NORTHAMPTON — As the weather gets colder, people are spending more time indoors. And they’re sharing germs there.
Flu season is here, and will continue through the spring. So too are the pleas from health experts to get vaccinated against influenza.
“It takes a couple weeks for it to become effective, so this is a great time to get the shot right now,” said Linda Riley, infection prevention nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
Influenza is no small matter. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the influenza pandemic known as the “Spanish flu,” which killed 675,000 Americans and as many as 50 million across the world. Flu vaccines and preparedness have improved conditions in the years since, but the virus can still wreak deadly havoc. Last season, influenza killed 80,000 people in the U.S., according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control.
Despite those terrifying numbers, our country doesn’t seem to give the flu its due concern, Riley said. She noted that the country panicked when just three people contracted Ebola virus in 2014, yet many have little worry about the far-more common influenza virus. The elderly, infants and those with compromised immune systems are at increased risk.
“The flu is not a benign illness,” Riley said. Some are just sick a few days, while others could experience far more serious symptoms. “You don’t know if you’re one of the people who are going to have a really bad experience with the flu.”
The CDC recommends that anyone 6-months and older who is able to get the flu vaccine do so every season. Riley said that the flu season usually hits a big peak after the holidays.
The flu virus is mainly spread by droplets created when people cough, sneeze or talk. People with the virus can be contagious one day before they themselves develop symptoms and up to a week after becoming sick, according to the CDC.
“That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick,” the CDC website reads. “Some people can be infected with the flu virus but have no symptoms. During this time, those people may still spread the virus to others.”
The flu vaccine is not 100 percent effective, given that the virus is a mutating, moving target. Effectiveness varies by virus type and subtype, as well as among different age and risk groups, according to the CDC.
But even if the vaccine is less effective some years, it can reduce the severity of the illness and increase the likelihood of the virus spreading.
In addition to the benefits for one individual person, the vaccine is important from a larger public health perspective because it also helps protect others. If enough people get the vaccine, they provide “herd immunity” to the larger community, essentially acting as barriers that prevent the disease from spreading enough to survive.
“The more people that are immunized, the more it helps everyone,” Riley said.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.