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Flu shots provide potentially lifesaving protection

Everyone who can should get vaccinated

Just about everyone has called in sick at some point, saying they had the flu when they were sniffling, sneezing, maybe running a fever and generally feeling lousy.

Those symptoms definitely add up to an illness, but the problem is not really the flu. Influenza, as it is properly known, is much, much worse.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, influenza is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract. Influenza and pneumonia are one among the top 10 causes of death in the state.

Fortunately, there is a way to prevent influenza. A yearly vaccine can protect a person from the deadly disease.

Yes, getting a shot hurts. And yes, an influenza vaccine can leave a person with a sore arm for a day or two. But that seems like a small price to pay for protection against a disease that can make a person very ill and even kill them.

But despite the proven protective powers of a flu shot, a shockingly small percentage of Iowans have received one so far in this flu season. Recent data from the state Department of Public Health shows that just 34.7 percent of Iowa’s population has been vaccinated. In Webster County the figure is 36.1 percent.

Public health officials would like to see 90 percent of those who are able to receive a flu shot actually get one.

Flu shots are readily available at doctors’ offices, pharmacies and the Webster County Public Health Department.

We encourage everyone to get a flu shot to protect not only themselves but their families, friends and co-workers from this preventable disease.

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