SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
Flu season typically starts in October and peaks in mid to late January or early February in Iowa. Think it's too early to get the flu shot? Think again.
"The immunity against the flu after you're vaccinated lasts about nine months to 12 months," said the State Epidemiologist of Iowa, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, during the annual infectious disease symposium in Sioux City.
Quinlisk thinks flu numbers will be down this year because more people are getting the flu shot.
"As we get more and more people vaccinated for the flu, we know we're stopping transmission in our communities," she explained.
While more and more people are getting immunized, there are still some who aren't.
"There's no reason not to be vaccinated," said Quinlisk.
One common excuse? ‘Getting a flu shot will make me sick.' Quinlisk says that's fiction.
"The flu shot is a dead vaccine. In other words, it's not alive, it can't make you ill," Quinlisk explained.
A common complaint is that the flu shot takes weeks to take effect. That's a little true, but mostly fiction.
"As soon as you get the vaccine your immune system starts responding and it may take you a week or two to be up to full strength, but you'll start having some immunity the next day," she explained.
The flu shot is not 100% effective against every sniffle and sneeze you might have in the winter time. However, Quinlisk says the more years we're vaccinated, the more we build up our immunity to the flu and other seasonal sicknesses like the common cold.
"The flu shot actually helps you fight off milder viruses So, if you get the flu shot, you're probably not only going to get the flu, but you're probably not going to get some of these other things too, because your immunity just is stronger," said Quinlisk.
Quinlisk says the vaccine will protect against the same three strains as last year, including H1N1.
