–Public Health officials across the country are reemphasizing the importance of seasonal influenza vaccines as peak flu season comes to an end. Cede Becker is a Registered Nurse in the Community Health Department of Kossuth Regional Health Center, and she tells KLGA News the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show flu activity is still elevated.
Becker says they try to make it easy for parents to vaccinate their school-aged children each year.
The CDC report classifies the severity of this flu season as moderate, but when looking at Pediatric cases (ages 0-17), that classification changes to a high severity level. Becker says they try to complete vaccinations before flu cases begin to spike.
The CDC estimates that 340,000 hospitalizations have been attributed to influenza across the country this year, and 21,000 deaths. Influenza vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of getting the flu and its potentially serious complications. For more information, you can go online to www.cdc.gov/fluview. You can also contact the Community Health Department at KRHC by calling 515-295-4430.
