The cost-effectiveness of flu vaccination

MANILA, Philippines - Persuading people to take an influenza shot could sometimes be challenging especially if most of them are afraid of the needle or worried about the cost involved.

But imagine if one goes down with the illness. Apart from the fact that influenza — otherwise known as the flu — could keep one incapacitated for days, the cost that one will incur just to recuperate could be so much more.

“Flu imposes a considerable economic burden in the form of hospital and other healthcare costs and lost productivity (especially if the patient is the family breadwinner). One should also consider the consequences if young children or elderly members of the household are the ones who go down with flu,” said Dr. Myla Macapia, clinics operations manager of ActiveOne Health, a workplace healthcare and wellness management company.

And considering that the deaths that flu could cause around the world could reach around 500,000 per year, vaccinating against it makes even more sense.

“Vaccination is the principal measure for preventing flu and reducing the impact of epidemics. One should realize that flu is a highly contagious disease and is easily spread from person to person, much like a common cold,” said Dr. Josefina Cardona-Carlos, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and associate professor at the University of the East-Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center’s Department of Pediatrics.

Carlos added that unlike colds, children who go down with flu have a risk of developing complications such as sinus, ear infections or worse, develop more serious ailments like pneumonia, meningitis and encephalitis (both are serious infections of the nervous system) or even Reye’s syndrome (an extremely rare but serious illness that affects the brain and liver).

Apart from children, elderly individuals also account for a huge number of those admitted to hospitals due to complications of influenza.

“Like children, elderly individuals also risk developing pneumonia, dehydration, or make their chronic medical conditions (such as asthma and emphysema or heart disease) much worse,” said Dr. Miguel Ramos, president of the Philippine Society for Geriatric Medicine.

He said the best way to fight flu is to get vaccinated before the start of the peak season, which begins during the rainy months of June to September here in the Philippines.

To know more about flu, visit www.bakuna.ph or ask a doctor about it.