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August 29, 2010

Our View: Walleye on a stick and a flu shot

The Free Press

Food isn’t the only thing that features a stick at the Minnesota State Fair this year.

The Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency will offer flu shots during all 12 days of the State Fair.

So amid last-minute vacations, fair visits and school shopping, Minnesotans are encouraged to think about getting flu shots. It may seem early, but flu season arrives whenever it wants to. Doctors already have seen outbreaks of H3N2, which is covered in this year’s vaccine along with two other flu strains, according to Minnesota Public Radio News. Iowa has reported several outbreaks of the H3N2 strain.

Although the H1N1 strain is in this year’s vaccine, the pandemic was declared over by the World Health Organization a few weeks ago. So that’s one less thing to worry about.

One good thing about immunizations this year is that only one vaccine will be needed, versus the two shots needed last year to cover the seasonal flu and H1N1 flu.

And this year’s multi-strain shot is available sooner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some large retail pharmacies already have received vaccine.

The CDC recommends getting an early flu shot this year for everyone from age 6 months and older, including pregnant women. To simplify the guidelines, there are no high-risk groups that will be targeted this year.

So we’re all in this boat together. The more people who prevent the spread of the flu by being immunized, the better off the general population is. If people don’t get sick, they don’t spread sickness.

Even though it seems like the sunset of summer is too early to think about flu shots, remember that it was a group of sick 4-H kids at the State Fair last year who reminded us that the flu doesn’t follow a calendar.

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