By By Janet Little Cooper – special to the standard
The wait for the much-anticipated flu shot is finally over for Alabama
residents. Escambia County Health Department has received more than 3,100 flu shots andis holding flu clinics in Brewton every Wednesday from now until the end ofDecember.
According to Elliott, the week after Thanksgiving has been designated as National Influenza Vaccination Week by the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That is good news for Alabama residents who have been waiting for the vaccine due to an increase in flu activity within Southeast Alabama.
Elliott said that anyone can get influenza but that there are things people can do to help protect himself or herself from the virus.
The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year.
Every year in the United States, on average five percent to 20 percent of the population gets the flu, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and about 36,000 people die from flu.
Flu viruses spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose may infect people as well. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to five days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.
Alabama residents only may receive their vaccine at the Escambia County
Health Department in Brewton every Wednesday, from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. and again from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The clinic will also be giving pneumonia shots as well.
Symptoms for the flu include: fever (usually high); headache; extreme tiredness; dry cough; sore throat; runny or stuffy nose; muscle aches; stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults.