
Additionally, a 2019 research review showed that the immunity provided by the flu shot decreases quickly over time.
This is why you likely wont have enough immunity from this years shot to protect you into the next flu season.
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Allergic Reactions To The Flu Vaccine
It’s very rare for anyone to have a serious allergic reaction to the flu vaccine. If this does happen, it usually happens within minutes.
The person who vaccinates you will be trained to deal with allergic reactions and treat them immediately.
Anyone can report a suspected side effect of a vaccine through the Yellow Card Scheme.
How To File A Vaccine Shoulder Injury Lawsuit
If you believe you have suffered from a serious adverse reaction or injury resulting from an influenza vaccine, contact our office today. If you have not already, you should report your injury to your doctor and receive proper treatment as soon as possible. To be eligible to file a claim, the effects of the injury must have: lasted for more than 6 months after the vaccine was given resulted in a hospital stay or surgery or resulted in death.
Once the vaccine administration record and relevant medical records are received by our office, an experienced vaccine attorney will perform a comprehensive analysis of the case. Vaccine injury claims begin with a petition filed against the Department of Health and Human Services. These claims are handled in the Court of Federal Claims and are ultimately decided by the Special Master assigned to preside over the case. These are no fault claims and are not handled like a traditional civil lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers, a pharmacy or your doctor’s office.
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Where To Get The Flu Vaccine
You can have the NHS flu vaccine at:
- your GP surgery
- a pharmacy offering the service
- your midwifery service if you’re pregnant
- a hospital appointment
If you do not have your flu vaccine at your GP surgery, you do not have to tell the surgery. This will be done for you.
It’s important to go to your vaccination appointments unless you have symptoms of COVID-19.
Annual Vaccination Is Recommended
Annual vaccination before the onset of each flu season is recommended. In most parts of Australia, this occurs from June to September.
Immunisation from April provides protection before the peak season. While the flu continues to circulate, it is never too late to vaccinate.
The flu vaccine cannot give you influenza because it does not contain live virus. Some people may still contract the flu because the vaccine may not always protect against all strains of the flu virus circulating in the community.
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How To Reduce Pain After A Vaccination
- Make sure to keep your injected arm moving after the shot since it gets the blood flowing to the injection site.
- Stick to doing lighter exercise and avoid any strenuous effort as you might experience some fatigue or discomfort after your shot. Pay close attention to how you feel.
- Take over-the-counter pain relievers if needed after the shot, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen or aspirin .
- Apply a clean, cool compress or ice pack to help reduce swelling and redness at the injection site.
How Is The Flu Vaccine Given
- Kids younger than 9 years old will get two doses of flu vaccine, spaced at least 1 month apart, if they’ve had fewer than two doses before July 2019. This includes kids who are getting the flu vaccine for the first time.
- Those younger than 9 who had at least two doses of flu vaccine will only need one dose.
- Kids older than 9 need only one dose of the vaccine.
Talk to your doctor about how many doses your child needs.
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Other Injection Site Events
Case reports that mention SIRVA also describe other shoulder injuries that can occur when landmarking is not performed correctly. Injections that occur below the deltoid muscle can hit the radial nerve and injections that are too far to the side of the deltoid muscle can hit the axillary nerve., If a nerve is hit, the patient will feel an immediate burning pain, which can result in paralysis or neuropathy that does not always resolve.,
I Just Got The Flu Shot Why Does My Arm Hurt
Influenza, or the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by a viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs. The virus travels from person to person through infectious droplets expelled from the nose or mouth, but chances of contracting the virus decrease between 40-60% with the administration of a flu shot. Some individuals suffer pain following vaccination, but there are ways to lower the likelihood of experiencing flu shot pain.
Many people experience pain after receiving the vaccination. Flu shot pain is the sensory response to the immune systems process of producing antibodies and developing immunity, which is what prevents a vaccinated individual from contracting the disease.
With general fear of muscle pain and as much as 10% of the US population suffering from a fear of needles, many people shy away vaccination each year. Pain, however, is minimal and should not last more than a few days. Although it might seem unavoidable, there are some ways to reduce the risk of shoulder pain and muscle soreness following vaccination.
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How Much It Hurts May Depend On How The Shot Was Administered
Slow injections may cause more pain, according to research published in the journal Vaccine. Researchers compared pain measurements in slow versus fast injections among infants and found that a faster shot reduced injection-induced pain when it came to certain vaccines, including the flu shot. A slower injection time means more time for the needle to be in contact with the skin, which could lead to the needle moving around more or even potentially cause muscle tissue damage, both of which make you feel sorer.
While you cant exactly predict the style of the person giving you the shot, try stroking or applying gentle pressure to the skin near the injection site during the shot, said Michael Grosso, chief medical officer at Huntington Hospital in Huntington, New York. Just give the nurse or pharmacist a heads up if you want to do this step before they get started. They may opt to do it for you so that you dont accidentally get pricked.
How To Avoid A Sore Arm After Your Workplace Flu Shot
Up to 64% of adults and children who receive the flu shot experience pain and/or soreness at the site of the injection, making it the most common side effect of the vaccine. Many patients unpleasantly describe it as feeling like they were “getting punched in the arm,” and we understand that it can be a real discomfort for the one or two days it takes for the soreness to go away. Luckily, there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce or avoid this experience when you attend an on-site flu clinic this year!
We spoke to our Assistant Director of Nursing, Andrea Oster, for her tips and tricks for avoiding arm soreness post-shot:1.) Relax your arm when getting the shot. “It can be hard to do when you’re nervous, but do not tense up,” Andrea says. While you’re sitting, lay your hand flat on your upper leg and relax your shoulder, letting your arm hang until the nurse administers the shot.
2.) Take ibuprofen or Tylenol. A lot of the pain comes from inflammation. Taking a painkiller will do wonders in reducing swelling and assisting with the discomfort.
3.) Use your arm afterwards. “Don’t ‘baby’ it! Work out, write, type and continue your regular routines,” Andrea says. By keeping your arm in motion, you can help the circulation in the injection area return to normal more quickly. If you didn’t use your dominant arm, consider raising it up or moving it in circles to speed along the healing process.
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Why Does It Happen
The symptoms of SIRVA stem from the shot going into the wrong part of your upper arm or due to trauma from the needle. Research suggests that this brings on inflammation, and it could injure body parts inside your shoulder like:
- Ligaments. These tough bands of tissue connect two bones in a joint.
- Tendons. These thick cords connect muscles to bones.
- Bursae. These fluid-filled sacs cushion bones, tendons, and muscles.
How Does It Happen
SIRVA can happen if a medical worker gives you a vaccine shot too high up on your upper arm. That could accidentally damage tissues or structures in the shoulder.
The right place to give this type of shot is in the middle, thickest part of the deltoid, a large triangular muscle that goes from your upper arm bone to your collarbone.
To prevent SIRVA and give these shots properly, many medical workers are trained to look or feel for specific physical âlandmarksâ on the arm that guide them to the deltoid muscle.
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Reaction At The Injection Site
The most common side effect of the flu shot is a reaction at the injection site, which is typically on the upper arm. After the shot is given, you may have soreness, redness, warmth, and in some cases, slight swelling. These effects usually last less than two days.
To help reduce discomfort, try taking some ibuprofen before getting your shot.