It’s worth a stick in the arm

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Health officials warn that Iowa may be in for an especially rough time with the flu this season. And if you haven't had your flu shot yet, don't delay. The season is under way.

Three strains of influenza already have been identified in Iowa - including a strain of H1N1. That bug accounted for at least 41 confirmed deaths and 659 hospitalizations in Iowa last season.

This year, there is plenty of vaccine to go around - just one shot will protect against all three strains. And never before has it been so convenient to get a flu shot. They're available at doctors' offices, pharmacies, grocery stores and other providers.

Iowans should take advantage. Influenza can be more than a painful inconvenience. It can be deadly.

It's anyone's guess just how many Iowans already have been inoculated this year. But officials say it seems more people are getting flu shots in recent years.

Suellen Novotny, Executive Director of the Visiting Nurse Association of Johnson County, said her agency will administer about 5,000 shots this season.

Public health officials estimate nearly 400,000 Iowans - 13 percent of the state's residents - showed flu-like symptoms last season.

This year's triple threat means you might get socked with the flu not just once but three times if you don't inoculate against the virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone aged 6 months or older take the flu vaccine. It's especially important for high risk groups to be vaccinated - including pregnant women, people younger than 5 or older than 50, those who have suppressed immune systems or live with or care for those at higher risk.

But even low-risk populations should inoculate against the flu, experts say. Otherwise, they can do a lot of damage in spreading the virus to vulnerable loved ones.

As Johnson County Public Health Director Doug Beardsley told us this week: “If you've got the flu or the makings of the flu, and you go to grandma's house and you give her a big sloppy kiss - now grandma's got it and grandma might die from it.”

Besides, why suffer when you don't have to? Just because you've never been flattened by the flu before doesn't mean you won't be this year. And a stick in the arm sure beats getting sick.