Influenza (“the flu”) has recently arrived in Marin County, and it’s occurring in congregate living settings and in other places where people live in close quarters.
What is influenza?
It’s a virus that causes respiratory symptoms such as a fever, headaches, chills, body aches, runny nose, and sometimes a sore throat and or coughing. It is different from a regular cold, which usually only lasts a couple of days and presents mild symptoms. Influenza causes a fever and people feel very sick and are often confined to their beds.
How is influenza transmitted?
If someone infected with the flu coughs or sneezes, the virus will become airborne and a non-immunized person who inhales the infectious air can become sick. They don’t have to be near the person who coughed or sneezed: If somebody with the flu coughs or sneezes on one of the rails in the blocks, and another person touches it and then touches his own mouths or eyes, he can get the flu from the other person.
Who is susceptible to the flu?
Almost half of the inmates at San Quentin have not been immunized and can get the flu. This year’s vaccine is particularly effective at preventing the current season’s flu.
Who is at risk of death?
Certain people are at higher risk of death than others, such as people with asthma, the elderly, and people with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and HIV. Every year thousands of people in the U.S. die from the flu. Although the disease is highly preventable by vaccination, it is one of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. If inmates, visitors or staff get sick, they can transmit it to babies, who are not immune and could die. Pregnant women are also at risk of death if they get the flu.
How will it arrive at San Quentin?
Through reception center inmates, staff, visitors and volunteers. The flu has an incubation period of one to four days; the average is two days.
People who care about the health of the inmates will get vaccinated.
What are the common side effects of the vaccine?
The most common side effect is a sore arm and maybe a low fever or achiness. This is not the flu; it’s your immune system doing what it was designed to do. For one or two days you might be feeling a little under the weather, which is far better than getting the flu and being bed-ridden for two weeks.
What are the chief concerns about the flu vaccine?
The most frequent concerns are that the vaccine will make people sick or give them the flu. However, this is not true. Occasionally, people get the flu after they get the vaccine, but this is likely because that person was exposed to the flu after they were vaccinated but before the vaccine took effect (it takes about two weeks after vaccination for the body to build up sufficient antibodies). Another possibility is they were exposed to a non-flu virus or a different strain of the flu: The vaccine protects against the three most serious strains of the flu, but not all, and it’s not 100 percent effective. However, the vaccine will prevent serious illness and hospitalization.
-Nurse Allyson Tabor contributed to this article-
