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The latest influenza season has been the deadliest in years and Chicago's public health advocates urge people to get vaccinated.
According to preliminary estimates of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 80,000 people died of the flu last season in the United States. Although this figure is well below the 700,000 deaths in the United States during the so-called Spanish flu pandemic that raged worldwide 100 years ago, last season was a "record" of deaths, highest since at least the late 1970s, according to the CDC.
The number of deaths from influenza last season was nearly 10,000 times higher than the estimated number of drug overdose deaths and nearly double the estimated number of people killed in road crashes. About 900,000 people were hospitalized, said the public health agency. In Illinois, more than 2,300 people have been admitted to intensive care units for influenza-related illness.
Chicago has not been spared. Between October and May, more than 580 people were admitted to ICUs for influenza-related illness. That's more than double the previous season, during which 275 were admitted. The flu has killed more than twice as many people in Chicago during the 2017-2018 season than the previous season, with 38 deaths occurring in ICUs in Chicago, up from 17 the year before.
A significant portion of patients who went to the Stroger Hospital emergency room with flu-like symptoms was not what doctors expected to see, said emergency physician Dr. Jenny Lu. West Side Hospital.
In general, the very old, very young or those with major medical problems such as diabetes, heart disease or immune problems would be the vast majority of people with severe flu. But last season was different, said Lu. The patients who arrived were not elderly people and were often in very good health, otherwise – "People you did not think would have the flu", a- she declared.
It's too early to say how bad the flu season will be – the CDC will not even start screening for flu before the end of the month – but it's best to take precautions as soon as possible, experts say .
According to the Chicago Health Department, more than 60% of Chicago adults did not receive it until November, but many might be reluctant to get the flu shot, but that could prevent serious illness, hospitalization or death.
"Only 29% of people in ICUs have been vaccinated against the flu," said Dr. Marielle Fricchione, medical director of the city's immunization program. "About 18% of the dead have received a flu shot."
The influenza vaccine is especially helpful for children. Last season, 172 children died of flu-related illnesses in the United States – a record for an influenza season, according to the CDC. About 80% of those who died did not receive a shot. Nine children in Illinois are dead.
The vaccine, available now, can make the flu less serious if someone catches it. This is perhaps the difference between a week's stay in intensive care and a few days spent in bed with headaches and sniffles. Those who fear needle sticks have no excuse either – after advising the public to avoid the nasal spray flu vaccine in the past two years, the CDC has given it the go-ahead this season.
"It's the right time to get it," said Lu. "The general public can get vaccinated in many places." It may be the perfect time to get vaccinated, according to Lu and other experts, as it takes two weeks to become fully effective. Immunity against the flu is expected to last until January for those who get vaccinated now, said Fricchione.
The number of people who died from flu or related complications last season is low compared to the number who died in 1918.
Once again, Chicago has not been spared; In early October 1918, at the beginning of October 1918, during a period of just over 30 hours, nearly 800 new cases of influenza were reported.
"The death records were even more surprising," an October 4, 1918 article in the Chicago Daily Tribune said. "Seventy-six deaths were attributed to influenza and forty-three to pneumonia during the thirty-hour period."
There was no influenza vaccine at the time, and city health officials seemed to have a hard time containing the contagion. The "virtual quarantine" was declared and every sick citizen "was ordered to go home and stay there," the city's health department said. No visitors should be allowed.
A few days later, according to another report, the city's health commissioner asked the police chief to order the arrest of "all the persistent coughs and sneezes that do not cover each other." face with a handkerchief.
Schools were also briefly closed. Even theater directors made announcements before the shows, asking owners of "persistent coughing" to go out. Church pastors did the same thing before their services.
A century later, public health experts have simpler advice, facilitated by the development of the influenza vaccine.
"If you want to protect the members of our community most at risk of illness, get vaccinated against the flu," said Fricchione.
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