HOUSTON — The flu season typically begins in late November or early December, peaks in January or February, and leaves around April or early May. However, the flu season can oftentimes be unpredictable.
According to the Baylor College of Medicine, most people with the flu have mild illness and do not need medical care or antiviral drugs. If you get sick with flu symptoms, in most cases, you are urged to stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care. If you have symptoms of flu and are in a high-risk group, or are very sick or worried about your illness, you should contact your doctor or other healthcare provider. Your doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs that can treat the flu. These drugs work better for treatment the sooner they are started.
Should You Be Vaccinated?
While the flu may not cause complications for most people, for others, it can cause serious complications and even death. It can seriously impact children, the elderly and immune-compromised people.
“Universal immunization is the best way to protect everybody against the flu,” a news release from Baylor College of Medicine said. “The more people who are protected, the less likely that an influenza season will be able to take hold or cause complications.”
Pregnant women will transfer antibodies from the vaccine through the placenta to their infant, and the baby will then be passively protected from the influenza virus during their first six months of life, health officials say.
Who Should Get Which Vaccine?
According to health officials:
- Healthy individuals 6 months of age or older can receive the flu shot.
- Individuals over the age of 65 should get the higher dose influenza vaccine, which contains four times the concentration of the regular influenza vaccine and produces a better immune response in this age group.
- Pregnant women can receive the flu shot during any trimester.
- Anyone working in the healthcare environment should be protected against the flu to reduce the risk of spreading it to others who would be susceptible in a high-risk setting such as a hospital.
- Those with a severe egg allergy are advised not to receive an egg-based influenza vaccine but are encouraged to speak with a physician about a cell-based vaccine. People with Guillain-Barre Syndrome should also speak with their physicians to weigh the risks versus the benefits of getting the influenza vaccine.
Should kids get the vaccine?
School-aged children are likely to spread the flu to others. Infants and children 8 years and younger who have never been previously vaccinated can get a second dose four weeks after the first dose, health officials say.
