Flu activity in Colorado still on the rise

Flu activity in Colorado continued to increase throughout February.

So far this flu season, which started Oct. 2, 2016, and as of the most recent available data on February 18, 1,797 people in Colorado have been hospitalized with confirmed cases of influenza. Jefferson County accounts for 179 of the state’s 1,797 lab-confirmed flu cases this year, about one-tenth.  

Be a Flu Fighter

Flu season continues through May — it is not too late to protect you and your loved ones from the flu. JCPH offers regular immunization clinics at 645 Parfet Street in Lakewood. Please call 303-239-7078 and make an appointment today.

For the latest information on influenza in Colorado, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/influenza-data.

A sticker sits on the table where children received their vaccines February 4, 2017 

at the Shots For Tots and Teens clinic in Arvada.

Photo by Nikki Work

Be a Jefferson County Flu Fighter . . . What you should know for the 2016-2017 Flu Season

In the United States, millions of people get sick, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu and related complications every year. While it is not possible to predict how severe the 2016-2017 season will be, or which viruses will dominate, one constant is the need for annual vaccination to help decrease the impact of this contagious disease.

An annual flu vaccine is the first and best way to protect you and your family from the flu. People should be vaccinated before flu activity begins. CDC recommends that people get vaccinated by the end of October, if possible.  A few things to note for this flu season:

• Only injectable flu vaccines (flu shots) are recommended for use this season.
• Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses.
• There will be some new vaccines on the market this season, including an immune boosting (adjuvanted) vaccine for people 65 and older.
• The recommendations for vaccination of people with egg allergies have changed.

Learn more about what’s new for the 2016-17 flu season by visiting, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2016-2017.htm. 

You can join the effort to fight the flu by getting your flu vaccine and encouraging people to protect themselves and their family by doing the same.  Jefferson County Public Health will have flu vaccine available later this month at its regular immunization clinics and at its upcoming Shots for Tots and Teens clinic on November 5, 2016 in Arvada. Please call 303-239-7078 for flu vaccine availability or to make an appointment for any of our clinic services.