Influenza Season Has Arrived

Sonora, CA — If you haven´t received your flu vaccination shot yet, there is no better time than the present especially with the cooler and damper weather that has arrived in the Mother Lode.

Tuolumne County Health Officer Dr. Todd Stolp especially encourages those in high risk groups to get vaccinated every year. Those groups include ages six months to 18 years, those over 50, those with chronic illnesses such as heart disease, asthma, cancer or a compromised immune system and pregnant women.

Stolp adds that influenza takes on a different mask or cover every year and it may not be recognized by the body´s immune system and that is why it is so important to get that annual vaccination.

Individuals who pass on flu shots because they have an aversion to needles might consider that 36,000 Americans die from influenza every year.

Written by Bill Johnson