Flu Season Is Here

Randy Bergen, MD, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Flu Vaccine Program clinical lead, discusses the start of this year’s flu season and how you can protect yourself in the weeks ahead.

After weeks of testing patients who have come into Kaiser Permanente medical centers with fever, cough, and muscle aches, the region’s clinical lead for the Flu Vaccine Program said the flu is here.

Randy Bergen, MD, said the flu is not at epidemic levels but, “Last week 9 percent of our tests of people with flu symptoms returned positive for flu, so it’s fair to say it is the flu season now.”

How does Kaiser Permanente determine the beginning of the flu season?

Since the beginning of October, we’ve had pediatric, adult and family medicine, and emergency doctors testing people who come in with flu-like symptoms throughout the region. It gives us a good sampling of patients with respiratory illness. We do a nasal swab test that looks for genetic information from the flu viruses. We follow the percentage of tests that return positive throughout the fall and winter months. When we reach 10 percent, we consider that an epidemic level.

What’s the latest on the flu vaccine?

It appears that this year’s vaccine is a good match for the strains of flu that are circulating.

So far in Northern California, Kaiser Permanente has given 1,221,141 doses of the flu vaccine. We strongly encourage everyone to get vaccinated for the flu.

The bottom line is that people still have time to get this important protection, but time is running out. Ideally, you would want to get the vaccine at least two weeks before you’re exposed to the flu virus.

How else can people protect themselves?

The flu is contagious and most experts think that flu viruses are primarily spread by the droplets made when people who have the flu cough, sneeze, or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

People may also get the flu and other respiratory viruses by touching another person, a surface or an object that has a virus on it and then touching their own mouth or nose.

To protect yourself, stay away from people who are sick; and to protect others, stay home if you’re sick. You can also protect yourself from colds and the flu by washing your hands often with soap and water. Use an alcohol-based hand gel if soap and water are not available.

For more information on flu prevention, visit our Cold and Flu page.