Get Flu Vaccine, Health Officials Urge

You may be dreaming of warmer weather, but like it or not, winter - and flu season - are still in full swing.

That's why the Virginia Department of Health is urging people who have not received influenza vaccinations this season to sign up as soon as possible.

Health officials pointed to a rise in flu cases in recent weeks.

“It’s been not as bad as past years, but in recent weeks the flu has hit Virginia very, very hard,” said Bob Borgatti, a Vienna pharmacist and owner of Vienna Drug Center.

In a press release, Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Remley said instances of the flu have increased throughout Virginia and the southeastern U.S. since mid-January.

“There has been a notable increase in the number of people visiting a doctor with influenza-like illness and in the number of specimens testing positive for influenza,” Remley said.

Since the first week of 2011, Dr. Gordon Theisz said he has noticed an uptick of patients coming to his Falls Church practice with flu-like illnesses. There haven’t been as many people as there was with the H1N1 outbreak in the fall of 2009 he said, but the people coming to him have not been vaccinated with flu shots.

“This year’s vaccine covers both H1N1 and H3N2 flu variants which the health department has reported active this year,” Theisz said. “The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone over six-months of age be vaccinated.”

Dr. Peter Troell, a medical epidemiologist with the Fairfax County Health Department, said it is especially important for infants and the elderly to receive flu immunization. Roughly 30,000 people die in the U.S. from influenza each year and the vast majority is from these two at-risk groups, Troell said.

"The flu vaccine is widely tested. It’s very safe. It’s highly recommended," Troell said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 19 flu-related deaths in the United States as of Jan. 29, and two pediatric flu deaths have been confirmed in Virginia.

Borgatti said his pharmacy administered more than 1,000 flu shots this season - mostly during the fall months. Borgatti also recommends diligent hand washing as one of the most effective way to stave off influenza this year.

"That seems to be tried and true," he said.

Dr. Troell said covering coughing or sneezing with your upper arm - not your hands - is also effective. He also recommends staying at home when you are sick and remaining at home until you are fever-free for at least 24 hours.

More information about the flu vaccination can be found at www.vdh.virginia.gov.