The number of people seeking medical treatment for influenza-like illnesses spiked in the latest flu report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with Georgia and Alabama seeing moderate flu activity and Tennessee experiencing minimal activity.
As flu season ramps up, public health officials are encouraging everyone 6 months and older to get an injectable flu vaccine as soon as possible.
“Now is definitely the time to go and get your vaccine if you haven’t already, because we are seeing flu, and we know that it’s going to take your body about two weeks to produce measurable antibodies to truly protect you,” said Sharon Goforth, special projects supervisor at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.
While everyone is at risk of contracting the virus, pregnant women, older adults, young children and people with medical conditions are more likely to experience severe complications from the illness, such as hospitalization and, in rare cases, death. Those who come into contact with these groups should remember that protection from the vaccine goes beyond the individual, Goforth said.
“If you don’t even want to think about it as the prospect that you’re protecting yourself, think about it more that you’re protecting everyone around you,” she said. “It’s not just you. It’s everyone that you potentially come into contact with during that flu season and it’s as simple as getting a shot.”