According to doctors, the changing of seasons makes the flu continue to pose a risk of serious complications, especially in young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with underlying diseases.
Seasonal flu can cause serious complications.
Although the number of flu cases requiring hospitalization and severe complications has “cooled down”, in recent weeks, the number of customers getting flu vaccinations has tended to increase. Master, Doctor Nguyen Nhu Thai, Head of the vaccination unit, Dong Nai General Hospital, shared: If previously, the hospital's vaccination area received about 15-20 flu vaccinations per day, now this number has increased to 25-30 cases. Because this is a favorable time for respiratory diseases to break out, of which seasonal flu accounts for a high proportion.
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| Doctor Nguyen Nhu Thai, Head of the Vaccination Unit, Dong Nai General Hospital, consults on flu vaccination for the elderly. Photo: Bich Nhan |
Records at vaccination sites show that many people bring their whole family to get the flu vaccine, especially families with elderly people with underlying diseases such as: cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, diabetes, bones and joints... Taking advantage of the weekend, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (in Tan Trieu ward, Dong Nai province) took both her parents to get the flu vaccine.
Ms. Phuong said: “I have been vaccinating my family against the flu for about 5 years now. Almost every year I give my parents this vaccine because they are old and have underlying diseases. Perhaps thanks to that, my parents get the flu less often, or each time they do get sick, it is mild, does not last too long and does not require hospitalization.”
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| Children are also in the group that should be prioritized for flu vaccination. Photo: Bich Nhan |
Not only the elderly, families with young children are also worried about the flu, so many parents have proactively taken their children to get vaccinated after the number of flu cases requiring hospitalization increased a few weeks ago.
After staying up many sleepless nights taking care of her child in the hospital to treat influenza A with severe pneumonia complications, Ms. Kim Ngan (in An Phuoc commune, Dong Nai province) is still haunted by the dangers of this seemingly simple and easily contracted disease. A few weeks ago, Ms. Ngan's son had a cough and fever. The family just thought that he had a common cold, so they took him to the doctor and gave him fever-reducing medicine, treating him at home. But after 3 days, the condition did not improve and got worse, so he had to be hospitalized for treatment.
Master, Doctor Nguyen Nhu Thai, Head of the Vaccination Unit, Dong Nai General Hospital, recommends: Children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions are groups at high risk of severe complications from the flu, so vaccination is necessary.
However, healthy people are still at risk of contracting the flu and becoming a source of infection for high-risk groups. But in reality, healthy people often have a subjective mentality, do not get vaccinated against the flu, and when sick, buy antibiotics and treat themselves at home. This can put patients at risk of getting sicker and spreading it to other family members. Therefore, everyone should get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families and the surrounding community.
The flu test results showed that the baby was positive for influenza A and had progressed to pneumonia complications. “I did not expect the flu to progress so quickly and cause such serious complications. Just 2 days after contracting the flu, the baby developed pneumonia and had to be put on a ventilator when admitted to the hospital and treated for nearly 2 weeks. Therefore, after being discharged from the hospital and being able to get vaccinated, I took my child to get the flu vaccine for prevention,” Ms. Ngan shared.
Abundant source of flu vaccine
According to specialist doctor I Bach Thi Chinh, Medical Director of the VNVC Vaccination System nationwide, at nearly 250 vaccination centers of the VNVC Vaccination System across the country as well as 15 VNVC centers in Dong Nai, the number of customers receiving flu shots increased by 30-50% compared to the same period in 2024. Customers are of various ages, from children 6 months and older to the elderly, people with chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer... Many families get flu shots together to proactively prevent disease.
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| People get flu shots at the VNVC Dong Nai Vaccination Center. Photo: Bich Nhan |
VNVC is currently deploying 4 types of flu vaccines including: Vaxigrip Tetra from France, Influvac Tetra from the Netherlands, GC Flu Quadrivalent from Korea and IVACFLU-S from Vietnam. The vaccines help prevent 4 common strains of flu including 2 strains of influenza A, H3N2 and H1N1; 2 strains of influenza B, Yamagata and Victoria.
“The flu vaccine requires a booster shot every year because the flu virus often has small changes in the surface structure of the virus, making it more difficult for the body's immune system to recognize it. Therefore, every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) will continuously update common flu virus strains. Based on this recommendation, vaccine manufacturers will adjust the vaccine ingredients to match the latest circulating flu virus strains,” Dr. Chinh emphasized.
Regarding the flu vaccine, Dr. Nguyen Nhu Thai added: Flu is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses, mainly influenza A and influenza B strains, which are highly contagious through the respiratory tract. Patients can spread the virus 1 day before symptoms appear, so the pathogen can spread silently. Mild flu has typical symptoms such as fever, runny nose, cough, headache... In severe cases, patients may experience complications such as bronchitis, pneumonia, myocarditis, respiratory failure and worsening of chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes...
“Pregnant women, in particular, are at risk of miscarriage, birth defects, and premature birth. Therefore, women can get the flu shot at any stage of pregnancy, preferably from the second trimester onwards, to protect the mother and pass passive antibodies to the baby in the first months of life,” Dr. Thai shared.
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| Currently, vaccination units in Dong Nai province still have enough flu vaccine to serve people's vaccination needs. Photo: Bich Nhan |
Currently, vaccination units in Dong Nai province still have enough flu vaccine to serve the vaccination needs of the people. In particular, many facilities have deployed a vaccination appointment system via website, fanpage... to help customers arrange vaccination quickly.
The VNVC vaccination system has deployed a mobile vaccination service for large numbers of organizations and businesses at vaccination centers or at workplaces, helping to save time and costs for the units. The entire mobile vaccination process ensures strict and tight standards.
Bich Nhan
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/y-te/202512/so-bien-chung-cum-mua-nhu-cau-tiem-vaccine-cum-tang-f090e29/
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