Influenza comes with a high fever, bad cough (including possible pneumonia), feeling too weak to do normal activities and the possibility of dying. In the U.S., depending on the influenza strain, between 20,000 and 60,000 adults die of influenza each year. Those at highest risk are the very old and the very young.
Experts are expecting this to be a bad season since it was bad in the southern hemisphere during their May to September flu season, and that usually predicts what we will experience in our November to March season.
Another troubling factor is that there is a new strain circulating, already causing the majority of influenza cases in Britain and Japan, which is not targeted in this year’s vaccines. The influenza virus constantly mutates, trying to evade our immune system.
Until we switch to the “just-in-time” production of flu vaccines using mRNA technology, we are going to be using educated guesswork to decide what to put in the vaccines. Some years the experts guess right and other years, like this one, the virus fools us.
So, what should you do?
Number 1: get vaccinated! Even if the vaccine is not perfect, it will reduce your chances of getting influenza and it will markedly reduce your likelihood of being sick enough to be hospitalized or die. If you are over 65, get the high-dose vaccine.
The national association of cardiologists recently emphasized that flu vaccines prevent hospitalizations and deaths in people with cardiovascular disease.
Number 2: wear a mask when you are indoors in crowded places like theatres or Black Friday stores. Masks are not a panacea but do reduce transmission of respiratory viruses by about 25%.
Number 3: if you are sick and coughing, stay home. Sharing your toys is good. Sharing your viruses is not.
Don’t spoil the holiday season by catching or giving influenza
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