Season prompts center to
keep giving flu shots
By Steve Poland
Staff
Writer
In an average flu season, 20,000 Americans die
and 110,000 are hospitalized because of complications from influenza
illness, or the more commonly called "flu."
The virus generally spreads from person to person
when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
"There have been some cases in Indiana that
were confirmed about two weeks ago and we’ve seen similar symptoms
here," said Barbara Mathew, a nurse in urgent care at Purdue's
student health center.
Flu shots are still available at the health center
through March 30 for a reduced fee of $8 to students. The Purdue Work
Life Program covers the cost of the vaccine for all Purdue employees,
retirees and their spouses.
"If students haven’t received one yet,
it won’t hurt them to go ahead and get one. There’s still
four to six weeks left in the flu season," said Mathew.
"Over 4,000 students this year have received
the shot. This is a little bit behind compared to last year because
the availability of the flu shot was late due to production problems,"
Mathew added.
The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta said
in a report that a common misperception of the flu vaccine is that it
causes the flu. The licensed flu vaccine used in the United States,
which is made from inactivated, or killed influenza viruses, cannot
cause influenza infection and does not cause influenza illness.
The Center for Disease Control report also said
that about 75 million doses of flu vaccine have been available this
season and that about 5 million are still available for purchase.
According to Beverly A. Pickard's book, "To
Flu or Not to Flu?" people who decide not to get the shot have
other options for protecting themselves.
"Take your hygiene to new levels, especially
at work. Very few people wash their hands adequately. The proper length
of time it takes to remove viruses from your hands while you wash is
the time it takes to sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,'" said
Pickard in her book. "Use a hand sanitizer often and disinfect shared
workspaces once or twice a day. Flu viruses can survive up to 72 hours
on hard surfaces such as desks, telephones and door handles. Never touch
your eyes with your hands without washing them well first."
In her book, Pickard said people can tell that
they have the flu and not a cold if they have fevers or aching in their
muscles.
"You are contagious for three to five days from
the initial onset of symptoms, and children are contagious for seven,"
said Pickard.
She advises in her book that people with the flu
should go to bed, drink plenty of water, take aspirin for the fever
and then just wait it out.
The Center for Disease Control said the highest
influenza activity was reported in Texas. In addition, six other states
are reporting regional influenza activity: Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia,
Kentucky, Maryland and Tennessee.
|
