Tips for the Northwestern community on how to handle flu season

“Flu is everywhere in the USA right now”, Jernigan said.

According to Summit County Public Health, there are no vaccine shortages in OH so there’s still time to get a flu shot through your family doctor or at retail pharmacies such as CVS or Walgreens.

This year’s flu season is shaping up to be a nasty one.

“Those most likely to get it, and to suffer a more severe illness, are the elderly or immunocompromised [long-term steroids, those on immune-modifying drugs or chemotherapy for instance], those with long-term health conditions, children and pregnant ladies”. The last time the percentage of visits was this high was in the 2014-2015 flu season.

Perry Kendall says more people are being diagnosed with Influenza B than there are A. The victims were over the age of 65.

There was also a pediatric death from the flu in the last reporting period in Minnesota.

Arizona has recorded one child flu death due so far, and two other deaths are under investigation.

Peak flu activity, according to the DPH, is expected to be in mid-February. It has reached epidemic levels, which it does every year, Jernigan said. Annual hospitalizations range from 140,000 to 710,000 and deaths are estimated between 12,000 and 56,000 each year.

At 10:30 a.m. Friday, Pino and Dr. Matthew Cartter – a state epidemiologist- held a press conference in Hartford to address the seriousness of this season’s flu cases.

Montana is current seeing widespread influenza activity and the CDC is also warning the public about the potential severity this flu season poses.

Officials say the predominant flu strain this season is AH3N2, and it can cause serious illnesses, hospitalization, and even death. She said there’s still time.

Flu vaccines have been less effective in fighting H3N2 than other influenza flu viruses, making this particular strain more hard to contain. Doctors want to remind you that the flu and the cold are two different illnesses and the cold can not lead to the flu.

Sentara family medicine and internal medicine practices have the vaccines for $75 out of pocket, but individuals without insurance can get the shot for $37.50, according to Sentara spokeswoman Kelsea Smith.