There?s still time to get your flu shot even though the first case of flue has been confirmed in the state.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) reported its first laboratory-confirmed case of Type A seasonal influenza, more than a month later than the first confirmation last season.
Still many people are not heeding the CDC?s recommendation to get vaccinated, particularly for those with compromised immune systems.
“Every year, 6,000 people in the United States do die of seasonable flu,” said Martin Taffe, spokesman for Baltimore-based Passport Health.
Looking for another reason? He said the flu is nothing to take lightly. “In the influenza pandemic of 1918 – 1919 something like 675,000 Americans died. There were bodies piled in the streets of every town.”
The seasonal flu is highly contagious, according to a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene release. It spreads through the air by coughing or sneezing, as well as through direct contact with infected people. Flu symptoms usually begin one to four days after being exposed to the flu virus and the infected person is contagious throughout that period.
“Seasonal flu is here in Maryland and I encourage everyone who has not already been vaccinated this season to contact their physician or health care provider to make arrangements to get immunized against this illness that affects thousands of people every year,” DHMH Secretary John M. Colmers said in a statement. “It is not too late to get the vaccine and supplies are plentiful.”
Though the exact subtype of Maryland?s case has not been verified, so far, the vaccine has been right on target for flu cases reported throughout the country, according to the Centers for disease Control and Prevention. This year?s vaccine protects against influenza Type A Solomon Island, Type A Wisconsin, and Type B Malaysia. Most confirmed cases have been of the two type-A viruses included in the vaccine formula.
