WilCo Health Officials Urge Residents To Get Flu Shots

Tony Cantu
·1 min read

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Ahead of the upcoming flu season, county officials are urging residents to get vaccinated toward protecting themselves and their families, officials announced Wednesday.

To that end, the Williamson County and Cities Health District urges residents from six months old and older to get vaccinated. Urgency in the advice is heightened given a decrease in use of preventive medical services in light of stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders that have kept residents largely at home in efforts to blunt the spread of illness, officials noted.

Who Should Get the Flu Shot?

Annual flu vaccination is recommended for everyone six months of age and older, with rare exceptions, because it is an effective way to decrease flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths:

  • Essential workers: Including healthcare personnel (including nursing home, long-term care facility, and pharmacy staff) and other critical infrastructure workforce.

  • Persons at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19: Including adults aged 65 years and older, residents in a nursing home or long-term care facility, and persons of all ages with chronic disease and certain underlying medical conditions.

  • Persons at increased risk for serious influenza complications: Including infants and young children, children with neurologic conditions, pregnant women, adults aged 65 years and older, and other persons with chronic disease and certain underlying medical conditions.

"Take precautions to reduce your chance of getting the flu this season by getting vaccinated in the fall, washing hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home if you’re sick," officials wrote in an advisory. Health officials added that influenza circulates heavily in Central Texas from typically September through April each year.

Flu information and a vaccine finder are available at TexasFlu.org.

This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch