Help keep New Mexicans healthy; get your flu shot

“We encourage New Mexicans to get their seasonal flu vaccination — the sooner the better.” — N.M. Health Secretary Lynn Gallagher

Flu season is again upon us, and while football games, Balloon Fiesta and trick-or-treating are likely at the top of most people’s to-do lists, there’s something everyone should consider doing first. That’s get a flu shot. Because while a small segment of the population does not tolerate the influenza vaccination well (those who have had allergic reactions to it or its ingredients including eggs and gelatin, those who have had Guillain-Barré Syndrome), the population at large needs to get vaccinated to better protect us all. It’s called herd immunity, and it means that when enough people are immune to a disease, its transmission is reduced or eliminated.

And that’s important, considering that last flu season the disease killed 180 children in the United States. Eighty percent of those children had not received a flu shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control. CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told the Journal “we had record-breaking levels of influenza illness, hospitalization rates, and deaths in children during the 2017-18 season.”

In New Mexico, the flu killed 284 people last season, which runs roughly from October through February, but flu season can last as late as May. New Mexico has already had confirmed cases of flu this month.

Most of this year’s flu vaccines contain four strains of the virus, providing better coverage and helping to better ensure that if you do get sick, it is not as severe or for as long.

The vaccination is especially important for those who care for babies, the elderly or medically fragile individuals; children; the elderly; folks with asthma, diabetes, heart or lung issues or compromised immune systems; pregnant women; the morbidly obese; and American Indians.

Most pharmacies and doctor’s offices have the vaccine, and the state Health Department’s public health offices will offer flu vaccines to the uninsured and children starting in October.

So before you head out to the game, the fiesta or to track down a Halloween costume, take a minute and get a flu shot.

It will help ensure a safer flu season for all of us.