Dec. 1-7 is National Influenza Vaccination Week, and Harney District Hospital (HDH) would like to remind you that it’s not too late to get your flu shot!

Commonly called “the flu,” seasonal influenza is caused by influenza viruses that infect the respiratory tract (i.e., the nose, throat, and lungs.) Unlike many other viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold, the flu can cause severe illness and life-threatening complications in many people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) website states that, “[The] flu isn’t a ‘bad cold’ and can result in serious health complications, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, and can lead to hospitalization. [The] flu can sometimes even lead to death.”

In the United States, an estimated average of 5 to 20 percent of the population gets the flu, and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from seasonal flu-related complications each year.

“Most people who get [the] flu will recover in several days to less than two weeks, but some people will develop serious flu complications,” the CDC’s website states.

Young children; pregnant women; adults 65 years and older; and people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease are at high risk of serious flu complications. The best way to prevent seasonal flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year.

“A yearly flu vaccine is recommended for everyone six months and older,” the CDC states. “Anyone who gets [the] flu can pass it to someone at high risk of severe illness, including children younger than six months who are too young to get a flu vaccine.”

Flu vaccines protect against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Once you are vaccinated, it takes two weeks for the immunity to set in. If you get the flu shortly after being vaccinated, you may have already been exposed and contracted it.

Although vaccination is recommended before the end of October, CDC and its partners choose December for National Influenza Vaccination Week to remind people that it is not too late to get a flu vaccine.

“As long as flu viruses are spreading and causing illness, vaccination should continue throughout flu season in order to protect as many people as possible against [the] flu,” the CDC’s website states.

Even those who have already gotten sick with the flu can benefit from vaccination, as many different flu viruses spread during flu season.

The CDC’s website also states, “Even if you do get the flu after being vaccinated, some studies have shown that a flu vaccine can reduce the severity of your illness.”

HDH Family Care is offering walk-in flu shot clinics on Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointment is necessary. Call 541-573-2074 for more information.

To learn more about National Influenza Vaccination Week, visit www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw