Wickenburg Community Hospital partnered with My Father’s Retirement Ranch to bring influenza vaccine to the residents at the ranch. Influenza vaccination not only helps to keep residents at the Ranch healthy but contributes to keeping the community within Wickenburg healthy.
Influenza (flu) is a potentially serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and flu can affect people differently, but millions of people get flu every year, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized and thousands of people die from flu-related causes every year.
Flu can mean a few days of feeling bad and missing work or it can result in more serious illness. Complications of flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes. An annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to help protect against flu. Vaccination has been shown to have many benefits including reducing the risk of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and even the risk of flu-related death in children. While some people who get a flu vaccine may still get sick, flu vaccination has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness.
September and October are generally good times to be vaccinated against flu. Ideally, everyone should be vaccinated by the end of October. It does take up to two weeks for the flu vaccine to become effective so plan to get your flu shot earlier rather than later.