Despite Indiana’s first flu death of the season on Wednesday, it’s shaping up as a relatively light flu season overall:
Flu cases are down about 20-percent compared to this time last year, though the worst part of flu season is still ahead .I-U Health primary care doctor Michael Busha says there’s really no way to predict how bad a flu season is going to be, so it’s hard to say why there are fewer cases this year. But he says health officials are getting better at predicting which strains of flu will be most common and need to be included in the yearly flu vaccine.
Contrary to what some people insist, Busha says it’s not possible to catch the flu from a flu shot. If you got sick, you either got a different strain of flu, or some other illness with flu-like symptoms. But Busha says you should also take other precautions for yourself, like washing your hands regularly. And Busha says the biggest challenge in controlling the flu is preventing it from spreading. If you do get sick, don’t tough it out and infect your co-workers — stay home.
Last winter and spring, flu killed 69 people in Indiana.
(story from Network Indiana)
