Episode 33: The Flu. 

Saba and Dr Arreaza gave us a brief review on the flu shot. Influenza vaccination starts at 6 months of age. Vaccinate everyone including pregnant women. Pectoriloquy is basically being able to understand the voice of a patient with a stethoscope placed on their chest. We learned the Spanish word gripe (gree-pay) which means cold and flu in Spanish. 

The sun rises over the San Joaquin Valley, California, today in October 30, 2020.

Halloween is just around the corner! Today we will talk about vaccines because the new influenza season just started. If you have not realized it yet, this podcast is a strong defender of vaccines. So today we bring you what you need to know about the feared flu shot.

Some fun facts about cold and flu symptoms. 

A cough can travel as fast as 50 mph and expel almost 3,000 droplets in just one go. Sneezes can travel up to 100 mph and create about 100,000 droplets. Yikes![1] During a pandemic, coughing or sneezing in public may even be more embarrassing than farting. 

Did you know that the average adult produces about 1.5 quarts of mucus a day, that’s 48 ounces! and we swallow most of it. As a reference, a Big Gulp has about 30 ounces. The amount of mucus can double or triple during infections. That’s a lot to swallow!

This is Rio Bravo qWeek, your weekly dose of knowledge brought to you by the Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program, from Bakersfield, California. Sponsored by Clinica Sierra Vista, Providing compassionate and affordable care since 1971. 

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” — Desmond Tutu.

This is not a podcast about politics, but with elections coming soon, we remind everyone to vote for the candidate who represents their values and beliefs. The two big contenders, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have their own opinions and two different visions of what they want to do in the following 4 years in America. So, go and vote! You can decide who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed, based on your own judgement.

Here we have Saba Ali, a fourth-year medical student who will talk about influenza vaccine.

Timing of vaccine

Saba: Remember to start influenza vaccination at 6 months of age. Any patient who has not received any influenza vaccine before age 8 should receive 2 doses 1 month apart. Vaccination is most effective if received by the end of October, although a vaccine administered in December or later is likely still beneficial.

Intranasal vaccine

Arreaza: And for those who are scared of needles, we have good news: The “intranasal vaccine” or live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV4) is approved for use in healthy non-pregnant individuals, 2 years through 49 years of age. 

Saba: Don’t use LAIV4 in younger than 2 years or older than 50 years, pregnant women, patients with severe allergies to previous flu vaccines, patients younger than 18 receiving aspirin or salicylate-containing medications, immunosuppressed patients, caregiver of immunosuppressed patients, children younger than 5-year-old with asthma, people on antiviral medications, patients with active communication between the CSF and oropharynx, nasal pharynx, nose, or ear, or any other cranial CSF leak, and patients with cochlear implants, asplenia or persistent complement component deficiencies.

Types of vaccines

Arreaza: CDC recommends using any age-appropriate influenza vaccine: 1. inactivated influenza vaccine [IIV], 2.  recombinant influenza vaccine [RIV], or 3. live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV). No preference is expressed for any influenza vaccine over another. 

Egg Allergy

Sab