Flu season quickly approaching on the High Desert

It might seem as if summer just ended, but with Halloween just around the corner, so too is flu season.

It seems everyone has an opinion about the flu shot. Some people said they wouldn’t miss getting it for the world, and some said they’ll never get it.

But what’s undeniable is the number of people who died from the flu last year. According to the Centers for Disease Control, last year was the deadliest flu season in decades, with 80,000 people dying from flu complications.

Despite the deadly year, doctors continue to trust the vaccine as the best way to prevent the flu or at least alleviate its symptoms, Dr. Terri Mucha with Family Choice Urgent Care in Bend explained Monday.

“It’s very hard to explain to people. But as a provider who saw people sick with the flu last year, they were miserable,” Mucha said. “And the ones that came in that had the vaccine, their symptoms resolved within two days. Huge difference.”

Each year’s flu vaccine is created the winter before, with scientists making a very educated guess as to which strain people need the most protection from. But doctors say they aren’t the same sort of vaccines seen years ago.

“There’s been so much attention to vaccines that they’ve done a great job of improving them. There’s almost nothing else in them any more. There’s no mercury there, no additives,” Mucha said.

“I didn’t see any flu shot reactions last year,” she added. “I know I’m a believer, having seen so many of my colleagues and my patients, how sick they were when they got sick, that we all get the flu vaccine in my family.”

Last year, the vaccine was only about 40 percent effective, but that’s higher than it’s been in about five years. And that’s why some people, including Amir Hanna, keep coming back for another shot.

“It’s a good thing,” Hanna said. “I think it’s very important, with the winter coming, I think everybody should get their flu shot before it’s too late, before the flu hits.”

Not everyone agrees. Several people said they’d never received a flu shot, including Ron Meulink, who prefers a natural method of treatment.

“No, my personal opinion is it enhances your immune system and you don’t really need one,” Meulink said. “It’s a personal choice, and not everyone makes that choice. But personally I think (you should) enhance your immune system.”

The Centers for Disease Control’s response is to ask people to get a shot — not only for themselves, but to protect the people around them.

As far as how bad this flu season will be, experts say the season usually matches the severity of the year before.