SAN ANGELO, Texas — Seasonal flu is caused by a viral infection that leads to respiratory illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the flu has resulted in approximately 12,000-61,000 deaths annually since 2010.
Infants as young as six months are able to get vaccinated against the flu.
“Most of the vaccines you'll see now are going to be a quadrivalent vaccine so there’s going to be four different strains in there that the CDC thinks will be most prevalent this season,” Matthew Pennington, James McCoy's Drug Stores pharmacist, said.
Some flu symptoms are cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, headaches and fatigue. Although both COVID-19 and flu symptoms are similar, the respective vaccines do not protect against one another. Typically, when a person is infected by the flu, they begin to feel symptoms from one to four days.
"The influenza vaccine and the coronavirus vaccine are two different types of viruses, so you definitely need to get the coronavirus vaccine as well as the influenza because it has different protections,” Pennington said.
Ultimately, influenza viruses change year-to-year, meaning the vaccine is updated yearly.
The U.S. Food and Drug administration said, “Flu is a serious disease, caused by influenza viruses, that can lead to hospitalization and even death. Your best defense is vaccination, which provides important protection from flu and its potential complications.”
Pennington said his pharmacy has started holding flu clinics and he has seen a decline from people getting vaccinated compared to last season. The CDC recommends people to protect themselves by staying away from people who are sick to slow the spread of germs.
