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In the 2017-18 season, the flu virus and its complications claimed the lives of approximately 80,000 people in the United States – the highest number in at least four decades. Health care providers stress the importance of getting vaccinated early in the new influenza season.
Some people are at higher risk of getting the flu virus and suffering serious complications. It is therefore our duty to all of us to get vaccinated to protect ourselves and the most vulnerable among us, say the doctors.
"The best protection we have, unless we put someone in a bubble, is the flu shot," said Dr. Miller Sullivan, medical director of public health for Franklin County.
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The flu is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year, said Sullivan, who is frustrated when people tell him they simply do not need the flu shot.
"If it was Ebola or an unknown virus, do you think people would be so complacent?", He said.
People who have received the influenza vaccine are at a lower risk of contracting it and are therefore less likely to pass it on to someone else, said Dr. Dave Groen of Mount Carmel Medical Group at Lewis Center.
"People who do not get immunized in general, he says, put everyone at risk. They increase the risk of illness for everyone. "
Vulnerable groups include:
• Children under 5, especially those under 2 years old
• Adults 65 years old and over
• Pregnant women
• People who are frail or in long-term care such as retirement homes or rehabilitation centers
• People with asthma, chronic lung disease or other respiratory conditions, and smokers
• People with chronic or underlying conditions such as diabetes or heart, liver or kidney disease
• Obese people
• people with immune system deficiencies due to illness or cancer treatment
• People working in schools or institutions, such as prisons or health centers
People with lung diseases and smokers are on this list because influenza is a respiratory disease that can exacerbate already-saturated lung problems.
Most of the other people on the list have less developed immune systems or are as powerful as others, or live with conditions of chronic stress for the body, making it less able to fight against infections.
And workers in schools and institutions meet more people, which creates a greater risk of exposure.
The Federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta recommends immunization for all people aged 6 months and older, said Dr. Laurence Blosser, medical director of the group of primary care physicians in central Ohio. "But if you are at high risk, it is more urgent and more necessary to get vaccinated."
It's important to get vaccinated every year because influenza strains change from season to season and vaccines are developed to protect against the particular strains that researchers expect, said Groen. Even if they do not fit perfectly, the vaccine will tend to reduce the severity of the symptoms if a person gets the flu.
The 80,000 deaths last season was an estimate of the CDC because it was not necessary to report adult deaths from influenza to this organism.
However, infant deaths from influenza have been reported, including 183 for 2017-2018, of which about 80% did not receive the influenza vaccine that season.
This is the highest number of pediatric deaths recorded during a regular influenza season since the start of the 2004 reporting, excluding the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, which took the lives of 358 children.
Sullivan said groups at risk should try to avoid people with the flu. For example, if you are a grandparent and your grandson is sick, try not to get as close for a few days as the virus develops.
Avoid large public gatherings when the flu is active in the community, added Blosser.
Hand washing is also essential. It's easy to catch the flu by touching objects and then bringing your hands to your nose, mouth or eyes – three places where flu and other insects enter the body, Groen said.
"It's amazing how many times people do not do it," he said. "Soap and water kill bacteria, as well as viruses that can make us sick."
A hand sanitizer can be a good alternative. And use disinfecting wipes or sprays on items that people repeatedly touch, such as light switches and door handles.
People living in homes with infants or other at-risk individuals should be sure to get vaccinated.
"So they do not contract the flu and do not pass it on to their loved one who's been compromised," Blosser said.
The flu, said Miller, is not just a bad cold. It is a respiratory disease and an inflammation of the lungs. Such inflammation can make a person more vulnerable to severe influenza or secondary infection such as bacterial pneumonia.
Blosser said it was important to see a doctor as soon as flu symptoms are suspected because there are treatments. Antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu, work best from the beginning of their treatment.
Sullivan added that this was particularly important for people belonging to vulnerable groups who might feel slightly ill one day but end up in the hospital the next day.
"I would like people to take the flu seriously," he said. "People are dying of the flu."
@JoAnneViviano
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