Flu shots are seldom something to look forward the protection they provide is worth a little pain, officials with health organizations across the state agree.
Through a statewide initiative, the Focus on Flu campaign aims to prevent a repeat of the devastating epidemic of flu that plagued Kentucky last year. According to Allison Adams, executive director with the Buffalo Trace District Health Department,the campaign is bringing together the Kentucky Health Department Association, the Kentucky Medical Association and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.
“Last year Kentucky was one the hardest hit with flu, and so the three organizations for health are partnering together to encourage higher flu vaccination rates across the state of Kentucky,” Adams said.
The public is invited to visit the health department’s clinic to receive flu vaccinations. According to Clinic Coordinator Pam Brant, there are three different vaccinations for various ages ranging from six months to 65 years and older, with greater doses for older patients.
“Your immunity system decreases as you get older,” Brant said “so the reason for all three doses is to basically boost that immunity.”
Dr. Donald Wilson, with Primary Care in Maysville said last year’s strain of the flu was a particularly virulent strain, with around 80,000 deaths occurring from the virus. Kentucky is a priority for promoting flu vaccinations, especially due to the low vaccination rates.
“Kentucky is one of the lower states in the nation to be immunized, and we had a lot more perinatal deaths, and pregnant mothers are particularly affected as well as the elderly. So we need to get better coverage,” Wilson said.
Wilson attributes most of why people do not get vaccinated to simply lack of opportunities to receive a vaccine. With this campaign, however, he said now there are countless places to get a flu shot which are not limited to the health department.
According to Ben Chandler, CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, while the foundation always wanted as many people to receive their vaccinations as possible, the events of last year’s flu season really pushed health foundations to begin this campaign and educate Kentuckians on the flu shot’s benefits.
“The flu is tremendously contagious and the more people that have flu shots, the more the community is protected from the flu. The other message we have is the flu is not just a bad cold — the flu will kill you, it can kill you; 325 people got killed by the flu last year in Kentucky, it reached epidemic proportions.”
Chandler mentioned effects such as school closings and monetary costs which resulted from the flu outbreak last year and expressed the health provider community’s resolve to prevent that from happening again. With this campaign, Chandler said it plans to dissolve some misconceptions regarding flu vaccinations.
“There are a lot of myths connected with (flu shots),” Chandler said, “one of the myths is that the flu shot can give you the flu; well that’s not true, that’a a myth. The flu shot cannot give you the flu, and it does protect you from getting the flu. It doesn’t mean that you certainly won’t get the flu, but your chances of getting the flu is much reduced; and if you do get the flu, it’ll be in a milder form.”
With an important motive for promoting flu vaccination, much of the Face the Flu campaign is simply informing and encouraging communities to get involved.
“Get it wherever you can, get it where it’s convenient for you,” Adams said. “Most insurances, third party payers, cover the flu vaccine, the health department has opportunities for cash without a third party payer for the flu vaccine.”
