As the colder weather starts rolling in, a more daunting and ill-ridden variable of the coming winter rolls along with it — flu season. Symptoms like fevers, chills, muscle aches, and runny noses are rampant in the community during flu season, and oftentimes more severe consequences of influenza virus, like hospitalization and even death, will come about with our immunocompromised, elderly, and infant-to-child demographics. Local healthcare providers and medical facilities are planning ahead as they aim to combat flu season early with the availability of the flu vaccine, which is virtually available around every corner in Pocatello.
In a lot of cases, healthcare facilities are open to walk-ins and are advertising free flu vaccinations in the form of a shot to help get ahead of flu season. For example, Walgreens here in Pocatello at 905 Yellowstone Ave. is advertising their free flu shot, which is an annual offer by the drug store to help combat flu infection rates in their area. Additionally, ISU students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to go no further than the ISU Health Clinic to get their flu vaccine as early as now. A quote from the ISU Health Clinic website reads “A well-immunized student population is important for the overall health of the university community and, most of all, you. If you have any questions about immunization recommendations, please call us at (208) 282-2330.”
The flu vaccination is a safe and effective preventative measure against the Influenza A and B viruses, which are the most common and reliably seasonal strains of the influenza (flu) virus. While combatting these common strains with the flu vaccine, a recipient of the vaccine is less likely to be infected with the flu, and there is a 40% to 60% decrease in their chances of being hospitalized due to flu symptoms, says the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). A study done earlier this year by the CDC also claims that “…among adults, flu vaccination was associated with a 26% lower risk of ICU admission and a 31% lower risk of death from flu compared to those who were unvaccinated.” As mentioned above, certain demographics are more likely to be harmed and even killed if infected with the flu, and the vaccine acts as a source of protection that healthy and capable individuals can give to the immunocompromised or vaccine ineligible. A study done in 2017 by the CDC proved for the first time that flu vaccinations in children “greatly reduced the mortality rate” for the younger demographic. A later study done by the CDC in 2018 assessed and reviewed the risk of a pregnant individual becoming hospitalized and facing pregnancy complications due to the influenza virus, which they found would be decreased by 40% with a flu-vaccinated community.
This winter will mark the second year that healthcare officials in the U.S. will have to battle flu season with the COVID-19 pandemic right alongside it. The CDC is reporting over 160,000 new cases of COVID-19 daily, and with the seemingly overflowing capacity of hospitals in the fight against this pandemic, medical facilities are asking all eligible citizens to go and get their flu shot to prevent overcrowding. In an interview conducted last month by The New York Times, Dr. William Schaffner, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, says “This year we are guaranteed to have the flu, and we are going to have some version of a twindemic. It could really further strain an already extraordinarily stretched, strained, tired-to-the-bone health care system.”
For more information about flu vaccination availability, risks, and protocol you may also reach out to Southeastern Idaho Public Health, Mon-Fri, by phone at 208-233-9080 or by using the contact form on their website: [siphidaho.org]
