Health care professionals recommending flu vaccines

?Tis the season ? for colder weather, more indoor activities, seasonal stress and flu shots.

Flu shots, or annual vaccines, help protect against the influenza virus.

Area doctors? offices and local pharmacies offer flu shots, usually for $25.

?The flu season usually starts around Christmas,? said Jay Heitsman. a physician at Medical Arts Clinic. ?It?s good to get the flu vaccine about six weeks prior to the start of the season, but earlier is good, too.?

Heitsman said the clinic began giving flu shots at the first of September.

?Last year, the flu strains protected against in the vaccine were similar to the previous year, so people were immune two years in a row and we didn?t have a bad flu season last year,? said Heitsman.

?This year, three entirely new flu strains have been identified and this year?s vaccine protects against those three strains.?

The Center for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Public Health, as well as area doctors recommend annual flu vaccines, said Heitsman.

The CDC recommends flu shots for every healthy person older than 6 months.

?For babies 6 to 35 months old, we have a preservative-free flu shot at Medical Arts Clinic,? said Heitsman.

?And starting at age 2- or 3-years-old, up to age 49, a nasal mist flu vaccine is available, It provides better immunity because the mist is a live virus, so it also has a higher risk of getting the flu from the vaccine.

?Flu shots are made with a dead virus and do not cause the flu,? he said.

?Children especially should be vaccinated against the flu because it spreads so easily among them,? said Heitsman. ?It?s a big emphasis to give children a flu shot.?

Medical Arts Clinic provides flu vaccines for patients of the clinic, no doctor appointment needed.

?If you are one of our patients, just call and tell us you are coming in for a flu shot that day,? said Heitsman. ?We?re open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. And we can bill it to your insurance.?

Jefferson County Public Health Department also is providing flu shots through the end of this month.

Flu shots will be given without appointments from 7:30 a.m. to noon on Fridays through Oct. 26 and 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Oct. 30. Cash or check payment of $25 is needed at public health, or bring a Medicare card if applicable.

Information on the Center for Disease Control website cdc.gov/flu lists signs and symptoms of flu that people can feel ? some or all of these ? fever, but not everyone with the flu gets a fever, or feeling feverish and/or chills; cough; sore throat; runny or stuffy nose; muscle or body aches; headaches; fatigue, very tired; and some people may experience vomiting and diarrhea, though it is more common in children than in adults.

CDC also explains how flu viruses spread, and length of contagious period: ?Most experts believe flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with the flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. Less often, a person might also get the flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or possibly their nose.

?Flu may be able to pass on to someone else before the person knows they are sick, as well as while they are sick. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick. Some people, especially young children and people with weakened immune systems, might be able to infect others for an even longer time.?

Some people should not be vaccinated without first consulting a physician, according to the CDC. They include:

? People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs.

? People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination in the past.

?Children younger than 6 months of age (influenza vaccine is not approved for use in this age group).

? People who have a moderate or severe illness with a fever should wait to get vaccinated until their symptoms lessen.

? People with a history of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a severe paralytic illness, also called GBS) that occurred after receiving influenza vaccine and who are not at risk for severe illness from influenza should generally not receive vaccine. Anyone who has ever had Guillain-Barré Syndrome should tell their doctor, who could help decide whether the vaccine is recommended.

Questions about whether to get a flu vaccine or not, should be addressed with a health care provider.