It’s Worth a Shot
The Influenza, or flu for short, is a virus that destroys the respiratory system. The symptoms of the flu tend to surface rather quickly and can consist of a fever, coughing, sore throat, headaches, and fatigue. The flu virus is contagious and is transmitted by air, via coughing and sneezing. The flu is a highly contagious and a potential deadly virus. “Of the more than 36,000 influenza-related deaths each year, 90% occur among people aged 65 and older” (Sherman 11). However, seniors aren’t the only ones at risk. Younger adults are also especially vulnerable to the flu virus and the most effective way to prevent becoming infected is by a vaccination. Vaccines, antibodies and other medical advances in today’s medicine have significantly decreased the number of deaths caused by the flu virus each year, “The Influenza pandemic of 1918 had been regarded as the deadliest pandemic in history” (Yu et al 1). Around the end of World War I, a devastating flu enveloped America, Europe and other parts of Africa and Asia, affecting all age groups, but most deadly for people from ages twenty to forty. The first wave of the pandemic occurred in the spring of 1918
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The virus may start out with the common symptoms such as a fever, chills, fatigue, cough, etc., but without proper vaccinations it could lead to seizures, pneumonia, premature labor, sinusitis infections, and even death. Children and adults above 65 or older are prone vulnerable to all these complications. A study at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., showed “the median age of people hospitalized with influenza was 28.5 years. Many of the worst cases of flu occurred in young, otherwise healthy people” (Singh 1) What adults aren’t realizing is that they too are susceptible to worsening conditions and they could spread the virus to other individuals in the community who are at higher