Flu season has arrived, and health officials are encouraging people to get vaccinated before illness starts making the rounds.
“It is not only important to get the flu vaccine each year to protect yourself but those around you,” said Tiffany Switzer, a clinic manager at San Juan Basin Health Department.
Switzer said she’s a great example of someone who relies on “herd immunity,” meaning she relies on those around her to get flu vaccines.
“Some individuals have allergies or other health conditions that make it so they cannot receive the flu vaccine,” she said. “I have an allergy that makes it so I cannot get the flu vaccine. I depend on my family, friends and co-workers to get the flu vaccine to protect me.”
Switzer said the ability for the flu vaccine to be effective each year depends on a few factors, one being the “match” of the viruses used to make the vaccine with the ones circulating in the community.
If the “match” is better, then the flu vaccine will protect you better, she said.
“So far this year, surveillance has indicated that the flu vaccine has a good ‘match’ to the virus that is making people sick,” Switzer said.
In the 2015-2016 flu season, which ran from Oct. 1, 2015, to May 1, 2016, there were a reported 1,639 people hospitalized for flu cases across Colorado, which led to one pediatric death.
The San Juan Basin Health Department reported 16 hospitalizations for flu in La Plata County and two in Archuleta County. The one death did not occur in either of the two counties the health department serves.
There have been no reported flu cases so far this season in either La Plata or Archuleta counties, the health department said, yet there have been seven hospitalizations in other parts of the state.
Contrary to past years, health officials are not recommending that people use the nasal spray – Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine – an alluring alternative for those who fear the needle.
The CDC said this year that “data demonstrating limited effectiveness for the past 3 flu seasons” prompted the agency to suggest people receive the vaccine through a shot.
The San Juan Basin Health Department recommends flu vaccines for people 6 years old and older, especially for those in at-risk populations, which include children, seniors and pregnant women.
The virus can spread up to 6 feet from an infected person through sneezing, coughing and even talking to someone who is infected.
Vaccines don’t guarantee people won’t get sick, but if they do, symptoms are usually much milder, health officials say.
