Here are other preventative steps you can take for your health while waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine

I got Vaccine envy??

You are not alone. For those of us who landed in Phase 2 or 3, we’re happy with the friends and family who took the shot, but at least not a little sorry for ourselves. There are many Americans in the Facebook feed.

It’s even more difficult when tens of thousands of people begging for a standby list while reading reports of vaccines that are just chilling in storage units and stories about tens of thousands of unbooked appointments. Become.

Breathe Then consider if anyone you know is qualified but has accessibility issues and see if you can help. It will make you feel less helpless. Believe me, connecting others is the next best thing to get yourself.

With all qualified neighbors involved, it’s a good time to see if there are other potentially life-saving vaccinations we can get.Because, don’t forget, you can get sick from what you don’t COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection)..

For example, cancers associated with HPV (human papillomavirus), according to recent reports, SurveyIt’s run by Leger and funded by Merck, a pharmaceutical company that manufactures the Gardasil HPV vaccine, but it’s not on people’s radar, especially men’s radar.

Over 70% of women identified cervical cancer as a potential consequence of HPV infection, but only 16% of men could identify penile cancer as a possible consequence. Even fewer men were aware of mouth and throat cancer as a potential consequence.

Dr. Nancy Durand, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and an associate professor at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, said: University of Toronto. “What we are unaware of is that the number of cases of cancer, especially in men, has increased in recent years.”

Durand continues. “So there is a real knowledge gap between men and women about HPV, and it’s a shame because it’s the most common sexually transmitted disease you live anywhere in the world.”

Already some people is HPV is vaccinated against HPV because it is provided free of charge to school children. However, it is complicated because the first pilot program from 2007 to 2008 started with vaccination of girls only. In addition, due to the low “ingestion” rate of this vaccine, parents do not always agree that their child will receive the particular injection. So those who missed it may consider talking to a doctor about it, because it is approved by Health Canada for people under the age of 45.

Another vaccine I often hear about these days is the shingles vaccine. Shingles is a painful condition that is basically the second coming of chickenpox. And when it comes back, it can come back with revenge. Some people report distress that can last for months.

I have never had chickenpox. So you don’t have to worry, right?

“If you think you’ve never had chickenpox, you probably had chickenpox, but there were only mild cases,” said Dr. Doug Oliver, an associate professor of family medicine at McMaster University. I will. “And we think the virus is dormant in you, so if you think you’ve never had chickenpox, you need to discuss with your doctor if the shingles vaccine is right for you.”

Doctors can test if you’ve ever had it, but most people have it, so it’s approved by everyone over the age of 50, so most people have a vaccine Will choose to give-and in Ontario, covered by OHIP for people up to 65 years old and 70.

The pneumonia vaccine also applies to people over the age of 65 in Ontario. It is effective for 10 years and protects against Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, the most common form of pneumonia. Oliver, who is also a family doctor, says that for convenience, most pneumococci are given at the same time as the flu shot, but they can be given at any time of the year.

I like traveling, so I am vaccinated against hepatitis A and B. Currently no one is on vacation (or at least not planning on vacation), but it takes 6 months (and 3 doses) to fully protect, so talk to your doctor about what you need now. It might be a good time to eat roasted guinea pigs in the Peruvian Andes if it is included in the post-pandemic bucket list.

“You don’t necessarily have to link to a trip,” says Oliver. “Hepatitis A is a food vector from people who have prepared your food and did not wash their hands after going to the bathroom, so there are cases in Ontario every year.”

School-aged children are currently vaccinated against hepatitis B, but Oliver warns that this shot does not provide lifelong protection. If it’s been 20 years since the last shot, it’s a good idea to call your doctor to see if it’s still there. I have an antibody.

anything else?

“Sure, the big problem is probably more tetanus vaccination than everything we’ve already talked about,” says Oliver. “Most adults forget or don’t know that they need to get a tetanus booster every 10 years. The shot also has protection against diphtheria and whooping cough.”

Also, it may be premature to vaccinate against seasonal flu, but don’t forget it in the fall. Last year, influenza rates were record low, primarily due to masking and social distance. It almost didn’t exist. I was able to try the same thing for the second year in a row just by being vaccinated against the flu.

Posting to social media like the COVID-19 shot may work. Let’s envy the flu shot next year.