Students beware: Flu season is arriving soon
- Oct 14, 2016
- 2 min read
Flu season is nearly upon us once again and that means making a decision about whether to get a vaccine. Experts say vaccination is the best and safest tool to protect ourselves, but there is one big change coming this year — the elimination of the nasal vaccine, or FluMist.
This opinion article was originally featured in PantherNOW and talks about the importance of getting vaccinated during flu season.
Check out the article’s excerpt below and click the link if you want to read the full story!
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Maytinee Kramer/Staff Writer
Flu season is nearly upon us once again and that means making a decision about whether to get a vaccine. Experts say vaccination is the best and safest tool to protect ourselves, but there is one big change coming this year — the elimination of the nasal vaccine, or FluMist.
Flu season is an annually recurring time period characterized by the prevalence of outbreaks of influenza, or flu. The season occurs during the cold half of the year in each hemisphere, and while flu activity varies by location, it usually takes about three weeks to peak and another three weeks to diminish.
There are three virus families and influenza virus A, B, and C are the main infective agents that cause influenza. The viruses are actually transmitted throughout populations all year round, but significantly manifest during periods of cooler temperature.
The exact mechanism behind the seasonal nature of influenza outbreaks is unclear, but some proposed explanations include: people remaining indoors more often in winter, which means they are in closer contact more often, promoting transmission from person to person; viruses are preserved in colder temperatures resulting in slower decomposition, so they linger longer on exposed surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops.
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Photo Credit: Flickr
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