Still early but flu shots shouldn’t be forgotten

We know it’s still early but we want to remind readers that experts say staying up to date on all vaccinations including the annual flu vaccine continues to be important.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick with flu, a potentially serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death.

Every flu season is different and flu can affect people differently, but during typical flu seasons, millions of people get flu, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes. Flu can mean a few days of feeling bad and missing work, school, or family events, or it can result in more serious illness.

The flu vaccine prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year. For example, during a recent year, flu vaccinations prevented an estimated 7 million influenza illnesses, 3 million influenza-associated medical visits, 100,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations and 7,000 influenza-associated deaths in the United States.

Put another way, during seasons when flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40% to 60%.

The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older and recommends that everyone should be vaccinated by sometime in October, so we have a bit of time to get it done. And that’s a good thing because it takes 10 to 14 days for the flu vaccine to take full effect. This means that those who wait to get the shot until the flu is actively circulating in their communities may not have enough time to build up protection from getting the shot before they are exposed to the flu virus.

The vaccines are available in many places including doctor’s offices, clinics, major pharmacies and, of course, at local health agencies including the the Marquette County Health Department. Call 906-475-7844 to schedule an appointment or learn more.