AUSTIN, Texas — The first full week of December is considered National Flu Vaccine Week, but local health officials want to remind community members it's not too late to get your vaccine.
As people are traveling for the holidays and go to more gatherings, Dr. Ryan McCorkle, emergency department physician at St. David's Medical Center, says the local area is still in the height of flu season. Doctors are encouraging community members to get their flu vaccine if they haven't already.
"During my shift, I've seen a ton of flu, I believe the numbers are up about 3% over what we had been in previous years because we've been isolating, masking, social distancing and so we weren't having big flu seasons. Now we're back to gathering together, not wearing masks. So we're seeing a big rebound in the flu numbers," said McCorkle.
With the flu, there isn't a cure. Instead, recovering from the flu centers around supportive care, which includes controlling the fever and making sure people are breathing. According to McCorkle, those suffering from the flu can reduce the length of symptoms with Tamiflu or other medications, but the only real defense people have against the flu is getting vaccinated beforehand.
"Because it's going to take about two weeks for your immunity, the sooner you can get vaccinated, the better, because the odds are when you're traveling, that's when you're going to be exposed in airports where you're gathering in large groups of family," explained McCorkle. "So the sooner you can get vaccinated, the better for you and the better for your family members that you're going to be around."
As of Dec. 3, 156.42 million doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed in the United States for the 2022-23 season. Currently, local health providers aren't seeing any vaccine shortages but instead a vaccine fatigue.
"They've gotten their two shots. They've gotten one or two boosters at this point and some people are just having some fatigue about having to go back to the pharmacy to get another shot. So I know it's difficult. I know that people don't want to hear it and to go back and get another shot. But this can keep you out of the hospital. It can keep you safe and your family member safe. So as inconvenient as it is, it's a lot more convenient to being lay low with the flu for seven to 10 days," said McCorkle.
The Center for Disease Control recommends a yearly flu vaccination for everyone six months and older. The nasal spray vaccine can be given to people ages two through 49.