It’s almost a certainty that as soon as fall arrives, the flu season can’t be far behind.
“It’s too early to say how severe the season will be this winter,” Bari Wagner, an epidemiologist at San Juan Basin Health Department, said last week. “But we’re starting weekly vaccination clinics on Wednesday through Nov. 20.”
It takes about two weeks for vaccine antibodies to be ready to work.
Injections and flu mist, a spray administered through the nose, will be available at the health department, Wagner said. Mist is available only to patients ages 2 to 49. All others get the needle.
Walk-in Wednesdays are held from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the health department, 281 Sawyer Drive, in Durango.
“It’s for all ages, anytime,” Wagner said.
The basic cost is $25, but low-cost vaccinations are available for people who qualify. The clinic also will bill Medicare and Medicaid.
People who can’t make it Wednesday can call for a next-day appointment. The number is 335-2013.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 135 million to 139 million doses of flu vaccine will be used in the 2013-14 flu season.
An estimated 30 million doses will be a new four-strain vaccine, meaning it protects against that number of influenza viruses. The remainder of the doses will be three-strain vaccines.
Wagner said no four-strain vaccines will be available to the health department.
“We have to pre-order, so we won’t have quadrivalent vaccine,” Wagner said.
Because there’s no way of knowing now how penetrating a flu season it will be, the best advice is to get a vaccination, she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will be among the first to see the trend in flu activity, Wagner said.
“They have sentinel sites,” Wagner said. “We track flu severity through the number of cases that require hospitalization.”
The department had 10 cases in 2011 and 19 cases in 2012, Wagner said.
Adults and children who get the flu should stay home to prevent the spread of the virus, Wagner said. See your doctor and treat the symptoms, she said.
Among flu symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headaches and general fatigue.
People older than 65, pregnant women, young children and people with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease are more susceptible.
daler@durangoherald.com
If you go
Walk-in Flu vaccinations: 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays at San Juan Basin Health Department, 281 Sawyer Drive, Durango, through Nov. 20. $25. Low-cost vaccinations available for people who qualify. Clinic can bill Medicare and Medicaid. For those who cannot make it Wednesday, call 335-2013 for a next-day appointment.
