An ounce of influenza vaccine is worth at least a few tons of Tamiflu

It’s still flu season, although the flu gods have shown a bit more mercy than in years past.  So many variables determine whether each winter brings a relatively mild flu season, a “flunami,” or something in between.  I’m a country boy doing primary care in the city, and I have only a modest understanding of which influenza strain is circulating, the concepts of antigenic drift and shift, and how the big brains decide which antigens to include in the yearly vaccine. It sure seems that scientists have done a great job this year predicting which strains to vaccinate against, and for this I am eternally grateful.   I hope I’m not giving the “Sicilian kiss of death” to all my fellow clinicians on the front lines by making this observation.  I guess I’m a bit superstitious like that.  In addition to the occasional unfounded superstition, country colloquialisms continue to influence me daily.  My favorite medical one is: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Prevention is not sexy.  There isn’t a single TV series telling the stories of lives saved by seat belts, vaccines, or blood pressure medications.  A trio of heroes tackles and subdues a terrorist on a train, and they are (rightfully) widely celebrated.  But no one celebrates the TSA for all the bombings and hijackings they have prevented by merely being there.  Prevention is dull — I fully understand that.  Watching someone scroll through a slideshow full of preventi...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Conditions Infectious disease Source Type: blogs