BY MELISSA PATRICK
KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS
Health officials are warning people to buckle up for a potentially rough flu season, warning that a strain of flu mutated over the summer and is spreading in the U.S. and other countries.
The problem is that the influenza A (H3N2) strain mutation happened right before flu season, which means the current vaccines — which were finalized back in February — will likely recognize some, but not all, of this mutated virus, Katelyn Jetelina and Hannah Totte report in Your Local Epidemiologist.
This will likely translate to more cases and more severe disease among those at highest risk, YLE reports.
The Kentucky Respiratory Disease Data Dashboard reported Nov. 26 that seasonal influenza is increasing in Kentucky and that there have been two deaths in people 65 and older from it.
Health officials maintain that getting a flu shot remains the single best way to protect yourself and others from the flu because it protects you from other circulating strains and offers “cross-protection,” meaning that it will recognize and respond to similar flu viruses, which can protect you from getting really sick or being hospitalized. It takes about two weeks after the vaccination for the recipient to develop immunity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over six months of age get a flu vaccination every year. This is especially true for those who are at most risk from the flu, including adults 65 and older; young children aged 6 months through 4 years; pregnant women; people with chronic health conditions; and people with weakened immune systems.
Contrary to pervasive myth, the flu vaccine cannot give you the flu.
It’s also important to get tested if you think you have the flu because there are antiviral drugs that can be given early to treat flu — but they are most effective when given within the first two days of getting symptoms.
And health officials say basic steps help to reduce the spread of flu and other respiratory viruses, including washing your hands frequently with soap and water, covering your coughs and sneezes, staying home if you are sick and considering wearing a mask in crowded indoor spaces during peak flu activity, particularly if you have a cough.
Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.