Vax in time: Flu shots encouraged as CDC, West Texas experts warn of rise cases

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting an increase in flu activity from years past, the public is being urged to get the flu shot.

On Oct. 14, the CDC reported an increase in flu activity in regions 4 and 6 of the United State, which includes Texas and surrounding states, and health experts around West Texas are urging people of all ages to be proactive in getting a flu shot to head off a potential wintertime spike in cases along with an ongoing threat of COVID-19.

The national positive testing percentage is 3.3% with the baseline during this time being 2.5%. Region 6, where Texas is located, has a 5% positive test rate.

Dr. Berk, dean of the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, said that around 40,000 of people die from the flu each year across the country, adding it's a threat that should be taken seriously.

“The best time to get the influenza vaccine is just before the influenza season occurs and that is in November," he said. "So this is a time to start."

He said he strongly urges young, healthy people to get the vaccine so they don’t spread it to those who have underlying health conditions or are in the older population.

“The one new thing about the influenza vaccine that everybody's talking about is that there's a strong recommendation now that individuals over 65 years of age, get this special influenza vaccine, which essentially is stronger and will give more protection,” Berk said.

This new vaccine is called a quadrivalent vaccine, Berk said. It contains four strains of the flu vaccine identified by the CDC and the World Health Organization to be the worst strains this year.

According to the CDC, the quadrivalent vaccine contains an influenza A(H1N1) virus, an influenza A(H3N2) virus and two different lineages of influenza B.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still prevalent today, Dr. Berk said it is unknown how this year's flu will interact with COVID-19.

“People who are having COVID-19 symptoms, they probably even more than the next person need to get an influenza vaccine,” Berk said.

Currently, CVS and Walgreens are offering free flu shots. United Supermarkets pharmacies, including Market Street locations, and several other local pharmacies are also offering the flu vaccine.

Flu vaccines at United pharmacies

With health experts anticipating a severe flu season on top of a winter surge in COVID, pharmacy teams across The United Family are gearing up with plenty of vaccines for communities.

In Texas and New Mexico, pharmacy teams at United Supermarkets, Market Street, Albertsons Market and Amigos are now equipped to administer flu vaccines along with the newly updated booster vaccines — which target the Ba.4 and Ba.5 Omicron subvariants, as well as the original virus, according to a news release from United.

“The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-variant,” said Tim Purser, director of pharmacy for The United Family. “With the prediction of a bad flu season, we made sure we are stocked up and ready to serve guests across all of our communities.”

Along with the CDC, United Family pharmacists recommend that adults receive both the flu and bivalent COVID booster, which can be safely co-administered in one visit. Pharmacies will be offering extra hours as well as walk-in appointments to help accommodate guests’ needs.

As has been the case, all COVID-19 vaccines and boosters will be available to eligible guests at no cost. The seasonal flu shot is typically free through most insurance providers, but has an out-of-pocket cost for those without insurance. In addition to the flu and COVID-19 vaccines, guests will have access to vaccines for Shingles, Tetanus, Pneumonia, HPC, Meningitis, Hep A, Hep B and more.

Pharmacists will only require a guest’s I.D. card and insurance card at the time of the shot. Guests can either walk-in, call to make an appointment or use the newly updated online scheduler to make an appointment at the location of their choosing. This scheduler can be used for all vaccines offered through the pharmacy.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Flu shots encouraged as CDC, West Texas experts warn of rise cases