Here Comes the 2015-2016 Influenza Season. Have You and Your Family Gotten Your Flu Shots?

Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) recommends everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine each year, preferably in the fall before the U.S. flu season begins. Flu season can begin as early as October and can last as late as April or May. Remember that influenza is a respiratory illness that can cause life-threatening complications. Do your part to stop the flu by getting an annual flu vaccination, washing your hands frequently with soap and water (use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available), and covering your sneezes and coughs with a tissue or your elbow.

And, take extra care of yourself as the temperatures change and cold and flu season begins:

• Get plenty of rest; 
• For aches, take whatever your doctor or pharmacist recommends; 
• For cough and mucus, run a humidifier (especially in this dry Colorado air!); and, 
• Drink 8-12 glasses (8 oz) of fluids daily, such as water or 100% juice (avoid caffeine). 

“The flu is not your common cold. Children younger than five, pregnant women, those 65 years and older, and anyone with chronic medial conditions are at risk of getting seriously ill from seasonal influenza,” states Christine Schmidt, Communicable Disease Control Supervisor. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, there were 3,397 hospitalizations and six pediatric deaths caused by the flu.

Getting your influenza vaccination is the best way to prevent flu illness this season. Flu vaccines are offered at JCPH; call the clinic appointment line at 303-239-7078.

Get more information by visiting the JCPH influenza web page. For information on how to tell the difference between a cold or the flu, download our brochure.