Flu season has officially started, but Citrus avoided a bad beginning to flu season.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted in mid-October that flu season was going to start early, despite flu activity being relatively low.
“Flu season in Los Angeles County is typically the first week of October through the end of March.” writes the L.A. County Department of Public Health “However, flu circulates throughout the year.”
According to the CDC, a possible reason for a bad flu season this winter may be due to relatively light flu seasons in the past two years. Although being a good thing overall, good flu seasons can lead to decreased population immunity, particularly for children who may have never had the flu before or people who haven’t been vaccinated.
The early start to flu season has not had a great effect on Citrus College.
Citrus College Nurse Dr. Shauna Bigby said in mid-October that she has not seen an increase in flu cases at Citrus, but students and staff should still be careful as “a bad flu season would potentially affect class attendance and could affect the number of people that attend in-person events,” she wrote.
One person at Citrus affected by the flu is professor Dr. Jennifer Miller-Thayer of Social and Behavioral Sciences, who had to miss in person classes to recover from her illness.
Miller-Thayer experienced symptoms including fatigue, muscle soreness, sneezing, runny nose and coughing.
Miller-Thayer said her method of treatment was staying hydrated with tea, Emergen-C and lots of water, in addition to reducing her workload so she could get as much rest as possible.
Bigby also provided some tips on how to avoid getting the flu in the first place, which included avoiding close contact, covering one’s mouth and nose, cleaning one’s hands and avoiding touching one’s eyes, nose or mouth.
Another way to avoid getting the flu and flattening the curve this flu season is to get vaccinated. GetMyFluShot.org says that last flu season, vaccinated people were 35% less likely to get the flu, and vaccines are readily available and affordable.
“Most insurance plans cover flu vaccines at no cost to you.” writes GetMyFluShot.org.
“You can get vaccinated at your doctor’s office or find locations to get a flu shot at most pharmacies, county health departments and urgent care centers. If you don’t have insurance, you can still get a free or low-cost flu shot at your local community clinic or public health department.”
