At Gia Lai Children's Hospital, on average, the hospital receives and examines about 400 pediatric patients per day; of which over 50% have respiratory diseases . Bringing her child for examination, Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thu (Nha Hyon village, Chu A commune, Pleiku city) shared: My child had a fever, cough, and then developed pneumonia. Before that, my whole family had just recovered from influenza B.
“Currently, the flu situation is complicated, there are many serious cases with complications and even deaths, so I am very worried. My family planned to get vaccinated against the flu but got sick before we could get vaccinated,” said Ms. Thu.
Ms. Kpuih Ly (O Ngol village, Ia Ve commune, Chu Prong district) said that for the past week, her daughter had a high fever, headache, stomachache and muscle pain. She went to the pharmacy to buy medicine for her child, but the illness did not improve but became worse, so she took her to Gia Lai Children's Hospital for examination.
According to Master, Doctor Tu Thi Mai Linh - Deputy Director of Gia Lai Children's Hospital, dry, cold, monsoon weather increases the risk of influenza (also known as respiratory viruses). This year, the weather is complicated, although it is spring, the cold weather lasts for a long time, the number of children with acute respiratory diseases in the province also tends to increase.
Seasonal flu can heal itself after a while, but the disease can also cause dangerous complications to health and can cause death, especially for high-risk groups including: Children under 5 years old, especially children under 2 years old; the elderly, people with underlying diseases, weak immune systems, obese people... Some complications of flu include: bronchitis, pneumonia, myocarditis, multiple organ failure, encephalitis, sepsis...
“Currently, some people have the habit of buying medicine themselves when they are sick without being examined or diagnosed by doctors. This can make the disease worse and endanger their health. Therefore, when having symptoms of flu such as chills, fatigue, high fever, headache, muscle pain, etc.; people need to go to medical facilities for examination and treatment as prescribed by doctors. Flu can be prevented by getting a flu vaccine. This is an effective preventive measure to reduce the risk of getting the flu and serious complications from this disease. People need to proactively get vaccinated to prevent the disease,” Dr. Linh advised.
People proactively get vaccinated against disease
Faced with the complicated developments of seasonal flu, many Gia Lai residents have proactively gotten vaccinated to prevent the disease. Ms. Tran Thi Thu Le (Group 1, Yen Do Ward, Pleiku City) said: Through listening to the news, I know that the flu is developing very complicatedly, with many cases of severe complications, especially in the elderly, people with underlying diseases, children... Therefore, my family proactively went to get vaccinated against the flu. When arriving at the vaccination site, not only my family but also many other people went to get vaccinated against the disease.
Doctor A Thi Hai Van - VNVC Pleiku Vaccination Center informed: Flu vaccine protects the body by creating specific antibodies against influenza virus when the body is exposed to pathogens, thereby helping to reduce illness as well as hospitalization and death due to dangerous complications of influenza such as pneumonia, meningitis, myocarditis, sepsis, respiratory failure, multiple organ failure... Flu vaccine has been proven safe, effective and has been used for over 60 years.
“According to studies, influenza vaccines are up to 90% effective in preventing disease, reducing the risk of death from all causes by 47%, reducing the risk of hospitalization due to pneumonia, and reducing the risk of myocardial infarction by 15-45%. In the elderly and people with underlying diseases, vaccines help reduce the mortality rate related to influenza by 70-80%. In addition to protecting mothers, influenza vaccination also helps transmit passive antibodies to newborns at birth, reducing the risk of stillbirth by 51%, and reducing the risk of hospitalization for children under 6 months of age due to influenza by 72%,” said Dr. Van.
Currently, VNVC has two new generation quadrivalent influenza vaccines. The vaccines prevent four common virus strains including influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, B/Yamagata, B/Victoria, for children from 6 months old and adults. The disease prevention efficiency is up to 90% and prevents complications such as pneumonia, sepsis, meningitis, myocarditis, respiratory failure... Children from 6 months to under 9 years old need two injections at least one month apart if they have not been vaccinated against influenza. Children from 9 years old and adults only need one influenza injection. The vaccine needs to be repeated once a year. Women should get vaccinated against influenza before and during pregnancy, preferably from the 3rd month onwards to protect their health and transmit passive antibodies to their children.
According to Dr. Van, after Tet, from February 1 to February 6, right after the VNVC Vaccination System resumed operations, the centers recorded an increase in the number of people coming to get flu shots as well as interest and information about flu vaccines through calls to the consulting hotline and contact via the Website, Facebook... According to statistics, the number of people proactively coming to get flu shots at the VNVC Vaccination Centers in An Khe and Pleiku in particular and nearly 220 centers nationwide increased by nearly 200% compared to normal days. Of which, the group of adults and the elderly accounted for nearly 50%.
“The reason for the increased demand for flu vaccination is that many people are late for their flu vaccinations during the Lunar New Year holiday, plus concerns about recent deaths and hospitalizations due to flu. In addition, many parents are taking their children to get flu vaccinations before returning to school due to concerns about infection in a group environment,” Dr. Van emphasized.
Source: https://gialai.gov.vn/tin-tuc/cum-mua-dien-bien-phuc-tap-nguoi-dan-gia-lai-chu-dong-phong-benh.81564.aspx
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