’Tis the season for vaccinations
San Joaquin County encourages residents to get vaccinated before peak flu season
Running a fever? Have a sore throat and a cough? Bad news, ‘tis the season, and you may have the flu. The good news is, there are steps you can take to avoid the disease if you don’t yet show symptoms.
With 501 cases of influenza A and 100 cases of influenza B reported in California last year, San Joaquin County’s Assistant Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Furst advises residents to get their vaccinations now, explaining that the vaccine takes two weeks to take effect. The California Department of Public Health reported 81 outbreaks of influenza during the 2015-16 season, and 275 outbreaks from 2014 to 2015.
“The season peaks in January and February. Anyone who has not yet been vaccinated, I would encourage to go out and get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Furst said.
People age 65 and older should get flu shots, Furst said, as well as people with chronic lung and heart diseases, weakened immune systems and kidney or liver disorders. Children younger than 5 should also be vaccinated, she said, especially children younger than 2, as well as those who work with infants and the elderly. The vaccine is especially crucial for pregnant women, she added.
“It’s extremely important for pregnant women to be vaccinated because influenza’s side effects can be horrible. They may need to be hospitalized, and they could lose their pregnancies. The vaccine also helps protect babies after they’re born because the vaccine is not available until a child is 6 months old,” Furst said.
While Australia reported that the AH3N2 component of the vaccine only had a 10 percent success rate during their flu season in summer, according to Furst, she said that the AH1N1 and two B-virus components had no reported problems. Although health officials will not be able to measure the vaccine’s effectiveness in the United States until later this year, she does not expect many difficulties.
“There are no indication at this time of any problems with the other three components. People don’t know what viruses they might be exposed to, so getting the vaccine is the best way to protect themselves from getting the flu,” Furst said.
Symptoms of the virus itself include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue. Redness, soreness and swelling around the injection site are the most common side effects of the flu vaccine, according to Furst, although some people do experience mild fevers and body aches. Covering sneezes and coughs with a tissue or the crook of the arm are two ways to prevent the spread of the flu, along with keeping household surfaces clean.
“It’s still early in the season, but we want to protect as many people as possible and the influenza vaccine is the best way to do that,” Furst said.