Harlan Kirgan
The old adage that an ounce of prevention of is worth a pound of cure is alive and well in this flu season.
The preventative is the flu shot and it is not too late to get one, Dr. John Rainey told Eunice Kiwanis Club members Thursday at Ruby’s.
“I guess if I have anything to offer, it is to get your flu shot,” Rainey said.
“The flu is a terrible virus. It is not 100 percent preventable as we see every year, but the flu shot can be beneficial. Even if it is not tailored to the specific virus that’s out there you still get some immune response to the virus regardless of what strain actually survives and spreads. A blunted response is better than a full-blown exposure,” he said.
The flu shot does not give people the flu, but people can get a flu-like reaction, he said.
In response to this year’s flu season, the Louisiana Department of Health is offering flu vaccines at no cost at more than 55 parish health units across the state from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The vaccine is available to anyone who has not received a vaccine this flu season.
Dr. Frank Welch, state immunization medical director, said, “Louisiana is experiencing a severe flu season and the flu strain we are seeing now is one that typically causes more severe illness, and results in higher hospitalization rates and deaths.”
Welch added in a news release, “In more severe seasons, the flu causes approximately 700 deaths and nearly 8,000 hospitalizations each year in Louisiana. We are already on track to meet and possibly exceed these statistics for the 2017/18 flu season.”
Parish health units include: St. Landry Parish Health Unit, 308 W. Bloch St., Opelousas, call 337-948-0220; and Acadia Parish Health Unit, 1029 Capitol Ave., Crowley, call 337-788-7507.
To find a clinic nearest to you, visit ldh.la.gov/NoCostFluVaccines.
Rainey said immunizations are particularly important for healthy people to get because that lends protection to the most vulnerable.
“I don’t think I want to tell a patient or parent whose child is already suffering with leukemia, ‘Hey, I’m sorry I killed your child because I didn’t want to immunize my child based on unfounded rumors,” Rainey said.
Rainey said he didn’t have statistics about the current flu season, but offered a story.
“We recently had a patient who was in Ville Platte and the patient was pretty sick and they were trying to get him here. I could offer the services that were needed, but the only reason they were coming here or trying to come here was because they had not a single ICU bed available in the entire state of Louisiana. And, that is mainly due to people that are getting sick from the flu virus,” he said.
Flu symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, body aches, coughing and sneezing. The virus can disrupt the respiratory system and lead to death.
Anti-viral treatments, such as Tamiflu, and amantadine may help soften the flu symptoms.
Each year scientists guess which viruses to target in the vaccine, but the virus changes during a season.
The flu vaccine this year offers the most protection against an H1NI, an H3N2 and a B/Victoria lineage strain.
The H3N2 is the most pervasive this year, but it is mutating through the season.
Rainey urged those who not received a flu shot to get one. The vaccination is harmless, he said.