Electronic version of vaccination guide

Helps you filter out 90% of vaccine-related rumors on the Internet, and understand the entire process from pre-vaccination assessment, on-site precautions to follow-up adverse reaction response in 10 minutes. You don’t have to sit in community groups to read dozens of chat records, and you don’t have to worry about being scared away from vaccination by sensational headlines in self-media.

Last week, I accompanied the 62-year-old Aunt Zhang downstairs to get a flu shot. The night before, she saw several videos. One said, "The vaccine for high blood pressure will cause a stroke," and the other said, "If you have diabetes, you cannot get the shot."

In fact, many people struggle with the question of "can I take the vaccine?" There is no need to search online for half a day to compare symptoms. As long as you are not in the midst of an acute illness (such as having a fever, urticaria, or chronic diseases that are particularly poorly controlled), take the physical examination report of the past three months or the chronic disease pill box you often take, and go to the vaccination site to ask the resident doctor. You can get an accurate answer in 5 minutes, which is more reliable than reading 10 self-media articles. Not long ago, when I was volunteering at a vaccination site, I met a young man who was allergic to penicillin. I checked for a long time and said that he was not allowed to take the HPV vaccine because of his allergic constitution. When I came over and asked, I found out that as long as you are not allergic to the vaccine excipients, you can get the vaccine. I was struggling for half a year.

There are many unnecessary pitfalls at the vaccination site. Don’t come on an empty stomach. Last month, a sophomore girl came to get a booster shot of COVID-19 without breakfast in order to catch up with her 8 a.m. class. She fainted due to low blood sugar just 5 minutes after sitting down, which scared people around her and thought it was a serious adverse reaction. In fact, she stuffed a piece of candy in her body and was fine after 10 minutes. Also, if you stay under observation for 30 minutes, don’t bother to sneak away. I encountered a case of acute allergies. Just 10 minutes after the treatment, he broke out in hives and couldn’t breathe. There were epinephrine and oxygen equipment on site, so nothing happened after the treatment. If he left early and had an attack at home, the risk would be much greater.

As for the statements posted online that "you cannot take a shower, eat seafood, or exercise after vaccination," most of them are false rumors. As long as you don't rub the needle hole too hard, it's totally fine to take a shower on the same day. If you don't have any allergies to seafood, you can eat it as you should. As long as you don't exercise strenuously until you're exhausted. Common adverse reactions include arm pain and low-grade fever below 38.5°C. Drink more warm water and rest, and it will basically disappear in about 2 days. If the fever reaches above 38.5°C or the pain does not get better for 3 days, go directly to the community hospital to see a doctor. Don’t take antibiotics randomly, and don’t frighten yourself by searching blindly.

There are several special reminders for different groups of people. If there are pregnant women or children at home, you can pay more attention. The current official guideline for pregnant women is that they can receive inactivated vaccines normally, but live attenuated vaccines are not recommended. If you are really not sure, just ask your obstetrician and make a judgment based on your gestational age and your physical condition. Don't listen to relatives saying that "vaccination during pregnancy will affect the child." If you really get the flu or herpes zoster during pregnancy, the impact on the fetus will be much greater than the vaccine. Children must get the first-class vaccines on time, and the second-class vaccines are not IQ taxes, such as pneumococcal, hand, foot and mouth, and pentavalent vaccines. If the economy allows, it is recommended to arrange all of them. My colleague's child did not get the hand, foot and mouth vaccine before, and he was infected in the first month of kindergarten. He had a fever for three days, and both adults and children suffered.

The most frequently asked question is "should I take a booster shot?" There is actually no unified conclusion in the industry. One school of thought is that for high-risk groups such as the elderly over 60 years old, people with underlying diseases, and medical staff, annual vaccination with a booster shot corresponding to the popular strain can reduce the risk of severe illness by more than 80%, which is a very cost-effective health investment. The other school of thought believes that if healthy young adults do not have frequent exposure risks, their own immune memory can already cope with most severe cases, and they do not need to be vaccinated frequently. Both schools have large sample research data to support them.

In fact, vaccination is a very personalized thing. There is no standard of "everyone must get it" or "no one can get it". You can save this guide on your mobile phone and read it for two minutes before the next time you get vaccinated. Most of the questions will be clarified. If you are really unsure, just ask your doctor. Don't believe those rumors with unknown origins.