According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, millions of doses of influenza vaccine – up to $ 168 million – will be available to protect people from the strains of the influenza virus that are expected to be the most common during the 2018 influenza season -2019.
The CDC recommends that all persons 6 months of age and older be vaccinated against the flu by the end of the month. This is because it takes about two weeks after vaccination for influenza antibodies to develop and for the flu to start spreading in early November. Symptoms that appear suddenly may include fever, headache and muscle aches, chills and sweats, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and fatigue. This year, the nasal spray vaccine – which has not been recommended in the last two influenza seasons – is again considered an acceptable alternative to the injectable vaccine. But children under 2, adults 50 and older, pregnant women, young children with asthma and people with weakened immune systems are among those who should not receive the nasal vaccine. they should stick to it.
The CDC says that in recent years, vaccination has reduced the risk of about 40% of hospitalizations because of the flu. Even so, about 900,000 people have been hospitalized with the flu and about 80,000 people, including 180 children (mostly unvaccinated), have died during the 2017-2018 influenza season, the deadliest in decades.
–Linda Searing
