Official urges getting flu, virus shots

FAYETTEVILLE — Residents should not hesitate to get the flu vaccine this year, in addition to covid-19 immunization, Fayetteville’s public health officer told the Board of Health on Wednesday.

People who have not yet gotten immunized against covid-19 can get the shot at the same time as their yearly flu vaccine, said Marti Sharkey, the city’s public health officer. She likened getting both shots at the same time to how children get multiple vaccinations before starting school.

“The side effects are going to be similar,” Sharkey said. “You’re going to have a sore arm, you may be a little tired, you may have a headache or sore throat or not feel 100% the next day.”

Sharkey said health care professionals are anticipating an influenza presence nationwide, although they aren’t sure how bad it will be. Influenza was basically nonexistent last year, she said.

Flu activity was unusually low last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From Sept. 28 to May 22, 1,625, or 0.2%, of 818,939 respiratory specimens tested by U.S. clinical laboratories were positive for an influenza virus. By comparison, during the past three seasons before the pandemic, the proportion of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza peaked between 26% and 30%, according to CDC data.

Behavior has attributed to the difference between last year and this year. Last year, many people wore masks, stayed socially distant, were diligent about handwashing and refrained from travel, Sharkey said.

“We haven’t done this before, so we’ll see what it looks like,” Sharkey said. “All health-care providers are a little bit anxious about flu right now. We already kind of had PTSD from covid, so the idea of a really bad flu season gives us heartburn.”