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It's not too late to get your flu shot

November 26, 2007|Karen King, RN

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) second annual National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is Nov. 26 to Dec. 2. If you have not yet gotten a shot, it is not too late! Flu season usually peaks in January or February.

Every year in the United States on average 5 to 20 percent of the population gets the flu, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications and about 36,000 people die from the flu.

Older people, young people and people with certain health conditions are at high risk for serious flu complications. Those complications may include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes. It is spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with the flu. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

Most healthy adults may be able to infect others one day before symptoms develop and up to five days after becoming sick. That means you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick and while you are sick.

The single best way to prevent the flu is to get a vaccine each year. There are two types of vaccines. One is the "flu shot" (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle. It is approved for use in people six months of age and older, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions. The other is the nasal-spray flu vaccine, a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu. It is sometimes called LAIV for "live attenuated influenza vaccine. It is approved for use in healthy people 5 years to 49 years of age who are not pregnant. About two weeks after vaccination, antibodies develop that protect against influenza virus infection. Flu vaccines will not protect against flu-like illnesses caused by non-influenza viruses.

Other prevention methods are covering your mouth when coughing and frequent good hand-washing practices. In general, anyone who wants to reduce their chances of getting the flu can get vaccinated. Some people should get vaccinated each year because they live with or care for high-risk persons. Those who should not be vaccinated without first consulting a physician are people with a severe allergy to eggs, people who have had a severe reaction to a flu vaccination in the past, people who developed Guillain-Barre' syndrome (GBS) within six weeks of getting a flu vaccine in the past, children less than 6 months of age. People who have a moderate or severe illness with a fever should wait to get vaccinated until their symptoms decrease.

If you have not yet gotten your flu shot, call the Clark County Health Department at 744-4482 to schedule an appointment.

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