The dreaded influenza
By Patrick Kelley
Originally published 01:33 p.m., October 16, 2007
Updated 01:33 p.m., October 16, 2007
There are a couple of misconceptions that may keep some people from getting their flu shots this year.
The first misconception is that the chance to get a shot has passed. Enough publicity was given to last week’s flu shot clinic at the fairgrounds that people who were not listening or reading carefully might be excused for thinking that the clinic was the only chance Emporians would have this year to be vaccinated.
Last week’s clinic was just the first of several scheduled for the flu season. Newman Regional Health had its drive-through clinic today and plans an evening walk-in clinic on Oct. 25. The hospital has also scheduled clinics at the senior centers and other places convenient to older residents in Lyon County. Several pharmacies and medical practices have also scheduled clinics.
Also, it is not necessary to attend a vaccination clinic to get a flu shot. Most medical practices will be vaccinating their patients for several months to come and the Lyon County Health Department will continue to give vaccinations to walk-in patients at the Flint Hills Community Health Center on 15th Avenue.
There is plenty of vaccine this year, so the only time constraint on getting a shot is to get vaccinated soon enough before high season for flu to give immunity time to develop.
The second misconception is even more understandable, but perhaps more dangerous. It is the idea that people get the flu all the time and that it is not a dangerous disease. It is a misunderstanding that can lead people to decide not to get a flu shot.
It is a language problem. Over the past couple of decades, people have begun to refer to all kinds of diseases — from moderately bad head colds to nasty stomach and bowel upsets — as flu.
How many times have you heard somebody say, “I had a touch of the flu,” or “I had stomach flu”?
In this case, “flu” is a just a polite substitute for “crud.” People often call any respiratory or stomach virus or bacterial infection the flu. Because of that, many people have come to think of flu as a relatively brief, relatively mild ailment.
But real flu — influenza — is something quite different. It is possible to get a mild case of influenza, but the viruses that cause the disease are always capable of harming the body in a number of ways. Influenza not only causes high fever and respiratory problems, but it also takes a severe toll on the body, opening it up to other dangerous diseases, including pneumonia, and sinus and ear infections.
Influenza is dangerous enough that an average of 200,000 people a year are hospitalized because of the disease and 36,000 die.
So be clear about this, there is “flu” and there is the dreaded influenza. The vaccinations that are now available in Emporia won’t stop anybody from getting a cold this winter or from having an upset tummy now and then.
What the vaccination can do is protect people from a truly dangerous disease.
pizza (anonymous) says...
Ok, so we hear there are numerous times scheduled at numerous places but how about where these places are and when. The article would have been much more helpful had it included some useful information rather than just why the writer thought we should get a flu shot.
October 16, 2007 at 8:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Oh for goodness sakes. Can you pick up the phone and find out? How about calling your doctor's office? Or Newman's? Or the Health Dept.? Or your pharmacy? The article was about misconceptions about the flu, not where to get a shot. I got my shot yesterday because I called my doctor's office last week and she said, "Come in anytime after ten on Monday."
October 16, 2007 at 8:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )