While it’s not traditionally The Advocate’s desire to be the bearers of bad news, it’s looking like it’s about that time of the week. Because Benton County – along with all the other counties in Oregon – is catching the flu. According to the Oregon Health Authority, flu cases in the state are on the rise.
While their initial climb in the early months of the year was typical of the season, their continued peak into April may be cause for concern. And right now in Corvallis, we’re seeing cases rise mostly due to Influenza Type B.
But Flu Season’s Over
Lane County Public Health spokesperson Jason Davis told KEZI that Oregon is seeing what’s called a ‘bimodal’ peak. In other, less sciencey terms, this means that the state saw a peak in January and February, followed by another this month.
“From a public health perspective what we wonder is what is the impact of masks coming off and the mandates going away and what is the impact on flu? And logic would tell us that we will see cases start to creep up,” said Davis. “We haven’t quite seen that in a dramatic sense, but we are starting to see increases, and I think that’s probably to some degree attributed to a change in our behaviors.”
And with mask requirements lifted, it’s seeming increasingly likely that other illnesses may accompany the flu.
According to Davis, roughly $11 million is spent each year on outpatient flu services in Lane County – and that’s a good year. Another $3.5 million is annually spent on hospitalizations.
This, in addition to basic communal kindness, is a vital part of why vaccination is so important.
Not More Shots!
“The flu vaccine is an incredibly safe vaccine that has been studied for decades, we have a lot of information on it. And we have a lot of information on it’s efficacy and the great thing is that every year, we talk about that efficacy. We’re able to say about how effective the new vaccine is in a given year,” Davis said.
While there are a number of common misconceptions in relation to vaccines – big surprise – the flu vaccine is quite safe.
“The flu vaccine cannot give you flu. It can’t,” said Davis. “It elicits an immuno-response and may make you feel a little down and tired, and may give you a stuffy nose or something like that, but it’s not going to give you flu.”
So go get a flu shot at any of the numerous places they’re widely available, whether that’s your general practitioner or the local pharmacy.
By Ethan Hauck
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