Health During COVID-19: Flu Shots and Other Vaccines for Hospice

Vaccinations of many kinds help protect people from illnesses that affect their overall health and well-being. A hospice or palliative care patient with age-based or chronic illness issues can benefit from flu shots and other vaccines. Preventing additional problems that reduce life quality and comfort is of great importance during these already challenging times.

Flu shots and common vaccinations for things like pneumonia are especially crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. With its spread continuing across the country and worldwide, maximizing health and avoiding illnesses that compromised the immune system makes sense. After all, a hospice or palliative care patient deserves the utmost comfort as they receive help from the caring professionals who make up hospice teams.

The Importance of the Influenza Vaccine or Flu Shot

Every year when flu season starts in the autumn, people decide whether to get a flu vaccine or not. Some think it does not give them enough protection to matter, while others erroneously believe that the vaccine will give them the flu. Both assumptions are incorrect and may prevent people who would benefit from the influenza vaccine from getting it.

When the person in question is receiving hospice or palliative care, the medical power of attorney, family member, or caretaker may make health decisions for them. Accurate information about the benefits of the yearly flu shot is necessary.

• The CDC recommends a flu shot for all adults
• Hospice patients frequently have compromised immune systems
• Flu virus transmission can happen rapidly in a care center or nursing home
• Influenza ranges from mild to potentially fatal
• The flu vaccine helps to protect patients, their caregivers, and loved ones

Pneumococcal Vaccines to Prevent Infection

While more people may talk about the flu shot every year, other important vaccinations can help maintain the highest possible quality of life for people in palliative care situations. The pneumococcal vaccines help prevent a dozen different infection varieties, including pneumonia, meningitis, ear infections, and septicemia. Needless to say, none of these severe health issues would help a hospice patient feel their best.

Many other vaccines are given during infancy and childhood that need boosters as a person ages. These include shots for tetanus, shingles, hepatitis, and other troublesome issues. The recommendations for people receiving palliative or hospice care differ. It is essential to work closely with the physician, nurses, and overall care team to decide on the individual’s best options.

Since the focus of hospice or palliative care is to provide comfort on the patient’s final journey through life, preventing illnesses in all ways that do not increase risk makes sense. The yearly flu shot reduces the chance of the already medically delicate patient getting ill and feeling miserable. Preventing pneumonia and related infections is an essential part of ensuring the most positive and comfortable time possible. In these challenging times brought about by COVID19, immunizations have become even more necessary to maintain the quality of life for people in hospice care.