Flu season may be in a steady decline across the country, but the winter illness is not gone yet and people should still take the necessary precautions against influenza.
According to the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, decreases were seen in positive test results, child deaths and states with high activity. Doctor visits for influenza-related reasons have gone down about three percent each week for the past three weeks.
Seven states still have high flu activity, which is down from 10 last week and 19 states still say they have regional flu activity.
"Influenza seasons and severity are often unpredictable. Annual influenza vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza among people six months of age and older," Marion Gruber, director of the FDA's Office of Vaccine Research and Review, said in a news release. "However, taking such practical measures as washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home when sick can also help to decrease the spread and minimize the effects of flu."
According to HealthDay News, this year's flu season is expected to roll into March, so the slow decline should not be a sign that influenza is practically gone. Gruber said February is not technically too late to get a flu shot, especially since this year's vaccination has done well stopping new strains.
Gruber said it is important to always have a new vaccine every year since influenza is constantly morphing into new strains.
Here are tips from HealthDay News to stay influenza-free for the last couple months of flu season.
1. "Don't work if you are sick. Contact your doctor if you have high fevers or shortness of breath."
2. "Get the flu shot if you haven't gotten it yet. CDC recommends that providers continue to provide flu vaccinations throughout the flu season, which can last as late as May."
3. "Make sure that you get the flu shot if you are pregnant. This Influenza A H1N1 in 2009 was particularly hard on pregnant women, who were four times more likely to be hospitalized from flu than non-pregnant women that year."
4. "Expect the flu season to last until at least the end of March. A CDC report notices that peak weeks of flu activity have occurred in January through March during 90 percent of the past 20 seasons."
5. "The flu shot does help. Even though some people who received the flu shot are getting the flu, overall statistics do show a 17 percent reduction in hospitalizations last year attributed to the flu shot."
