United States: The flu continues to grow for a second time this year, with only one-third of Knox County children receiving the flu vaccination, according to the Knox County Health Department reports.
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The public health officer, Dr. Megan Edwards from the KCHD, maintains that basic flu prevention methods stay the same every year: obtain vaccinations along with handwashing and avoiding sick contacts.
Recent statistics indicate that young people form the group most affected by illness based on the current trend.
“It appears that people under the age of 24 are really driving this increase in flu. If you go to an emergency room and you are 24 or under, you leave that emergency room with a flu diagnosis 30% of the time,” she noted.
Educational facilities in East Tennessee have already suspended classes because of sickness outbreaks that show signs of continuation.
Edwards stated that the pattern shift from school closures is too early to determine, but Knox County children maintained poor vaccine rates at 32%, as wate.com reported.
What more is the expert stating?
According to her statement, future flu victims perceive their current health enough to believe mild symptoms will be their experience; however, the state experienced its earliest fatal case of pediatric flu during the current season.
Edwards urged vaccine-hesitant individuals to understand how the vaccine works by producing immediate protection followed by complete effectiveness after approximately two weeks, wate.com stated.
“There’s a lot of feelings of invincibility, and you know that a lot of kids do bounce back from the flu, but nobody has time for someone to be down for three days, feeling sick with a fever,” Edwards stated.
Individuals who think they caught the flu following vaccination actually benefited from the vaccine because the vaccine decreased hospitalization risk as well as fatality risk while making their illness shorter and cutting down their contagious period, according to Edwards.
People were instructed by Edwards to cover their coughs with their elbows, while mask-wearing served as a recommendation for those spending time in crowded locations.