A Rutgers infectious disease expert explains why getting the annual flu shot is important to individual and public healthWhile social distancing and wearing masks kept the 2021-2022 flu season milder than pre-pandemic levels, experts who expect flu cases to rise this year as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted are urging people to get their flu vaccine to prevent the nation’s health care system from being overwhelmed by influenza and the pandemic. David Cennimo, an infectious disease expert at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, discusses what you can do to protect yourself during the upcoming flu season. What can we learn from last year’s flu season and what should we expect this year? The CDC’s preliminary figures from last season show 8,000,000 to 13,000,000 flu illnesses, 82,000 to 170,000 flu hospitalizations and 5,000 to 14,000 flu deaths. However, as precautions loosen, we are seeing rates rise. Pediatric deaths, for example, rose from one death in the 2020–2021 season to 33 this past season. In comparison, 199 children died from influenza in the 2019–20 flu season. When is the optimal time to get a flu shot? The nasal mist vaccine is an effective alternative for people between ages 2 to 49 with normal immune systems. It is not for pregnant women, children receiving aspirin or asthmatics under age 4. Can you get COVID-19 and flu shots at the same time? Who is especially vulnerable for contracting the flu? Pregnant women should receive the flu shot to prevent severe symptoms and help confer some immunity to their newborns. Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Natives also had higher rates of hospitalization and intensive care unit admission for the flu according to the CDC, so flu vaccination is important. How can one person’s flu vaccination possibly save lives? How can a flu shot help me if I do contract the
flu? How are the coronavirus and the flu similar and
different? Influenza contagiousness is usually over within a week, while coronavirus is around 10 days. Both can cause a spectrum of illness ranging from mild to critical illness and death. Flu symptoms can be confused with COVID-19. If you start feeling ill, it is important to quarantine and test for COVID-19 to rule it out. Are influenza vaccines safe? Are any of the available flu vaccines recommended over others? Can you get the flu from the flu vaccine? |