Influenza Is Among Us!

Nobody enjoys catching the flu. If you are anything like me, the flu completely decommissions you for a week and you struggle to catch up with what you missed (I am currently experiencing this). For those who don’t know, The flu is a nasty upper respiratory infection that causes coughing, fevers, muscle aches, and a sore throat. The flu is spread through respiratory droplets, meaning that it is usually caught being around infected people shedding the virus. Influenza only has an incubation period of one to two days, meaning you more than likely will be able to tell where you contracted the disease if you are unfortunate enough to come into contact with it.

This year’s flu season has proven to be a doozy! According to the CDC, there have been 19 million cases worldwide, 180,000 hospitalizations, and an estimated 10,000 deaths from the flu for the 2019-2020 flu season. Additionally, a whopping 106,343 positive specimens have been received by the CDC from clinical laboratories that test for influenza. The flu is difficult to combat because it has the capability to antigenically drift, meaning the virus can mutant into different strands easily. Fortunately for us, the flu vaccines available have been matched to more accurately combat the current viruses circulating the United States.

Flu vaccine effectiveness is a crucial part of public health and safety. Even though getting a flu vaccine does not 100% protect you from contracting a strain of influenza, it offers some protection against the disease simply by boosting your immune system’s abilities to make antibodies to protect you against the virus. This year’s vaccine features a dose of either three or four influenza strains, all of which have been circulating the United States for the 2019-2020 flu season. This vaccine has been altered to be more accurate, meaning it is much more effective in preventing the flu! Getting this vaccine is highly recommended for pregnant women, children over the age of 6 months, and older adults. A high dose vaccine is available for older populations as well, as the flu can be devastating on elderly patients. If you haven’t yet, GET YOUR FLU SHOT!