Although the 2017-18 flu vaccine was only 36 percent effective at protecting against the flu, it doesn't mean you should skip the shot this year. That's because each year people die from flu, and some protection is better than none.
Dr. Jason Moraleda covers what we can expect for this years flu season and how vaccination is one of the best ways to protect your family and the community from a nasty flu outbreak.
What Can We Expect From This Years Flu Season?
From the Show: Lourdes Health Talk
Summary:
Air Date: 2/18/19
Duration: 10 Minutes
Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): Influenza is a serious disease and every flu season is different. Vaccination is one of the best ways you can protect yourself and your family from this potentially dangerous disease. My guest today is Dr. Jason Moraleda. He’s a Family Practice Physician at Lourdes Health System. Dr. Moraleda, tell us about this year’s flu season. What can we expect? How would you characterize it based on last year’s flu season?
Dr. Jason Moraleda (Guest): Thanks for having me on Melanie. So this year’s flu season I think is a little milder thankfully compared to last year. Last year’s flu season unfortunately ran quite long and started in December and went all the way until May or so. This year we had some flu cases in December but certainly January and February, we’re seeing a lot more cases, not as severe, not as frequent but certainly it’s on the rise and most regions, or all regions of New Jersey, are actually characterized as high activity right now.
Host: Before we ask you about who should be vaccinated, how do they come up with the vaccines every year? What is it that they’re looking at Dr. Moraleda?
Dr. Moraleda: I think it’s really a best guess estimate on the previous year’s strains, which one came, which one was encountered the most. For example, last year the H3N2 strain was very prevalent, so they certainly wanted to include that in this year’s vaccination and this year’s vaccine has the H1N1 and the H3N2 strain, so there’s actually three strains covering influenza A and B this year, which has been much more protective compared to last year.
Host: Who should be vaccinated and who should not be vaccinated?
Dr. Moraleda: Alright so, everyone 6 months of age and older should be vaccinated against the flu. Flu shots are recommended for pregnant women and also people with chronic health conditions, like for example folks with heart disease and diabetes, and emphysema. Any babies younger than 6 months of age should not be vaccinated and also folks who have had a history of any life threatening allergy to the flu vaccine.
Host: Tell us a little bit about the vaccine this year. What are we expecting and what strains is it covering? Are we still using the nasal mist? What are we doing?
Dr. Moraleda: So the vaccine this year, it again involves three of the strains. It’s covering two influenza A strains and one influenza B strain I believe, and again it has been much more protective compared to last year, which is definitely influencing how our season is going for 2018-2019. The flu mist as far as the nasal vaccination is not really been used, from my experience anyway. I think one of the reasons being is that it was decided by the CDC to approve the flu mist again, it was out of market for a while, but it was a little late in the year for approval so there wasn’t a lot of supply as far as getting that actual vaccination.
Host: Doctor, should we still get the vaccine, even at this point in the year?
Dr. Moraleda: I think it’s important for parents to vaccinate their children. In the last season we saw unfortunately close to 200 deaths in the US – pediatric – from pediatric flu. So it’s definitely important to even at this time to get the flu vaccine for children. Keep in mind that 6 months to 35 months of age, they do need two separate vaccines one month apart. So if they can get at least one vaccine before the flu season ends, I think it’s worth it.
Host: Doctor, when parents come to you and ask about vaccines in general and the flu vaccine, what do you tell them?
Dr. Moraleda: Well I tell them the flu vaccine for kids exists so that they can be prevented from hospitalization. The fear is the younger population and the older population, the extremes of age, are the ones that end up in the hospital with complication of pneumonia as a complication of the flu. So it’s definitely protective so you’re not having to be sick enough to be in the hospital.
Host: What’s the best way to protect young children that are too young to receive the vaccine and what about herd immunity?
Dr. Moraleda: So the best way for folks in general, and this applies to everyone, and not just parents with young kids, is to wash your hands, use hand sanitizers, if you’re coughing, cover your cough. If you are diagnosed with the flu, then it’s certainly something to make sure you’re kind of isolating yourself from any family members who could be exposed and get sick as well too.
Host: Even if you’ve gotten the vaccine, you can get a strain of the flu, is that correct?
Dr. Moraleda: Yes, you still can get the flu but your chances of getting it are much lower. This year’s vaccination I think is much more protective, so the chances are greater that you won’t get the flu if you are vaccinated, but there’s still a possible chance that you can get the flu and if you are vaccinated and you get the flu, chances are the symptoms of the flu are going to be much less.
Host: Then tell us what treatments you recommend if somebody does get the flu. What are they supposed to do, outside – you’ve already mentioned hand washing, and kind of incubating yourself, staying away from everybody else, not going to work – but what can we do as far as those symptoms? Because you can feel really lousy with the flu doctor.
Dr. Moraleda: You sure can, yeah, yeah. I tell my patients you feel like you’re at death’s door when you get the flu. The one important focus is to hydrate very well. I tell my patients drink plenty of fluids, warm liquids can break up any mucus, get the broth – chicken noodle soup, anything to keep you well hydrated and ibuprofen or Tylenol is important to reduce fever, reduce the body aches and headaches that commonly come with the flu as well. Some people do need the Tamiflu or similar antiviral medication, but most folks do just fine without the antiviral medication.
Host: How long are you contagious?
Dr. Moraleda: That’s a good question. Typically one week or so. I tell my patients if you are diagnosed with the flu don’t go to work, don’t go to school unless you are fever free for 24 hours.
Host: And what would you like us to know about identifying the flu versus a cold and what symptoms are different in the two and when you advise somebody to see a doctor if they do feel like they are getting pretty sick?
Dr. Moraleda: That’s a good question. A lot of people confuse cold symptoms or sinus symptoms with the flu. The flu is a whole different monster in itself. You have severe headache, body aches. It’s usually a sudden onset of symptoms and the fever is not a low grade fever that you might get from colds, for example. It can be 101, 102 and it can be persistent as well. You can have runny nose, congestion and cough along with flu symptoms, so it can be a little confusing, but certainly if you have any questions, it’s good to contact your primary care doctor.
Host: Best advice Dr. Moraleda, for preventing the spread of cold and flu, vaccination, really what you would like us to know, your best advice for hopefully not getting it this year.
Dr. Moraleda: True but as far as vaccination goes, by getting vaccinated to protect yourself, your family, your kids and older adults from having higher risk for serious health complications from the flu and hopefully we’ll all get through this flu season just fine.
Host: Thank you so much, really it’s such important information. Thank you again for joining us. This is Lourdes Health Talk. For more information, please visit lourdesnet.org, that’s lourdesnet.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for tuning in.
Melanie Cole (Host): Influenza is a serious disease and every flu season is different. Vaccination is one of the best ways you can protect yourself and your family from this potentially dangerous disease. My guest today is Dr. Jason Moraleda. He’s a Family Practice Physician at Lourdes Health System. Dr. Moraleda, tell us about this year’s flu season. What can we expect? How would you characterize it based on last year’s flu season?
Dr. Jason Moraleda (Guest): Thanks for having me on Melanie. So this year’s flu season I think is a little milder thankfully compared to last year. Last year’s flu season unfortunately ran quite long and started in December and went all the way until May or so. This year we had some flu cases in December but certainly January and February, we’re seeing a lot more cases, not as severe, not as frequent but certainly it’s on the rise and most regions, or all regions of New Jersey, are actually characterized as high activity right now.
Host: Before we ask you about who should be vaccinated, how do they come up with the vaccines every year? What is it that they’re looking at Dr. Moraleda?
Dr. Moraleda: I think it’s really a best guess estimate on the previous year’s strains, which one came, which one was encountered the most. For example, last year the H3N2 strain was very prevalent, so they certainly wanted to include that in this year’s vaccination and this year’s vaccine has the H1N1 and the H3N2 strain, so there’s actually three strains covering influenza A and B this year, which has been much more protective compared to last year.
Host: Who should be vaccinated and who should not be vaccinated?
Dr. Moraleda: Alright so, everyone 6 months of age and older should be vaccinated against the flu. Flu shots are recommended for pregnant women and also people with chronic health conditions, like for example folks with heart disease and diabetes, and emphysema. Any babies younger than 6 months of age should not be vaccinated and also folks who have had a history of any life threatening allergy to the flu vaccine.
Host: Tell us a little bit about the vaccine this year. What are we expecting and what strains is it covering? Are we still using the nasal mist? What are we doing?
Dr. Moraleda: So the vaccine this year, it again involves three of the strains. It’s covering two influenza A strains and one influenza B strain I believe, and again it has been much more protective compared to last year, which is definitely influencing how our season is going for 2018-2019. The flu mist as far as the nasal vaccination is not really been used, from my experience anyway. I think one of the reasons being is that it was decided by the CDC to approve the flu mist again, it was out of market for a while, but it was a little late in the year for approval so there wasn’t a lot of supply as far as getting that actual vaccination.
Host: Doctor, should we still get the vaccine, even at this point in the year?
Dr. Moraleda: I think it’s important for parents to vaccinate their children. In the last season we saw unfortunately close to 200 deaths in the US – pediatric – from pediatric flu. So it’s definitely important to even at this time to get the flu vaccine for children. Keep in mind that 6 months to 35 months of age, they do need two separate vaccines one month apart. So if they can get at least one vaccine before the flu season ends, I think it’s worth it.
Host: Doctor, when parents come to you and ask about vaccines in general and the flu vaccine, what do you tell them?
Dr. Moraleda: Well I tell them the flu vaccine for kids exists so that they can be prevented from hospitalization. The fear is the younger population and the older population, the extremes of age, are the ones that end up in the hospital with complication of pneumonia as a complication of the flu. So it’s definitely protective so you’re not having to be sick enough to be in the hospital.
Host: What’s the best way to protect young children that are too young to receive the vaccine and what about herd immunity?
Dr. Moraleda: So the best way for folks in general, and this applies to everyone, and not just parents with young kids, is to wash your hands, use hand sanitizers, if you’re coughing, cover your cough. If you are diagnosed with the flu, then it’s certainly something to make sure you’re kind of isolating yourself from any family members who could be exposed and get sick as well too.
Host: Even if you’ve gotten the vaccine, you can get a strain of the flu, is that correct?
Dr. Moraleda: Yes, you still can get the flu but your chances of getting it are much lower. This year’s vaccination I think is much more protective, so the chances are greater that you won’t get the flu if you are vaccinated, but there’s still a possible chance that you can get the flu and if you are vaccinated and you get the flu, chances are the symptoms of the flu are going to be much less.
Host: Then tell us what treatments you recommend if somebody does get the flu. What are they supposed to do, outside – you’ve already mentioned hand washing, and kind of incubating yourself, staying away from everybody else, not going to work – but what can we do as far as those symptoms? Because you can feel really lousy with the flu doctor.
Dr. Moraleda: You sure can, yeah, yeah. I tell my patients you feel like you’re at death’s door when you get the flu. The one important focus is to hydrate very well. I tell my patients drink plenty of fluids, warm liquids can break up any mucus, get the broth – chicken noodle soup, anything to keep you well hydrated and ibuprofen or Tylenol is important to reduce fever, reduce the body aches and headaches that commonly come with the flu as well. Some people do need the Tamiflu or similar antiviral medication, but most folks do just fine without the antiviral medication.
Host: How long are you contagious?
Dr. Moraleda: That’s a good question. Typically one week or so. I tell my patients if you are diagnosed with the flu don’t go to work, don’t go to school unless you are fever free for 24 hours.
Host: And what would you like us to know about identifying the flu versus a cold and what symptoms are different in the two and when you advise somebody to see a doctor if they do feel like they are getting pretty sick?
Dr. Moraleda: That’s a good question. A lot of people confuse cold symptoms or sinus symptoms with the flu. The flu is a whole different monster in itself. You have severe headache, body aches. It’s usually a sudden onset of symptoms and the fever is not a low grade fever that you might get from colds, for example. It can be 101, 102 and it can be persistent as well. You can have runny nose, congestion and cough along with flu symptoms, so it can be a little confusing, but certainly if you have any questions, it’s good to contact your primary care doctor.
Host: Best advice Dr. Moraleda, for preventing the spread of cold and flu, vaccination, really what you would like us to know, your best advice for hopefully not getting it this year.
Dr. Moraleda: True but as far as vaccination goes, by getting vaccinated to protect yourself, your family, your kids and older adults from having higher risk for serious health complications from the flu and hopefully we’ll all get through this flu season just fine.
Host: Thank you so much, really it’s such important information. Thank you again for joining us. This is Lourdes Health Talk. For more information, please visit lourdesnet.org, that’s lourdesnet.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for tuning in.
