Shasta County ranks low for flu vaccinations
By Alayna Shulman, Redding Record Searchlight, Calif. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Thomas figures she'll gradually get her son, now 3, the required vaccines for kids just starting school.
But Thomas, 26, doesn't want anything to do with the influenza vaccine.
"I don't think it's necessary," the Redding mother said.
While public health officials recommend yearly flu vaccines, Thomas is among the majority in
The
The news comes as flu deaths this season already are outpacing last year's, with one death reported in
But the cause of the county's extreme ranking is up for debate.
"This seems to be one of those things that people believe in or don't believe in," said Shasta County Supervising Public Health Nurse Kate Pasley.
MISCONCEPTIONS?
Pasley said the county doesn't have its own data on flu vaccination rates because it's not required to be reported, but the
Why's the number so low, statewide and in
In spite of pleas from doctors and public health officials for public vaccination, Pasley said some people just don't prioritize shots, even if they're not against them.
Vaccination wariness often comes from misinformation or assumptions, though, Pasley said.
For example, some people catch colds after getting vaccinated, not realizing that their sickness is actually much less serious than what they were vaccinated against.
"What people call the flu are any variety of things that have nothing to do with the flu," Pasley said. "It is a respiratory illness...you feel pretty miserable."
There's also a common misconception that the flu vaccine will actually give you the flu, said
Others don't realize vaccines can take up to two weeks to be effective, Pasley said, so if you catch the flu within that window, it's not because the vaccine didn't work.
What's more, even if you get vaccinated and then catch the flu, the symptoms are often much milder than they would be had you skipped the vaccine, she said.
Timing, too, can be an issue, she said.
Because there's lots of talk about the "peak" of the flu season, some people may assume the bug won't be as strong toward the end of the season.
"It doesn't mean there's not a big risk on the way down," she said. "It means that fewer people are going to get sick."
Martin said many people also gauge their own supposed tolerance against the flu virus by personal history, not realizing they could still get sick even if they never have.
"A lot of the time...they go by past experience," she said. "Most commonly, people say I've, quote, never had the flu, so why should I get the flu shot? They think it's unnecessary."
That's a big issue for Thomas, who said she was vaccinated frequently as a child, yet still got sick.
"I think vaccinations weaken your immune system," she said. "I had all the vaccines growing up, and I have the worst immune system of anybody I know, and I have friends who haven't been vaccinated, and they're healthier than anybody."
For Thomas, flu prevention is about common sense.
"As long as you stay hydrated, there's no point in putting that injection in the body when your body is totally capable of recovering from the flu," she said.
Thomas said it's as simple as keeping her son away from noticeably sick kids, keeping him clean and acting quickly if he seems to be getting ill.
"You immediately start taking action," she said. "You don't just drop them off at daycare."
But Pasley urges people to get yearly flu vaccines, not only to protect oneself, but others. Since children under 6 months old and some people with allergies can't get flu shots, you're protecting them by not contracting it yourself, she said.
"There's no protection for them, except people around them cocooning...making sure it doesn't get to them," Pasley said. "Even if you don't get real sick, Grandma may get real sick, you can have a baby that will get real sick, or your children...these are people you spend time with. You're going to possibly infect them." Pasley said a flu bug could be deadly for one person, but just an inconvenience for another.
"We all handle illnesses differently, even in the same household," she said. "What people don't realize is, people every year die of the flu, and some of those are perfectly health people...every year we get reports of children dying from the flu, so, yeah, we think it's not a big deal? It's a big deal. This is one of the best, most effective preventative measures we have to keep people from dying from the flu."
RURAL LIVING?
Martin said historically, more rural areas such as
"People in some of the mountainous areas of
While rural areas are generally associated with lower incomes, Martin said it's not common to hear complaints about the cost of flu shots as an argument against them, since most insurance plans cover them and those who want one are usually willing to spend a little on their safety.
"I don't think it's access," Martin said.
Though she's gotten criticism for her choice, Thomas said she worries there may be serious side effects of annual flu shots, not to mention the chance that you'd be injecting yourself for nothing if you caught a strain that wasn't covered by the year's vaccine.
"I just don't trust vaccinations," she said. "You see too many bad reactions to these vaccines. I think more and more people are questioning the motives of the vaccination companies."
And Thomas said many people she knows in the Redding area agree with her.
But "any protection is better than zero protection," Martin said.
"Sometimes it is going to be more effective one year than another," she said. "When you get a vaccination, you may still get the flu, for whatever reason. But there's a chance that it'll be less severe, too."
"We live healthy lifestyles and feel no need for it," she said. "In my opinion, flu shots are for those people who sit around and worry about getting the flu."
Pasley warned against the more holistic approach, though.
"We agree that people always do better if they're taking good care of themselves...but that does not negate the fact that perfectly healthy people that do those kinds of things every year die from the flu."
Like Thomas, Cresser still has doubts about the safety of vaccines, not the safety of avoiding them.
"I don't feel like I need anything injected into my body, much less my children's," she said.
Not everyone in the country is anti-vaccine, though.
"In the previous years receiving the shot, I don't remember ever getting sick when everyone else seemed to," he said. "I will definitely get the shot next year."
WHAT
Martin said doubts about flu shots are so common the vaccinations are unlikely to become accepted by many people any time soon.
"It's one of these things I think we'll struggle with for quite a while, to try to help people understand the value of all immunizations, but specifically influenza," Martin said.
If you still do want to be vaccinated against the flu, Martin said it's not too late.
Immunization clinics are available at the county, pharmacies and physicians' offices, Pasley said. "There's still a vaccine available in a variety of different shapes and sizes, in whatever meets your needs," Pasley said. "If they don't want to have it because it's got a preservative in it, well, we've got vaccines that don't. Our opinion is, the prevention measure of getting vaccinations...it should be one of the things in your arsenal."
For information on local vaccination clinics, call 530-225-5591 or 1-800-971-1999.
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