A month and a half into the flu season, it?s not too late to get your flu shot, doctors say.
In honor of National Flu Vaccination Week, companies involved in vaccinating our work force are gearing up to help get the message out.
This year, more than 300 Concentra Medical Centers around the nation will issue 280,000 doses of flu vaccine.
In Maryland, they have about 10,500 doses at 12 medical centers. Concentra caters to government workers such as police and emergency responders, as well as to small and midsize businesses. It offers flu shots to walk-in customers for $25 and on-site vaccination clinics at a discount for employers.
The Concentra Medical Center in Arbutus has taken that duty to heart and is taking the message to the small and midsize businesses it serves.
“During flu vaccination week every year, we are involved in being sure all our employees get vaccinated. We?re also making sure all our client companies are aware of the importance of flu vaccination,” said Dr. Ed Seidel, regional medical director for Concentra. “We?ll probably give out, I?m guessing, between 500 and 1,000 vaccinations [this] week.”
“Influenza is the most frequent cause of death from a vaccine-preventable disease in the United States,” said Dr. William Atkinson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Getting your flu shot is not just good medicine for you, your family and co-workers, he said, but it?s also smart preparation against what experts are calling an inevitable pandemic flu like the one that killed more than 500,000 Americans.
“Your risk of dying from some 1918-type flu is greatly reduced if you don?t get a seasonal flu at the same time as pandemic flu,” said Seidel, an infectious-disease specialist.
Seasonal flu vaccines don?t protect against the strains of avian flu speculated to be the next pandemic, he said, but they do help build your immune system?s response.
There are good antivirals on the market, and you can limit spread of the virus by handwashing, coughing into your elbow and avoiding those who don?t, Seidel said. However, nothing beats avoiding infection in the first place. “Prevention is the key, and the best way to prevent is by vaccination.”
Top Five Flu Myths:
1) You can catch the flu from the flu vaccine.
» This is not possible.
2) You must get the flu vaccine during the fall for it to be effective.
» The U.S. flu season typically peaks between late December and early March, according to the CDC.
3) You can catch the flu only in cold-weather regions.
» The flu virus exists in almost every climate and temperature.
4) The flu is spread through direct contact from an infected person.
» The flu is mostly spread by coughing or sneezing.
5) You won?t be able to get a flu shot because there aren?t enough vaccines.
» Many offices and clinics already have a supply of vaccine and may receive second shipments later in the season.
Source: Concentra Inc.
