FLU VACCINATIONS STARTING STRONG

County giving free doses to those who don’t have health insurance coverage

Flu vaccination in San Diego County is off to a very strong start.

The region’s 3.3 million residents received 556,107 doses of f lu vaccine from late June through Oct. 10, according to the San Diego Immunization Registry, an electronic repository used by the vast majority of local health care providers. That’s 62,000 doses more than were doled out during the same span last season.

The early results are particularly encouraging, said Dr. Eric McDonald, medical director of the county’s epidemiology department, because last season, with more than 1.2 million doses recorded, was nothing to sneeze at.

“I think we’re about a week or so ahead of where we were at the same point last year which, I think, was the highest number we’ve ever had in the registry,” McDonald said.

Amid a coronavirus pandemic that shows no signs of letting up during the winter months, when the f lu is traditionally at its strongest, public health officials the world over are pushing hard for the populace to roll up its collective sleeve and get a shot.

Though the f lu vaccine does tend to have a lower success at preventing infection than many other vaccines do, studies have shown that it reduces the severity of illness for those who do get sick.

The key, McDonald noted, is to understand that the vaccine does not deliver immunity instantaneously. It takes about two weeks, on average, for the immune system to receive and incorporate the information on the specific strains of f lu virus contained in each dose.

He asked the collective community to resist the urge that causes many to wait until large numbers of new cases start appearing in weekly f lu reports. It’s better, he said, to be proactive by a whole holiday.

“It would be good to get your f lu shot before Thanksgiving, but it’s