MassDPH urges vaccinations as flu season arrives

With flu season underway, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is urging residents to get their flu shot as well as a COVID-19 vaccine or booster.

It is recommended that every person over the age of 6 months gets a flu shot annually, and according to health officials, now is an ideal time to get vaccinated before the flu season reaches its peak. This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that people 65 years and older get a high-dose flu vaccine.

Individuals can receive flu and COVID-19 vaccines in the same visit, including from many retail pharmacies. Both the COVID and flu vaccines are safe and effective and have been shown to reduce the risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death.

“Every flu season is different, and while it is difficult to predict severity, vaccination remains the best way for people to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities against flu,” said DPH Commissioner Margret Cooke. “Now is also a good time for residents to get their COVID-19 vaccines and updated bivalent booster if they haven’t yet, particularly those who are at increased risk of developing serious illness. This includes people with certain chronic health conditions.”

DPH began its statewide surveillance reporting for the 2022-23 flu season the first week of October. Weekly data will be reported every Friday, including metrics measuring the severity of influenza-like illness, hospital visits, and flu-related hospitalizations.

According to the DPH report for the week ending October 21, while early increases in seasonal flu activity have been reported in most of the United States, with the highest levels seen in the southeast and south-central areas of the country, overall flu activity in Massachusetts has been minimal to date. The current flu vaccination rate in the commonwealth for all ages is 18 percent, which is comparable to the same point in the previous flu season.

Nearly every year in the United States, millions of people get the flu, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and thousands die from flu-related illnesses. The most common symptoms of flu are fever, cough, and sore throat. Symptoms can also include body aches, headaches, chills, runny nose, and fatigue.

Flu vaccination is especially important for those who are at higher risk of developing serious complications, such as those with a chronic respiratory condition, heart disease, a weakened immune system, or who are pregnant. Because flu and COVID-19 are both expected to be circulating this fall and may have similar symptoms, people with flu-like illness should get tested for both COVID and flu.

COVID and flu vaccines are both widely available throughout the commonwealth for everyone 6 months and older. Other actions that people can take to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases like flu and COVID-19 include staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes, and practicing good hand hygiene.

“We really urge people to get vaccinated to protect themselves, those around them, and to help prevent the circulation of flu on top of COVID, which could cause a strain on our health care system,” said Dr. Larry Madoff, medical director of DPH’s Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory. Madoff added that it is especially important that people get their flu shot this year, as lower rates of influenza infection over the past couple of flu seasons likely means there is less immunity than in past seasons.

People who have questions about getting both vaccines during the same visit should speak with their health care provider. For more information on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, visit mass.gov/covid19. For more information about influenza, visit mass.gov/influenza or call your health care provider, local board of health, or DPH at 617-983-6800.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Oct 28 2022. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.