Influenza, or flu, is a highly contagious viral infection of the nose, throat and lungs. Spread easily from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes, flu ranks as one of the most severe illnesses of the winter season, capable of leading to hospitalization and even death, particularly among the elderly. Yet a simple vaccination can prevent from 50% to 60% of all hospitalizations and 80% of influenza-related complications and deaths among the elderly. And Medicare Part B pays for the shot (and also for pneumonia shots, offered wherever the health department gives flu immunizations).

Typical influenza illness is characterized by the abrupt onset of high fever, chills, dry cough, headache, runny nose, sore throat, and muscle and joint pain. Unlike other common respiratory infections, the flu can cause extreme fatigue that can last from several days to even weeks. Getting a flu shot year after year may seem an inconvenience, but could possibly save your life, particularly if you’re in a category listed in the accompanying sidebar, "Who Should Get A Flu Shot."

An estimated 10% to 20% of the entire population contracts the flu every year. This amounts to a potential 80,000 cases in Lee County. Statistics like these make clear the need for an annual vaccination. Why annual? Because flu virus changes, or mutates, from year to year. Based on surveillance conducted by the National Influenza Centers at about 115 sites worldwide and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), strains of the virus are chosen to be included in each year’s upcoming vaccine. (For those technically inclined, this year’s vaccine will contain A/Beijing, A/Sydney and B/Yamanashi (the U.S. equivalent of B/Beijing).

With nearly fifty temporary clinic locations throughout Lee County, including many in neighborhood civic centers and manufactured home communities, a site should be convenient to anyone in our area.

Pandemics, or epidemics of worldwide proportion, have occurred four times in this century – 1918, 1957, 1968 and 1977. The Hong Kong Flu killed 34,000 Americans during the 1968 – 69 flu season. The 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak is considered the deadliest epidemic in recorded history, killing at least 550,000 in the United States and up to 50 million people throughout the world.