Influenza

The flu is a viral infection that infects your upper respiratory system and transmitted through the inhalation of air droplets. Not only can you get the flu from inhalation of air droplets, but also through touching infected fomites and then your eyes, nose, or mouth. Signs and symptoms include fever, aching muscles, chills, sweats, headache, cough, fatigue, and sore throat. According to an article by the Mayo Clinic, especially susceptible people include children younger than a year old, adults older than 65 years old, people who work in crowded facilities, people with weakened immune systems, people with chronic illness, pregnant women, and obese individuals. Additional complications may include pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, heart problems, and ear infections. The CDC recommends the annual flu vaccination for everyone over 6 months old. As we learned in my microbiology class, the flu is an enveloped virus and therefore is able to be prevented from washing your hands and using hand sanitizer. It is also important to keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth.

A statement from the Director of National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, the 2019-2020 flu season is on track to be as severe as the 2017-2018 season, which was the deadliest in at least a decade. As of 3 January 2020, the CDC released that so far at least 6.4 million people have had the flu, 55,000 people have been hospitalized, and 2,900 people have died. While the vaccine does not appear very effective so far in the season, it is important to keep in mind that statistics can skew interpretations. In reality probably, the vaccine has helped a lot of people in not getting the flu, but certain strains may not be as fully covered. Just because there is not full overage, it does not mean the vaccine is useless. It is still important to get a yearly flu vaccine because they can always offer partial coverage.

While these statistics are devastating, but I think that it is important to remember that common practices such as washing your hands and not touching your face can be very effective in preventing the spread of the flu. In fact, I did not know until recently that the flu is an enveloped virus and can be killed easily by alcohol wipes and soap. The public needs to continue to hear these messages and also messages about getting the flu vaccine as well. I think that these small details go unnoticed and it is the news outlets responsibilities to transcend this information to the public. They also need to include messages about the annual vaccines as well. Even if the annual vaccine is not the correct strain, it can still help aid in the antibody response that could make the difference in severity and possibly even life and death.