US Health Officials Urge Americans to Get Flu Vaccine
2020-09-23
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1Health officials around the world are concerned about rising numbers of new coronavirus cases.
2But another highly infectious virus will soon be returning to Earth's Northern Hemisphere.
3That virus is influenza, commonly called the flu.
4The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about eight percent of Americans get influenza each year.
5The flu season takes place during the winter months.
6During that time, hundreds of thousands of people are sick enough with the flu to be admitted to hospitals.
7This year, with the U.S. health system already dealing with COVID-19, medical experts are concerned about the return of the flu.
8"We really, really want to emphasize the potential for disaster," said Jeanne Marrazzo.
9She directs the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America's board of directors.
10Experts are urging Americans to get the flu vaccine in an effort to ease the pressure on healthcare workers and hospitals.
11The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that as many as 61,000 people die from influenza in the United States each year.
12It adds that U.S. hospitals treat as many as 810,000 Americans infected with the flu.
13People older than age 65 or those who have other health conditions are at greatest risk.
14But the United States and much of the world is already fighting the novel coronavirus.
15The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center reports that nearly 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.
16"We still are on what we think of as a razor's edge with regard to COVID," Marrazzo noted.
17As summer comes to an end, "I expect it to get worse," said Michael Mina.
18He is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
19Rates of many respiratory diseases, including flu and the common cold, increase in autumn and winter.
20The reasons are not entirely understood,
21but the viruses that cause the diseases may spread more easily in colder, drier air than in warmer, wet weather.
22Also, people spend less time outside the home in the winter and more time close to each other, often breathing the same air.
23Children may pass around viruses more readily in schools than when they are home for the summer and spending time outside.
24It remains unclear how much the weather affects the spread of the coronavirus.
25Scientists are actively studying the question.
26The coronavirus is related to other viruses that cause the common cold.
27Mina noted, "what we see with those viruses is that come October, November, December they skyrocket."
28"I hope that for some reason this virus behaves differently, but I don't anticipate that it will," he added.
29While a safe coronavirus vaccine is in the future, U.S. health officials are urging everyone to get a flu shot as soon as possible.
30In most years, not even half of all adult Americans get vaccinated.
31The rate is even lower among minority groups.
32That is in part because getting a flu shot does not guarantee protection against the virus.
33"Influenza vaccine in a good year is generally between 40 and 60 percent effective," said Walter Orenstein associate director of the Emory University Vaccine Center in Georgia.
34"Not perfect, but it's a lot better than zero percent effective, which is (what you get) if you don't get vaccinated."
35The vaccine helps, even if it does not stop the infection, noted William Schaffner.
36He is an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
37"Even if you get influenza after you've had the vaccine, that illness is likely to be less severe," he said.
38"You're less likely to need to go to the emergency room, less likely to be hospitalized, less likely to die."
39That is good news for patients, and it also helps the health care system.
40"The last thing we need is a huge surge of flu cases now," he added.
41Vaccine manufacturers are expecting to produce a record supply of nearly 200 million doses of flu vaccine this year.
42However, the conditions making flu shots so important are the same conditions that make them harder to provide to everyone, Schaffner noted.
43Fewer people will get flu shots at work this year because more people are working from home.
44Many public health centers are closed or are working on COVID-19 cases.
45Many people are avoiding doctor's offices completely out of fear of getting infected there.
46Drug stores and supermarkets are still good places to get vaccinated, noted Jeanne Marrazzo of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
47"People will probably need to be perhaps a little bit more creative," she said.
48The steps taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus, such as covering one's face, hand washing and social distancing, all seem to work against the flu.
49The World Health Organization says these measures are likely to have led to the mild flu season currently coming to a close in the Southern Hemisphere.
50I'm Ashley Thompson.
51And I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Health officials around the world are concerned about rising numbers of new coronavirus cases. But another highly infectious virus will soon be returning to Earth's Northern Hemisphere. That virus is influenza, commonly called the flu. 2The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about eight percent of Americans get influenza each year. The flu season takes place during the winter months. During that time, hundreds of thousands of people are sick enough with the flu to be admitted to hospitals. 3This year, with the U.S. health system already dealing with COVID-19, medical experts are concerned about the return of the flu. 4"We really, really want to emphasize the potential for disaster," said Jeanne Marrazzo. She directs the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America's board of directors. 5Experts are urging Americans to get the flu vaccine in an effort to ease the pressure on healthcare workers and hospitals. 6The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that as many as 61,000 people die from influenza in the United States each year. It adds that U.S. hospitals treat as many as 810,000 Americans infected with the flu. People older than age 65 or those who have other health conditions are at greatest risk. 7But the United States and much of the world is already fighting the novel coronavirus. The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center reports that nearly 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. 8"We still are on what we think of as a razor's edge with regard to COVID," Marrazzo noted. 9As summer comes to an end, "I expect it to get worse," said Michael Mina. He is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. 10Rates of many respiratory diseases, including flu and the common cold, increase in autumn and winter. The reasons are not entirely understood, but the viruses that cause the diseases may spread more easily in colder, drier air than in warmer, wet weather. 11Also, people spend less time outside the home in the winter and more time close to each other, often breathing the same air. Children may pass around viruses more readily in schools than when they are home for the summer and spending time outside. 12It remains unclear how much the weather affects the spread of the coronavirus. Scientists are actively studying the question. The coronavirus is related to other viruses that cause the common cold. Mina noted, "what we see with those viruses is that come October, November, December they skyrocket." 13"I hope that for some reason this virus behaves differently, but I don't anticipate that it will," he added. 14Officials: flu shots are very important 15While a safe coronavirus vaccine is in the future, U.S. health officials are urging everyone to get a flu shot as soon as possible. 16In most years, not even half of all adult Americans get vaccinated. The rate is even lower among minority groups. That is in part because getting a flu shot does not guarantee protection against the virus. 17"Influenza vaccine in a good year is generally between 40 and 60 percent effective," said Walter Orenstein associate director of the Emory University Vaccine Center in Georgia. "Not perfect, but it's a lot better than zero percent effective, which is (what you get) if you don't get vaccinated." 18The vaccine helps, even if it does not stop the infection, noted William Schaffner. He is an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. 19"Even if you get influenza after you've had the vaccine, that illness is likely to be less severe," he said. "You're less likely to need to go to the emergency room, less likely to be hospitalized, less likely to die." 20That is good news for patients, and it also helps the health care system. "The last thing we need is a huge surge of flu cases now," he added. 21Vaccine manufacturers are expecting to produce a record supply of nearly 200 million doses of flu vaccine this year. However, the conditions making flu shots so important are the same conditions that make them harder to provide to everyone, Schaffner noted. 22Fewer people will get flu shots at work this year because more people are working from home. Many public health centers are closed or are working on COVID-19 cases. Many people are avoiding doctor's offices completely out of fear of getting infected there. 23Drug stores and supermarkets are still good places to get vaccinated, noted Jeanne Marrazzo of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. "People will probably need to be perhaps a little bit more creative," she said. 24The steps taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus, such as covering one's face, hand washing and social distancing, all seem to work against the flu. 25The World Health Organization says these measures are likely to have led to the mild flu season currently coming to a close in the Southern Hemisphere. 26I'm Ashley Thompson. 27And I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 28Steve Baragona reported this story for VOANEWS. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 29________________________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31hemisphere - n. a half of the Earth, usually divided between the northern and southern halves 32emphasize -v. to give special importance or attention to something 33razor's edge -n. a dangerous position in which two different things are carefully balanced 34respiratory -adj. related to breathing and the lungs 35humid -adj. when there is a lot of gaseous water in the air 36skyrocket -v. to go up or increase at a very fast rate 37anticipate -v. to expect something to happen in the future 38dose -n. an amount of a medicine needed to give a good result 39mild -n. not severe or strong 40We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.