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Wednesday, January 19, 2005 10:18 AM CST
Health department has 'plenty of it (flu vaccine)'
By JG/T-C Editorial Board
It's not too late to get a flu shot. Really, it's not.
And the Coles County Public Health Department has "plenty of it," according to Michelle Mathews, communicable diseases coordinator.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restricted flu shots through November and December, thanks to a severe nationwide shortage of the vaccine.
Mathews said the health department has met the demand of those at high risk from flu complications.
The high-risk folks include children under the age of 2, the elderly and nursing home residents.
In recent weeks, the department has scheduled flu shot clinics for anyone six months or older.
And there's still vaccine aplenty.
Here are some things to consider:
-- Serious complications from flu range from mild to severe illness. Sometimes, the flu can kill.
-- The flu season usually extends through January and February. It can even run as late as May.
-- Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from flu.
There are other -- though not as effective — ways a person can reduce the chances of getting the flu.
According to the CDC, an adult can infect others one day before showing symptoms of the illness. After getting sick, a person can infect others for up to seven days.
Among the best of the less-preferable alternatives to a flu shot is to practice good hygiene.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you sneeze or cough. This helps prevent droplets from spreading the disease.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. According to the CDC, germs are often spread when a person touches things contaminated with the flu.
Another effective way to help reduce odds of infection is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
In fact, washing your hands is a powerful inhibitor of a variety of garden-style infections.
If all such endeavors in this area fail and you fall before influenza's onslaught, do these things:
-- Drink plenty of liquids and get lots of rest.
-- If your flu is in full-fevered bloom, stay at home. Don't spread it around.
There is some irony in the way this flu season unfolded.
The government-imposed restrictions may have inadvertently resulted in many of those at high risk not availing themselves of flu shots.
For its part, the Coles County Department of Health has worked hard to insure those at high risk are vaccinated.
The department, like many of its counterparts throughout the U.S., is now scrambling to make sure the remaining vaccine is utilized.
As the department's Nursing Director Cathie Reynolds pointed out in a story published in this newspaper on Jan. 5, any unused vaccine has to be discarded because it's only good for the flu season in which it is made.
With that in mind, and understanding the flu season won't be over for some time, it might be a good idea to consider vaccination.
Flu can be dangerous. For certain, however, it's uncomfortable.
These all are sound reasons to take advantage of a good thing and spare yourself -- and, perhaps, others -- the misery of the dreaded bug.
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