Las Vegas Review-Journal

Flu shot even more important this season

- SEEMA VERMA ON MEDICARE

GETTING vaccinated for the flu this fall is more important than ever. Not only will a flu shot help keep you and your family healthy, it can help reduce the strain on our health care system and keep hospital beds and other medical resources available for people with COVID-19.

This is no ordinary flu season; it’s a flu season amid a pandemic. With two dangerous viruses going around at once, it’s time for us to protect our communitie­s by getting the vaccine we already have: the flu vaccine.

A flu shot won’t protect you against COVID-19, but it has many other important benefits. Flu vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitaliz­ation and death.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s no evidence that a flu vaccinatio­n increases your risk of getting sick from a coronaviru­s, like the one that causes COVID-19.

Those at high risk for flu complicati­ons include young children, pregnant women, people 65 and older, and people with certain chronic health conditions. Anyone who is 6 months old or older should get a yearly flu vaccine.

The CDC recommends getting vaccinated in September or October, but a flu shot anytime during flu season can help protect you.

Flu season in North America rarely begins before early October and usually lasts from December to March. In the past two years, the peak activity has occurred around mid- to late February. Your body needs two weeks after a shot to develop a protective response to the influenza virus, so your best bet is to get vaccinated before the flu rate begins to climb.

Workplaces and other settings that usually provide flu shots might not do so this season because of the challenges of maintainin­g social distancing. For more informatio­n on where you can get a flu vaccine, visit vaccinefin­der.org.

When going to get a flu shot, please practice everyday preventive actions and follow the CDC’S recommenda­tions for running essential errands. Ask your doctor, pharmacist or health department if they are following the CDC’S vaccinatio­n pandemic guidance. Any vaccinatio­n location following CDC guidance should be a safe place for you to get a flu vaccine.

Medicare Part B covers one flu

shot per flu season per beneficiar­y. You pay nothing for a flu shot if your doctor or other qualified health care provider accepts Medicare payment for giving the shot.

If you have a child over 6 months old who qualifies for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), you also may qualify for a flu vaccinatio­n at no cost to you.

What’s the difference between flu and COVID-19?

Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are both contagious respirator­y illnesses, but they’re caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a new coronaviru­s (called SARS-COV-2), and flu is caused by infection with influenza viruses. Because some symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are similar, it might be hard to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone, and testing might be needed to help confirm a diagnosis.

It is possible to have flu and COVID-19 at the same time. Health experts are still studying how common this can be.

While it’s not possible to say with certainty what will happen in the

fall and winter, CDC believes it’s likely that flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 both will be spreading.

The CDC has developed a test that will check for A and B type seasonal flu viruses and SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This test will be used by U.S. public health laboratori­es. Testing for these viruses at the same time will give public health officials important informatio­n about how flu and COVID-19 are spreading and what preventive steps should be taken.

Protect yourself, your family and your community by getting a flu shot this fall.

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 ?? Getty Images ?? Because of the coronaviru­s pandemic, getting a flu shot this year is more important than ever. Medicare Part B covers one flu shot per flu season per beneficiar­y.
Getty Images Because of the coronaviru­s pandemic, getting a flu shot this year is more important than ever. Medicare Part B covers one flu shot per flu season per beneficiar­y.

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