Editorial | Flu shots make sense
Didn’t get a flu shot?
You probably still want to get one — unless you’re among the thousands who have already have been hammered by one of the three strains against which this year’s shot is intended to protect.
The height of the flu season rolled in early this year with Lee Health reporting an uptick in influenza and respiratory illness cases in the last few weeks of December.
The last week of 2024 there saw 1,273 cases of influenza in acute care hospitals and ambulatory, the overwhelming majority being cases of influenza A.
The week before, 1,244 cases were reported.
That may not sound like many but for some context:
In its weekly update on Jan. 18, the Center for Disease Control estimated that there had been “at least 16 million illnesses, 190,000 hospitalizations, and 8,300 deaths from flu so far this season” with outpatient reported respiratory illnesses above baseline nationally for the eighth consecutive week.
Florida teetered at the top of the CDC’s “high” tier of reported cases as of Jan. 18 with most of the southeast in the “very high” range. The most recent report posted to FloridaHealth.gov for the period from Dec. 29-Jan. 4 shows increases in both positive — ie. confirmed — cases of flu and well as ER visits for flu-like symptoms statewide.
Some good news?
Lee Health officials said Thursday that cases have begun to level off.
And the flu, a viral illness, is for many relatively mild.
But for those at risk — those 65 and older, those with existing medical conditions, children 5 and younger, pregnant women and those who have recently given birth — the flu can be deadly.
The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has the flu vaccine available by appointment. Call 239-461-6100.
Flu shots and other vaccines are, of course, also available at a number of private providers, from your doctor’s office to local pharmacies.
We add our voices to those within the health care community urging flu shots this year for, well, everyone.
The last thing anyone needs is an illness as unpleasant as flu, especially when a vaccine is readily available.
Breeze editorial