Early flu season means early flu shots for my family | THE MOM STOP

Each year, I always question when the best time to get a flu shot — September sometimes seems too early, but any later and you risk getting sick if there is an early flu season.

It’s a gamble, and even getting the flu shot doesn't provide certainty that you will avoid the flu. But, much like the COVID vaccine, medical professionals say it can make having the flu less severe. And so each year, my family gets the flu shot.

This year, it seems like the flu is hitting particularly early, especially in the Southeast. At the time of writing, at least 13 states in the U.S. are already experiencing a “high or very high” number of flu cases in a swath of states ranging from Texas and up through Maryland.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, so far this season, there have been at least 880,000 flu illnesses in the U.S., 6,900 hospitalizations, and 360 deaths from flu, including the first pediatric death from the flu, which occurred in late October. The hospitalization rate from the flu this season is the highest since 2010-11, according to CDC data, and the flu is hitting earlier in the year this season than during the last five years.

Of the positive flu tests, around 98 percent are type A flu, with H1N1 or H3N2 being the most common strands.

I got my flu shot in September, and had planned for my kids to get their shot at school — which has turned out to be so much easier than trying to schedule a time to take all three at once to get the shot.

I’m glad I’m not in the phase of life where I had to juggle three kids at the doctor’s office, trying to determine which of my children would be the easiest to get a shot first, or who would scream the least. There were the years when I’d have to hold down one of my kids while the two other siblings screamed, all while the nurse tried giving the flu shots as quickly as possible.

But this year, soon after I signed the permission forms for the school flu shots, I started having friends whose kids came down with the flu. Then, a teacher friend of mine told me that she only had seven kids in her class that day — more than half were out with the flu.

I decided it couldn’t wait. I made appointments for my kids to get the flu shot at our local pharmacy that day.

The flu shot isn’t 100% in preventing the flu, but according to the CDC, it’s the best way to protect against the illness. While vaccination helps prevent infection, if someone who is vaccinated does get the flu, it can help lessen the severity of it. The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and older get a flu shot each year.

Below are other tips from the CDC on ways to prevent getting the flu, or if you have it, to prevent spreading it:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Germs spread this way.

• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with viruses that cause flu.

• If you are sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.

• Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze.

• For flu, CDC recommends that people stay home for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone except to get medical care or other necessities. Fever should be gone without the need to use a fever-reducing medicine.

• If you are sick with flu, antiviral drugs can be used to treat your illness.

Lydia Seabol Avant writes The Mom Stop for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at momstopcolumn@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Early flu season means early flu shots for my family | THE MOM STOP