Flu season is around the corner, officials say

John F. Russell
Upcoming flu shot clinics:
Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association
2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays, ongoing
Sunset Elementary School
4 to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Nov. 19
Boys & Girls Club of Craig
4 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27
All clinics are all ages. Please bring Medicaid, Medicare or other insurance card. Low-cost immunizations available for uninsured adults. Cash or checks accepted.
More information: 970-871-7624
Craig — It’s now officially fall, and with the turning of the leaves comes the start of another flu season in Northwest Colorado.
Flu vaccinations are now available from the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, at some local pharmacies and at primary care offices.
This year’s vaccine is expected to be more effective than last year’s shot, which didn’t protect against the newest strain of H3N2 influenza and therefore only had about a 13 percent effectiveness rate against the strain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Typical flu vaccinations have an estimated 50 to 60 percent protection rate, meaning they are expected to stop the flu from effecting about 50 to 60 percent of people who get the shot and are exposed to the virus.
The 2015-16 flu season vaccine strain composition was announced in February. The trivalent vaccine will protect against an A-strain H1N1-like virus, a B-Yamagata lineage virus and an A-strain Switzerland variant H3N2 virus, the latter of which was most prevalent during the 2014-15 flu season. The quadrivalent vaccine will contain the trivalent viruses and a B-strain Victoria-lineage virus part of quadrivalent vaccines in 2014-14 and 2014-15 flu seasons.
“The 2014-15 Influenza vaccine for H3N2 was not a good match. This year’s H3N2 strain in the vaccine appears to be a better match,” said Janice Poirot, a public health nurse with the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association.
Poirot’s observations are in line with information presented during a press briefing that took place on Sept. 17 about the upcoming flu season that included a presentation by Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Frieden said that the Switzerland variant H3N2 strain is part of this year’s vaccine and early indicators suggest the vaccine will be more successful overall this year.
According to Frieden, about half of the U.S. population was vaccinated last year, including 89 percent of doctors and nurses and 95 percent of pharmacists.
The vaccine is recommended for everyone in the United States older than 6 months.
Still, Physician Assistant Maggie Anderson at The Memorial Hospital Clinic in Craig recommends that people do their research.
“I feel like a lot of people just get vaccines without looking into what they are and what the side effects are,” Anderson said. “With the flu vaccine, there’s the risk of not having coverage for the particular strains out there.”
TMH Clinic saw a lot of cases of flu last year, and most of the patients had been vaccinated, she said. Nonetheless, Anderson suggested that the vaccine could be worthwhile for those who spend a lot of time around people with compromised immune systems, in order to help protect them from getting sick.
“More than anything I would recommend that people wash their hands, or if they have a cough, to wear a mask so they don’t get anybody sick,” Anderson said.
Reporter Lauren Blair contributed to this article.
To reach Teresa Ristow, call 970-871-4206, email tristow@SteamboatToday.com or follow her on Twitter @TeresaRistow

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism
Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.