(Spencer)– Another reminder that flu season is just around the corner. Collette Rossiter of Clay County Public Health has another reminder about the importance of protecting yourself. She says this likely will be a bad flu season based on information from the southern hemisphere where the flu season is winding down…
“We look to Australia and the southern hemisphere for that information, and after a few mild years, Australia is just winding down from their flu season and it’s been one of the worse in five years. So also taking a look at the flu virus strains that were circulating in that area and they try to do their best to match what was circulating there to put in our vaccine here, takes about six months but we do have that information ahead of time. And then we always hope it’s going to be a good match by the time winter arrives. And, you know, to complicate the picture, we still have covid hanging around and making its way through our communities.”
Rossiter says now is a good time to get your flu shot…
“You want to be vaccinated before flu starts to circulate in the community and takes your body about two weeks to develop those antibodies, so October is a great month to get vaccinated. Regarding who should get vaccinated, basically everyone. If your six months of age and older, you should get your annual flu shot. Flu, we know, can be severe in the very young and the very old and those who have chronic diseases or who are immune compromised. So it’s really super important for those particular people to get their flu shot as well.”
Rossiter also reminds everyone to get the latest booster that is targeted specifically for the omicron variants…
“So this single booster dose can be administered at least two months after you’ve completed your primary two dose series of a covid vaccine, which most people if they’ve been vaccinated have done that, or two months after the receipt of your most recent covid booster. So let’s say you had a booster just three weeks ago, you need to wait two months. But if you had your booster five months ago, please consider getting that booster. It’s authorized and available for those 12 and over. The 12 and over vaccine is Pfeizer, 18 and over we have Moderna also available. But honestly it doesn’t matter which brand you get. If you’re an adult and you to a clinic, you can take either one. It doesn’t matter what you had originally, they both work the same.”
Rossiter says you can get both a flu shot and covid booster at the same time.
