Confirmed influenza cases in West Washington; doctors recommend getting vaccinated as soon as possible



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SEATTLE – The flu season usually starts in October, but on Tuesday, the KIRO 7 confirmed that Harborview Medical Center had experienced a few cases.

Doctors recommend that you get vaccinated now. KIRO 7 examined the differences with this year's vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control updated this year's influenza vaccine on the basis of the virus seen in other parts of the world. It specifically targets three influenza viruses: A / Michigan / 45/2015 (H1N1) pdm09-virus, A / Singapore / INFIMH-16-0019 / 2016 A-like virus (H3N2), similar to B / Colorado / 06 / 2017 (Victoria Lineage) virus.

The 2017-2018 influenza season resulted in 296 laboratory-confirmed influenza-related deaths in Washington. It is impossible to predict the severity of the upcoming influenza season, but doctors say the time has come to get the vaccine, as it takes two weeks for it to take full effect.

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"We try to make it as painless as possible," Swedish nurse Molly Hemingson told KIRO 7 when she shot in a flu clinic. "And it's a little needle. It's not going to put a big shot in the arm. "

Danyell Walker is a Swedish nurse who was vaccinated on Monday. She did not believe in influenza vaccine before learning more about its overall impact five years ago.

"Nursing has always been about defending the interests of others," Walker said. "So when I realized that the injection was not right for me, but to protect others, it made me change my mind about the decision . "

It's the centennial of the flu in the United States. In 1918, the flu pandemic struck 675,000 Americans and 50 million people worldwide for the first time.

In the past two years, flu mist has been deemed ineffective, but the CDC says it is back on the table this year for people who can not get vaccinated for medical reasons.

Yet doctors point out that the flu shot is considered the most effective protection. The CDC recommends the flu shot for every six months or so, and doctors say the sooner the better.

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