Public is Urged by Salt Lake County Health to Become Immunized and Use Respiratory Protection

Here is some news about the Public is Urged by Salt Lake County Health to Become Immunized and Use Respiratory Protection. There is no better time than now, according to the Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCOHD), to get inoculated and safeguard oneself against respiratory infections. Health experts advise getting a flu vaccination and updating your COVID booster as the Christmas season approaches.

Officials say that the biggest concern is respiratory illness: Health experts highly advise those over 65—and those who will be around them—to get vaccinated before the holidays, when respiratory illness cases normally start to climb. This is because older adults are particularly susceptible to serious sickness from both COVID and influenza.

According to health officials, the flu season normally lasts from October to May, peaking in early January. “We really start to see a spike in cases around the holidays when folks have been to a lot of parties and family get-togethers,” says Dr. Angela C. Dunn, executive director of SLCOHD.

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We advise vaccination now in order for folks to be fully protected by the time the holidays roll around. According to Dunn, COVID, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus are all causing an increase in respiratory illness in Salt Lake County (RSV).

SLCOHD states that even though there is no vaccination for RSV at the moment, people can “dramatically lower their risk for hospitalization owing to two of the three viruses prevalent.” We must rely on excellent hand hygiene and staying in while we are ill to prevent the transmission of RSV, adds Dunn.

“However, we have a highly good protection tool for those two potentially serious illnesses in the seasonal flu vaccine and the most recent COVID booster.” Many Americans are more likely to experience major COVID or influenza complications as they age, have a medical condition like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, or are pregnant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For instance, about 70% of individuals between the ages of 55 and 64 have at least one chronic medical condition, which increases their chance of developing life-threatening consequences from a respiratory disease.

Similar to adults, SLCOHD warns that those 65 years of age and older have a higher risk of developing significant flu-related complications than people under the age of five, particularly those under the age of two.

However, the flu can have devastating consequences for even healthy children and adults. According to the CDC, 57% of children who died from influenza complications during the 2019–2020 flu season had no history of a pre-existing medical condition.

The Salt Lake County Health Department, as well as numerous doctors’ offices, community health centers, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers, offer the COVID vaccine, boosters, and influenza vaccine.

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