Two influenza deaths have already been reported in the San Diego region this season.
\nThe number of lab-confirmed flu cases is more than double the past three-year average for this point in the season, and it\u2019s on par with the 2017-18 season, which was severe.
\nThat\u2019s why County Health and Human Services Agency officials are encouraging San Diegans to get vaccinated now before the worst of the flu season gets here.
\n“People should get vaccinated now to avoid getting sick and infecting others,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “The vaccine is safe and effective and is available throughout the region.”
\nLast season, 77 people in the region died from complications from the flu and 9,655 lab-confirmed cases were reported, which was down from the previous season\u2019s 343 deaths and 20,833 lab-confirmed cases. Last season, the first flu death occurred Oct. 15, 2018, while the first death the previous season occurred Oct. 1, 2017.
\nThe County Health and Human Services Agency today published this season\u2019s first Influenza Watch weekly report, which tracks key flu indicators and summarizes influenza surveillance in the region. The report is released every Wednesday during the flu season.
\n“Based on what was seen in the Southern Hemisphere during last year\u2019s flu season, earlier deaths reported this year and the increased number of lab-confirmed flu cases reported to date, we could anticipate that this season may be as severe as two years ago,” Wooten said. “However, we just don\u2019t know until time has passed. That is why it\u2019s important to get the flu shot.” For the week ending Sept. 28, 2018,\u00a0the Influenza Watch report shows the following: \u2022 Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness: 2 percent of all visits (compared to 2 percent the previous week) \u2022 Lab-confirmed influenza cases for the week: 36 (compared to 22 the previous week) \u2022 Total influenza deaths to date: 2 (compared to 0 at this time last season) \u2022 Total lab-confirmed cases to date: 235 (compared to 67 last season and 111 the past three-year average) Who Should Get a Flu Shot
\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated. It takes about two weeks for immunity to develop.
\nVaccination is especially important for people who are at high risk of developing serious complications from influenza. They include: \u2022 People with chronic medical conditions like asthma, diabetes and lung disease, even if symptoms are under control \u2022 Pregnant women \u2022 People 65 years and older \u2022 People who live with or care for others who are at higher risk In addition to getting vaccinated, people should also do the following to avoid getting sick: \u2022 Wash hands thoroughly and often \u2022 Use hand sanitizers \u2022 Stay away from sick people \u2022 Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth \u2022 Clean commonly touched surfaces \u2022 If you are sick, stay home and avoid contact with others The flu vaccine is available at doctors\u2019 offices and retail pharmacies. If you don\u2019t have medical insurance, you can go to a County public health center to get vaccinated. For a list of locations, visit sdiz.org\u00a0or call 211 San Diego.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two influenza deaths have already been reported in the San Diego region this season. The number of lab-confirmed flu cases is more than double the past three-year average for this point in the season, and it\u2019s on par with the 2017-18 season, which was severe. That\u2019s why County Health and Human Services Agency officials are […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":258381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11560","_seopress_titles_title":"Two local flu deaths reported; San Diegans urged to vaccinate","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[12360,11560,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-duplicate","category-la-jolla-village-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}