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BLOOMINGTON – After last year's hard-hit influenza season, causing at least three deaths and hundreds of hospitalizations, we do not know what will happen this year.
That's why health professionals want the Illinois Center to be prepared, get a flu shot and take other measures to reduce the flu. risk of contracting a respiratory disease that can harm people for several days.
"It's like being in the summer, but it's not too early to get vaccinated," said Melaney Arnold of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
It's unclear why the flu season hits harder and earlier. A circulating virus, H3N2, had mutated, making the influenza vaccine less effective.
Despite this, health officials urged people to get the flu shot, arguing that it offered protection against other strains of flu, which meant that the flu people were not as sick that the vaccine.
Nobody knows how many central Illinois have caught the flu. Some people with flu-like symptoms do not seek medical attention, but rely on rest and treat their symptoms.
Coverston Anderson
The Pantagraph discussed the upcoming influenza season with Coverston Anderson. His answers have been changed for length:
Q. What are your projections for the flu season this year?
A. We hope that it is not so serious. We hope people have seen last year's results and are cautious enough to protect themselves and their families by getting the flu shot.
Q. What was the effectiveness of the vaccine last year?
A. Overall, the effectiveness of the vaccine was 40%, which means that the flu shot reduced the overall risk of seeking medical attention for the flu by 40%.
Q. Who should be vaccinated against influenza?
A. Speak with your health care provider. But the CDC and the Department of Health recommend that anyone 6 months of age or older who is eligible for a flu shot gets one.
Q. How do you respond to people who say, "I got the flu shot last year and still have the flu"?
A. The injectable form of the influenza vaccine is a killed virus. You can not catch the flu as a result of a flu shot. But it takes two weeks (after a flu shot) to the body to develop immunity against the flu, so during that two-week period it's possible to get sick. But some people who get sick think they have the flu when they have something else. The influenza vaccine does not guarantee that you will not get the flu, but it can make it less serious.
McLean County Administrator, Bill Wasson, was to remove his long-sleeved T-shirt to be vaccinated by nurse Barbara Rivard during a Bloomington County flu vaccination session . September 18th.
Q. What is the difference between cold and flu symptoms?
A. If you have a cold, you may have a sore throat, a slight pain in your body, runny nose and a small amount of mucus. However, with the flu, you have fever, severe chills, intense muscle pain, a lot of fatigue and some people report discomfort in the chest. With a cold, you are uncomfortable. With the flu, you are in bed.
Influenza is a respiratory disease and not an intestinal disease. If you have nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, it's a type of gastrointestinal illness.
Q. Is it too early to get the flu shot?
A. No. We (the Department of Health) have 90 clinics (flu vaccine) on our schedule and can plan more. (More information at 309-888-5435.) Physician offices and pharmacies will also offer flu shots.
Q. What type of flu vaccine should we receive?
A. The CDC does not recommend any type of flu vaccine. Any vaccine against the flu is good. We (the Department of Health) offer a quadrivalent vaccine because it offers protection against four viruses.
Q. Will the nasal spray vaccine be available this year?
A. Yes, but it is a live virus vaccine. So it's only for people aged 2 to 49 who are in good health and do not have a weakened immune system and who refuse to be vaccinated against the flu.
Registered nurse Barbara Rivard shows a box containing the quadrivalent influenza vaccine administered by the McLean County Health Unit.
Q. What other things can people do to reduce their risk of influenza?
A. Wash your hands, cover up coughs and sneezes, and wash your hands again. If you get sick, stay home and do not return to work or school for 24 hours without assistance without Tylenol or ibuprofen.
Q. What should we do if we start to feel flu symptoms?
A. Contact your doctor immediately. You can be prescribed an antiviral. The sooner you get one, the better they work, which reduces the intensity and duration of the disease.
Q. For someone who says "It's just flu," how do you answer?
A. The flu can lead to serious illness and death. And we are a community. Some people can not be vaccinated. The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer the viruses circulate and the more people who can not be vaccinated are protected. You could save a life.
Contact Paul Swiech at (309) 820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech
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