Last year, the flu was deadly. Here's how you can fight it – Entertainment and Life – GoErie.com

The CDC recommends getting vaccinated and doing it now.

MIAMI – "The flu" was "everywhere" last year. A Centers for Disease Control doctor warned that the last influenza season was one of the deadliest.

That's why the CDC urges people to take action now, just in early October of the 2018-19 influenza season, and to get vaccinated. This advice comes even if you have delayed the previous flu season by a few months and have been vaccinated earlier this year.

Some age groups of some vaccines have been lowered and some vaccines have been reformulated to better prevent the circulation of viruses.

One of the benefits of getting the flu shot: Getting a vaccine does not mean you will not get the flu, but if you get sick, it could be less serious, experts say.

In addition, a 2007 CDC study found that vaccination against influenza significantly reduced the risk of death from influenza in a child. The study analyzed data from four influenza seasons between 2010 and 2014 and found that "influenza vaccination halves, or 51%, the risk of flu-related death in children with high-risk medical conditions and nearly two-thirds 65 percent in healthy children. "

According to the CDC, vaccines to fight the flu can also protect women during and after pregnancy and protect a baby after childbirth.

The importance of taking the flu seriously is particularly relevant given the severity of the recent season. Vaccines are available in pharmacies, including those at Walgreens, CVS and most doctor's offices.

"The 2017-2018 season was the first season to be classified as a high severity in all age groups," said the CDC. Influenza activity increased in November, "reached a long period of strong activity in January and February nationally and remained high until the end of March," the CDC said.

Adult deaths due to the flu are not nationally notifiable, according to the CDC, but child cases are compiled. On August 25, the number of pediatric deaths attributed to influenza was 180, the worst since the death of 171 people during the particularly severe influenza season of 2012-2013.

Of the 180 children who died during the past year, 80%, or 144 of them, have not received the vaccine during the season, the CDC said.

In addition, the duration of business at the national level or above was 19 weeks, "making the 2017-2018 season one of the longest in recent years," the CDC said.

According to the CDC, influenza viruses are most common during the fall and winter months. Influenza activity starts to accelerate in October and November. The peak of influenza activity occurs between December and February, but can last until May.

So what will be the flu season in 2019?

The short answer, according to the CDC: "It is not possible to predict what will be this flu season.While the flu is spreading each year, the timing, severity and duration of the season vary from One season to the next. "

But the CDC reports that there are several novelties this season. Among them:

Influenza vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses. Component B / Victoria has been modified and the influenza A (H3N2) component has been updated.
For the 2018-2019 season, the nasal spray flu vaccine – or live attenuated influenza vaccine or LAIV, often a preferred option for young children who hate injections – from 2 years of age, is recommended. The vaccine is also approved for use in non-pregnant women until the age of 49, unless your doctor advises against this, based on your medical history.
All LAIV vaccines will be quadrivalent and designed to protect against four different influenza viruses: two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses. Most regular-dose egg-based flu vaccines will be quadrivalent. "All recombinant vaccines will be quadrivalent, no recombinant trivalent vaccine will be available this season," said the CDC.
The cell-based influenza vaccine will be quadrivalent. For this vaccine, influenza A (H3N2) and B reference viruses will be derived from cells and influenza A (H1N1) virus will be derived from eggs.
The intradermal influenza vaccine, an injection injected into the skin instead of the muscle using a needle smaller than the regular influenza vaccine and requiring less antigen to be as effective as the regular influenza vaccine, will not be available this season.
The age recommendation for Fluarix Equivalent, which uses a mammalian culture rather than chicken embryos, has been changed from 3 years and older to 6 months and older.
The recommended age for Afluria Quadrivalent, an inactivated influenza vaccination, has increased from 18 years of age and older to 5 years and older.

According to the CDC, "influenza vaccines protect against the three or four viruses that research suggests will be the most common".

This season, health care providers will offer vaccines in a variety of ways, such as injections of standard dose influenza vaccine into the muscle, or in some people aged 18 to 64, two varieties, Afluria and Afluria Quadrivalent, may be administered by injection, a medical injector. device that uses a narrow fluid flow at high pressure to penetrate the skin instead of a hypodermic needle.

In addition, vaccines will be available using vaccine production technology that does not require the use of the influenza virus.

The CDC recommends that you get vaccinated early in the 2018-2019 influenza season, before the vaccine gains momentum in October.

"You should get a flu shot before the flu spreads in your community," suggests the CDC. "It takes about two weeks after the vaccination to have antibodies that protect against the flu develop in the body, so plan to get vaccinated early in the fall, before the start of the flu season."

In other words, by the end of October at the latest.

But if you are a procrastinator, you are always advised to get vaccinated, even if it is in January or later. But the CDC says children are a particular concern.

"Children who need two doses of vaccine to be protected need to start the vaccination process sooner, since both doses should be administered at least four weeks apart."

For the most up-to-date information on influenza surveillance, the CDC regularly updates their FluView Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report.