Get Ready for a Brutal Flu Season

Shannon Tighe, Pediatrician at Geist Family Medicine

Prepare now for the best protection against the flu.

Influenza (the flu) has been a widely discussed topic this summer and as we move into the fall the flu season begins to affect our local communities. It is spread from person to person causing, in some cases, mild to severe complications, which can lead to death. Seasonal Flu is the most common form of influenza. Every year, the flu effects up to 20% of the population with more than 200,000 a year hospitalized from complications associated with the virus. This year will certainly be different with the emergence of the H1N1 (Swine) flu and projecting how the virus circulates and the timing of this flu virus is expected to complicate matters for local health professionals. In years past, the flu did not peak until January or February in the United States, but this may change this year.

Local Pediatrician, Dr. Shannon Tighe, practicing at Geist Family Medicine & Pediatrics, expects this year’s flu season to be very different. Dr. Tighe has already seen a case or two of flu in her office in the past few weeks. Dr. Tighe is following the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation of getting your regular (seasonal) flu shot early. “We have been giving seasonal flu shots for a couple of weeks and our patients seem very grateful to get their shots early this year.” Those individuals at higher risk of complications from the Seasonal Flu include children under the age of 2, those age 65 and older, and people with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, or congestive heart failure.

A vaccination is not yet available to the public for the H1N1 virus, however, public health officials expect to be getting their supply of this vaccine in October. Dr. Tighe is encouraging individuals to get the seasonal flu shot in either the traditional form or FluMist nasal vaccine as soon as possible. She also recommends looking for communication from local health officials on the availability of the H1N1 vaccine sometime in October. “We know the vaccine will be available, we just don’t know how it will be distributed to the general population,” adds Dr. Tighe. For more information on the flu you can go to www.flu.gov.