Vaccines already available for upcoming flu season

In Pennsylvania, the flu season generally begins in October and lasts through April, although it generally peaks in January or February. Flu vaccines are also not as effective for the elderly.

Wrong. Gastrointestinal viruses cause the “stomach flu” but these have no connection to the influenza viruses.

In a new report the Public Health England (PHE) has revealed some startling number about the effectiveness of the 2014 to 2015 flu vaccine.

As previously reported, the health department’s Director of Nursing Laurie Geuther said the best way for people to protect themselves against the flu is to get vaccinated.

Last year, about 52 percent of flu strains mutated from the vaccine, potentially decreasing the flu shot’s effectiveness, according to the CDC. This year, the live vaccine will have two A strains and two B strains, making it a quadrivalent vaccine. Even though the vaccine was created from an H1 HA stem, it did bring protection against H5, a different HA subtype. Faculty and staff with a valid DukeCard ID can get the shot at Duke Employee Occupational Health and Wellness (EOHW) in the Duke South Red Zone or at a roving campus clinic through November.

“The flu shot saves lives and reduces hospitalizations”, Dr. Sadler said. This association was especially strong among elderly patients who also received the flu vaccine, as the reduction in risk for flu-related illness was twice as large for seniors who were vaccinated against the flu. Flu shots are made from flu viruses that are inactivated (basically, dead).

High-risk populations such as young children, the elderly, and people with chronic health conditions such as heart and lung disease and diabetes, are particularly vulnerable to serious complications.

For this study, Dr. Taksler and team looked at more than 3 million USA adults across eight flu seasons.

In many cases, people mistakenly think they have the flu when they really have a bad cold.

As long as you receive your vaccines from an in-network provider, you should not be asked for a copay, the CDC emphasized.

Dr. Nace also emphasized that young adults born after 1980 who never had chickenpox should get that vaccine, and all adults over 60 should get the shingles vaccine. The vaccine takes up to two weeks to fully immunize you, so it is possible to be infected in that window of time.

Dr. Steven Lawrence is an Infectious Disease Specialist at the hospital and says they encourage everyone older than six months to get the vaccine. Between day 2 and 4 of the illness, the body aches and fever may start to wane, but other symptoms including dry cough, sore throat, runny nose often appear.