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Still Time to Vaccinate against Seasonal Flu
By
Terri McLean
LEXINGTON, Ky., (Nov. 8, 2006) – The winter flu season is fast
approaching, but people who want to protect themselves against
this all-too-common respiratory ailment still have time to get a
flu vaccine – the No. 1 preventive weapon.
 “The
optimal time to get a flu vaccine is in October and November,
before the flu season gets under way,” said Peggy Riley, health
specialist for nursing for the Cooperative Extension Service at
the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. “It doesn’t
mean you can’t have it after that, but that’s the recommended
optimal time.”
Riley, who works with the Health Education through Extension
Leadership program, said the vaccine – though not 100-percent
effective – greatly decreases the likelihood that a person will
get the flu, which usually revs up in January and can last
through May.
“It (the vaccine) is usually very effective,” she said.
Each year in the United States, 5 to 20 percent of people get
the flu, according to the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Symptoms include fever, headache,
tiredness, muscle aches, dry cough, sore throat, and a runny or
stuffy nose. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are symptoms often
experienced by children who get the flu.
There are two types of flu vaccines, Riley said. The flu shot is
an inactivated vaccine given with a needle and is recommended
for anyone, ages 6 months and older, who wants to reduce the
chances for getting the flu. It is highly recommended for the
very young (6 months until their fifth birthday) and for people
over 50 years old. People with chronic medical conditions and
who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
are also encouraged to be vaccinated each year.
The other type of flu vaccine is available as a nasal spray. The
spray is made with live, weakened flu viruses and is recommended
for use in healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49. It is
not recommended for women who are pregnant.
With the United States set to receive 115 million flu vaccines
this year, Riley said both the flu shot and nasal spray should
be in plentiful supply at doctors’ offices and health facilities
across the nation and in Kentucky. However, the CDC said that
distribution problems could still create some availability
problems.
In addition to flu vaccines, there are other prevention measures
people can take to help ward off the flu, Riley said. They
include using proper hand-washing techniques, covering your
mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, staying home from work
or school if you have flu symptoms, and staying healthy by
eating right, exercising and getting adequate sleep.
“It is important to know that the flu virus is contagious and
can be spread to other people,” she said. “The flu is contagious
from one day before to five days after you develop symptoms.”
The flu is caused by the influenza virus. Riley said people are
often confused about the differences between the seasonal-type
flu that is passed from person to person, usually in the winter,
and avian (bird) flu, which is caused by viruses that occur
naturally in some birds but rarely spreads from birds to humans.
Pandemic flu is a special situation that occurs when a new
strain of flu breaks outs and people have little to no immunity
to it, causing widespread illness. Currently, there are no
outbreaks of avian flu or pandemic flu in the United States, she
said. |
Contact: Peggy Riley, 859-257-2968 |
|
The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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