Humpday Health: Time to get your flu shot

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Flu season is upon us and a sickness hotspot is already developing in New Hanover County.

“We’ve already seen a number of cases of flu. In fact, most of the cases of flu in North Carolina over the past couple weeks have been right here in New Hanover County,” said Dr. Paul Kamitsuka, the chief epidemiologist at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

Dr. Kamitsuka says the most effective method to keep yourself from getting sick is to get an annual flu shot.

“They change every year because flu keeps evolving, year over year. The most important thing, by far and away, the number one most important thing in terms of preventing flu is to get the flu shot,” said Dr. Kamitsuka.

Not only is the flu shot important for yourself, it can also help stop the spread of the illness.

“Some 36,000 deaths per year are attributed to flu complications, so if you get the flu shot, you’ll save thousands of lives and the more people that get the flu shot, the more effective the flu shot will be, because you actually stop transmission if you get the high rates of vaccination,” said Dr. Kamitsuka.

There are a couple other easy things you can do to stop the spread of the flu.

“If people are coughing, make sure they are coughing into their sleeves. Hand washing is extremely important. I will say that, after you get the flu shot, it’ll take up to two weeks for it to kick in and that’s why we encourage people to get it early,” said Dr. Kamitsuka.