Flu Season Is Here
Flu Season is Here
Friends:
The changing of the seasons throughout the year is inevitable, as is the yearly arrival of the flu, also known as influenza. And while many people are focused solely on COVID-19, the flu can still be dangerous. The flu can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death and yes, healthy people can get very sick from the flu and spread it to others.
Some people are at high risk for serious complications from the flu. This includes older people, pregnant women, young children and people with certain health conditions. Three of the nation’s leading, non-profit health organizations – the American Lung Association, the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association – urge adults living with chronic disease to prioritize getting an annual flu vaccine.
Infants under 6 months of age also have a higher risk of flu complications than children of any other age but they are too young for the flu vaccine. That is why it is recommended that those who live or work with people who are at high risk of flu complications should get a flu vaccine to keep from spreading the flu to them.
Thankfully during the 2020-2021, flu season there were no flu-associated pediatric deaths in New York, but the prior season saw 14 laboratory confirmed flu-associated deaths reported to the State Department of Health.
Our Department of Health continues to hold regular flu vaccine clinics. They are giving the quadrivalent flu vaccine, which offers protection against four different flu virus strains that research shows will be most common during this flu season: two influenza (flu) A virus strains and two influenza B virus strains.
And for those wondering, the flu vaccine may be taken at the same time as a COVID-19 vaccine which is what I did a month ago when I got my COVID-19 vaccine booster and flu shot. To make a flu shot appointment visit: http://rcklnd.us/flu.
Flu season usually peaks in January or February and can last until May so it’s not too late to get your flu vaccine. Besides getting the flu shot here are some everyday preventive actions you can take to help reduce the spread of flu:
· Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
· If you are sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
· Cover coughs and sneezes.
· Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Germs spread this way.
· Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with viruses that cause flu.
Wishing you all a safe and healthy holiday season! Please do your part to keep yourselves, your family and our community safe throughout the coming winter.
