MSDH reminding Mississippians to get flu vaccine

Clark County health officials warned Southern Nevadans on Monday about an uptick in the number of flu cases reported this season and encouraged everyone to get vaccinated after a surge of cases in Northern Nevada.

“Your flu vaccination helps protect other people from flu, including both really young and older family members who are more vulnerable to severe illness”, Nowak said.

I hope many of you will join me, and get your flu shot this week if you have not already done so.

Some healthy young people have good reasons to get an annual flu shot – they might be caregivers or in close contact with people who are at high risk, she said.

“Adults should vaccinate to protect those who can not protect themselves”, Do-Reynoso said. This season, CDC recommends only flu shots, and not the nasal spray vaccine.

An analysis of the results revealed that patients who skipped vaccination were 53% more likely to be hospitalized during the flu season the first year, 87% more likely to be hospitalized the second year, and 158% more likely to be hospitalized the third year.

Options for vaccination this year include a quadrivalent vaccine, which offers protection from four strains of flu instead of the traditional three strain vaccine, and a vaccine that is injected under the skin and not into the muscle.

If you haven’t gotten your flu vaccine yet, call you family doctor to make plans to do it now. Experts say the flu doesn’t usually peak in Minnesota until February, so there is plenty of time to get vaccinated. However, one recent study showed vaccination reduced the risk of flu hospitalization by more than half in people 50 and older. Less often, a person might also get the flu by touching a surface or object that has a flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth or nose.

As of October 2016, less than 10 percent of 30-to 59-year-olds and only 5 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds had received a flu shot.

☆ Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Check flushot.healthmap.org for a flu shot provider near you.

Butte County Public Health will be holding a free flu vaccine clinic this Friday at the County Health Department at 202 Mira Loma Drive in Oroville.

Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.