The CDC said on their website that “this seasons vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses”.
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Each year the flu shot protects against the 3 or 4 strains that were the most common worldwide the year before.
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center’s Dr. Daniel Kijner shares, “The influenza is not mutating as fast as previous year and so it seems to be highly effective”.
Flu season usually occurs between October and May and peaks between December and February.
One-hundred-and-one flu deaths were recorded across the province and influenza landed more than 1,300 Albertans in hospital by the time the flu season ended in the spring. Over 20,000 children each year are hospitalized due to complications of flu.
Doctors suggest anyone six months or older should get the vaccine.
County health departments statewide will start offering vaccines next week.
A community is more likely to be protected from a flu outbreak if enough people get vaccinated, which contains the spread of contagious disease. The best way to protect yourself from getting the flu is to practice good hygiene, get your flu shot each year, stay home when you are sick and maintain a healthy lifestyle. For kids under two, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions like asthma, heart disease or diabetes, the flu can be especially severe, even fatal.
Avon Park resident Monte Simonds said he got his flu vaccination Monday at the Sebring Kmart pharmacy.
“That’s very important. If you have an opportunity to get vaccinated, please get vaccinated”, he said.
The study by the University of Lincoln found the chances of having a first stroke were significantly reduced for up to two months after getting the flu vaccine.
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“Every vaccine hurts when you get the shot but then the pain goes away and its much more valuable to have the protection for the season than the pain in the arm”, said Gray. It also takes a couple of weeks for the vaccine to take hold in your body.
