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The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale
Looking for a Few Green Thumbs
The Lawndale Elementary School District is looking for volunteers to get involved and become one of its garden farmers and work with students such as the ones pictured above. Photo Courtesy of LESD
Health Officials: Flu Shot Still Good Idea
By Rob McCarthy
Los Angeles County health officials said
Friday the influenza outbreak that overwhelmed
hospital emergency rooms and contributed to
at least 96 deaths so far in January has peaked,
and that the annual flu shot isn’t to blame.
Officials say the H3N2 influenza virus making
the rounds in South Bay communities, schools
and workplaces reached a peak much earlier
than in previous years. This year’s flu shot is
reportedly between 10 and 30 percent effective
against the powerful strain of influenza. Still,
county health officials and local physicians
continue to recommend a flu shot for anyone
over six months of age.
“The vaccine may not completely prevent the
flu. But it does help the body launch an immune
response,” said Dr. Deborah Lehman, who is
an infectious disease specialist and professor
at the UCLA School of Medicine.
The Los Angeles County Public Health
Department reminds residents that being
vaccinated against flu protects a person who
receives the vaccine and reduces their risk
of contracting influenza and spreading it to
others. Receiving the flu vaccine is “the most
effective way to protect yourself and others”
from getting the flu, according to health officials
for the region.
Nearly half of Americans skip annual flu
shots that some employers and health plans offer
for free, according to U.S. Centers for Disease
Control. For people with heart disease, a flu
shot can have an additional benefit. Studies have
shown that a flu vaccination can prevent heart
attacks, according to medical researchers. “When
people hear the vaccine isn’t that effective, they
assume there’s no point in getting it -- and that’s
very frustrating,” said Dr. Lehman at UCLA.
Public health officials in the United States
and Great Britain have called for greater publicinformation
campaigns to boost flu vaccinations
among patients with known heart conditions.
The British medical journal Heart reported in
October 2016 on the link between the flu and
heart attacks. A “wealth of studies shows
that heart attack risk is significantly increased
within days of contracting the flu, and risk
remains elevated for up to a year,” the paper’s
authors wrote. In fact, their data showed that a
flu shot was as effective at preventing a heart
attack as quitting smoking or regularly taking
cholesterol medicine. An annual flu vaccine can
reduce cardiac risk by 19 to 45 percent, they
found. In comparison, cholesterol-controlling
medication lowers the risk by 25 to 30 percent,
the authors wrote.
Even with its limited effectiveness, the
current flu shot should ward off the more
serious effects of the strong H3N2 virus
making the rounds this month, health experts
say. Healthy vaccinated children and adults
may still experience a fever, cough and several
days of discomfort. The current strain of flu is
called the A variety, and the annual flu shot is
most effective against the B type, according
to health officials. A B-type of flu could make
the rounds here in late winter or early spring,
they caution.
The flu outbreak is waning, but it’s not
gone by a long shot, so health officials advise
residents and caregivers of children or the
elderly to recognize the signs of distress due
to the current flu strain, and to take emergency
action if necessary. That includes these warnings
from the UCLA School of Medicine:
- Elderly and people with compromised
immune systems need to pay special attention
to flu symptoms.
- Dehydration is a main danger because it
can set off a chain reaction that makes it harder
for the body to defend itself. “If children, the
elderly and immunocompromised people don’t
get enough fluids -- or if they can’t keep food
and drink down -- they need more help than a
parent or other caregiver can provide,” UCLA
health professionals caution.
Seek medical attention if a person with the
flu has difficulty breathing or their breathing
becomes fast. Children who are unusually
irritable or sleepy should see a doctor right
away, too.
Frequent hand-washing during the cold and
flu season can help health people not get sick,
experts say. Getting adequate sleep, exercise and
eating a balanced diet also are keys to warding
off cold and flu germs, they say. These common
viruses spread in families, schools and offices
through sneezing and contact with surfaces.
The county public health office lists the
flu’s symptoms as: fever, cough, sore throat,
runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches,
headaches and fatigue. It adds that pneumonia
is the most common complication of the flu,
which can worsen asthma or heart disease. This
year’s H3N2 virus is responsible for at least
36 deaths in the county so far, compared with
13 deaths at this time a year ago, according
to the county health department.
L.A. County offers flu clinics to South Bay
residents at two locations through Feb. 18. Call
the Curtis Tucker Health Center in Inglewood
at (310) 419-5325 or Torrance Health Center
at (310) 354-2300 for clinic appointments. The
public health centers are open weekdays and see
patients on a first-come, first-served business.
During the first two weeks of January, nine
percent of all emergency room visits were for
flu symptoms and more serious complications,
county officials said last Friday. Flu, like the
seasons, follow a distinct pattern where these
nasty bugs run hot and cold, the county’s
weekly “Influenza Watch” revealed in its Jan.
19 bulletin. “In a typical flu season, illnesses
caused by influenza A viruses predominate early
in the season,” it said, adding that the B-type
viruses come in a second wave later in the
flu season, which runs from October to May.
The H3N2 type-A virus peaked earlier than
usual, officials say, and is widespread across
the contiguous 48 states. It has contributed
to 96 deaths -- mostly among older residents
in their 80s -- as of Jan. 19, according to the
county health department.
The CDC says that colds and flus are easily
confused, though both are upper respiratory
illnesses. Flus are worse than common colds,
with more severe and intense symptoms, federal
health officials say. The telltale sign of the flu
is a fever, while a cold is more likely to bring
on a runny nose or stuffed sinuses, the CDC
says. “Colds generally do not result in serious
health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial
infections or hospitalizations,” it adds. •
AND lAwNDAle News
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