September 15, 2007
Be Prepared—Get Your Flu Shot!
by Lori Pruitt, BSN RN, YKHC Infection Control Nurse
The flu season will soon be here. Getting a flu shot is the best way to keep from getting the flu.
The flu shot is recommended for children 6 months to 5 years old, elders 65 years and older, and health care workers. It is also recommended for adults with health care problems and women who are pregnant.
Each year, it is estimated that 36,000 people die from the flu. Children are affected more than adults. Getting the flu shot each year will help prevent the spread of the flu.
People ask if you can get the flu from taking the flu shot. The flu vaccine cannot give you the flu. But, you may already have a cold or the flu when you get the shot and not know it; then, you may have symptoms after you get the flu shot. Symptoms of the flu include fever, myalgia (feeling achy), headache, malaise (feeling tired), nonproductive cough, sore throat, and a runny nose.
YKHC offers the flu shot each year. Bethel Public Health Nursing also offers it. We will begin giving the flu shots as early as the last week in September.
The next time you see your provider, ask for a flu shot! Or, make an appointment just to get your flu shot! You will decrease your chance of getting the flu by 70–90 percent after receiving your flu shot. And, you will decrease the risk of passing it on to others. This will help us be the healthiest people!