It’s Flu Season Again
By
Sherri Blevins
Fall
is finally here, and with the cooler temperatures and beautiful leaves comes
the not so beautiful influenza season once more. WebMD.com offers helpful information about the
flu, and the vaccine developed to prevent it. North Jackson Press obtained the following
information from its website.
“Before
influenza starts to circulate in the United States, now’s a good time to get
vaccinated and start thinking about flu and get prepared for the upcoming
season.
The
flu is a contagious disease, and it can cause mild to severe symptoms along
with life-threatening complications, even in young, healthy children and
adults. People 65 and over, followed by
those 50-64, and then children from newborn to 4 years old are those most
likely to be hospitalized this season.
It
can be deadly, too. Since 2010, the flu
has killed from 12,000 to 79,000 people annually in the United States and
affected about 9.3 million to 49 million annually.
Although
you can get the flu anytime, flu season starts in October and can go as late as
March and even April. But it usually
peaks in the United States in February.
In
general, everyone over six months of age should get vaccinated, the earlier,
the better for getting the vaccine. Late
September is a good time, even into October and beyond.
This
year’s vaccine looks like it will be a good match and offer protection against
the H1N1 and H3N2 strains that are circulating. These components have been updated from last
year’s vaccine to better match the strains being seen. The vaccine also seems well-matched to the
two B strains that have been seen so far.
Even
when the vaccine is a good match, the way it is produced may limit how well it
works.
People
may obtain the vaccine at a variety of places. It’s offered at doctors’ offices, clinics,
health departments, college health centers, pharmacies, and at many offices and
some schools.
Many
insurance plans pay for the annual vaccination, and older adults covered under
Medicare Part B can get the vaccine free, with no copay or deductible.
To
find a source for vaccines in your area, go to the Vaccine Finder (http://vaccine.healthmap.org).
The
nasal spray vaccine, FluMist, is once again being recommended by the CDC for
adults and children. In recent flu
seasons, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) had recommended
flu shots only for kids because of questions about how well the spray worked, but
the manufacturer appears to have improved the spray, so the CDC and AAP say
parents can go either way,shots or spray.
Since
it is the influenza season once more, do all you can to be prepared.
