We have experienced a colder than normal winter up to this
point and it is a welcome sight for many of us but with a cold winter, people
are driven indoors more and with that comes the spread of the flu.
Forty-one states – more than 80% of the
country – are dealing with this severe outbreak and it is weeks earlier than
normal so it will get worse before it gets better. Our country is in the middle of a flu
epidemic and Texas and especially east Texas is not immune.
Local hospitals are dealing with hundreds of
flu infected patients and are even to the point of accepting only the most
serious cases. So the flu epidemic is
here, now, and we can all do our part to limit the spread.
First of all, you need to get a flu
shot. I have heard for years about
people avoiding the flu shot because they feel they received it and still got
the flu. You just can't get the flu from
the flu shot. It does take up to two
weeks to get your system immunized, but you cannot get the flu from the flu
shot.
The next thing to do is to wash
your hands – a lot. The flu virus can
live for hours on surfaces so unless you are wearing surgical gloves
continuously, you need to wash your hands to limit your chances of contacting
the virus.
Thousands of people will die
from the flu this year and we all need to do our part to limit the flu's
impact. It will help us all be healthier
in the new year and make for a Better East Texas.
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