It's that time of year when many of us need to get our flu shots. Yes, the flu is still a thing, and so are colds. And don't forget your COVID-19 vaccination!
With all of the media attention given to the coronavirus, we can forget the need to guard against other health concerns.
If you've been paying attention to the news and social media, it's no secret that there is an ongoing debate of sorts over vaccination. However, regardless of how one feels about the topic, it is clear that being vaccinated reduces one's risk to infection.
And, without getting clinical, if someone doesn't have a virus then they do not pose a risk to others.
For the purposes of this article we'll leave the discussion of efficacy and privacy rights to others. Suffice it to say that seniors and others have been routinely getting their flu shots every year for decades. And, overall, it works.
We are being told that this is true for the COVID-19 vaccines, as well, and it makes sense to do what we can to avoid being getting sick with coronavirus given it's potential for serious health risks.
Unfortunately, despite more than 100 years of research and scientific medical efforts, no one has come up with an effective vaccine for the so-called "common" cold!
According to the National Institutes for Health,
"More than 200 different viruses are known to cause the symptoms of the common cold. An estimated 30-35% of all adult colds are caused by rhinoviruses. In people with asthma, particularly children, rhinovirus infections are also frequently associated with flare-ups. Scientists had previously identified 99 distinct rhinovirus types."
While progress is being made on the clinical research front, the best we can do for now is to stay healthy and keep up on the Vitamin-C.
The CDC tells us that, when it comes to influenza, or the flu, there are many reasons to get a flu shot each year. Flu vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against flu and its potentially serious complications.
"[R]ecent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to those used to make flu vaccines. In general, current flu vaccines tend to work better against influenza B and influenza A(H1N1) viruses and offer lower protection against influenza A(H3N2) viruses."
In other words, while getting your flu shot does not guarantee 100 percent protection against getting sick with the flu, it does mean that it will reduce severity of illness if you still get sick, reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization, and is an important preventive tool for people with certain chronic health conditions.
Despite any controversy surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations, in practice they do work and are effective on a number of levels, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
"COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of COVID-19 and its potentially severe complications. All COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for use in the United States helped protect people against COVID-19, including severe illness, in clinical trial settings. So far, studies that have looked at how COVID-19 vaccines work in real-world conditions (vaccine effectiveness studies) have shown that these vaccines are working well."
And they go on to point out that,
"It’s not yet known how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts. Recent studies show that protection against the virus may decrease over time. This reduction in protection has led the CDC to recommend certain groups get a booster shot at least 6 months after completing their initial vaccination series."
So, statistically speaking, the best way to stay healthy and safe in today's immunobiologically threatened climate, is to get vaccinated for the flu and for COVID-19.
And to continue commonsense sanitary and precautionary practices such a regularly washing or disinfecting your hands, wearing a mask when indoors in public, and keeping your distance.
There are many other "best practices" that you can take to help ensure you and your family's health and maintain a safe home environment.
By simply making use of common and easily available cleaning tools and products, such as bleach and hydrogen peroxide solutions, keeping a clean and disinfected household can be simple and affordable.
Another key consideration is keeping as much of your household garbage and debris out of the house as possible. And, for some, this might mean removing your garbage and disposing of it more often than when your residential garbage removal service comes around each week.
No worries! That's when you can use the services of an expert junk, trash, and garbage removal company, like Junk King.
Junk King provides efficient, safe and eco-friendly household garbage removal and trash hauling services so you don’t need to worry about the pick up or disposal of your garbage and waste, especially if you or someone at home is sick.
Whether you need our services several times during a period of time or just once, our hauling professionals will ensure that the garbage and junk is out of your way so that you can get on with your life or work .
Do you have excessive household trash? No worries! Our team specializes in garbage removal.
We can be at your home or office in mere minutes, so call us today! Our crew is fully insured and well-trained, so you can trust them to get rid of your unwanted items in a professional and courteous fashion.
One of the best things about hiring Junk King is that we recycle much of the material we pick up. This is proof of our commitment to being an eco-friendly removal service. If you have questions about what we do or what we believe, give us a call at 1-888-888-JUNK (5865).