Measly flu season, you say? It may very well be too early to tell. Inyo-Mono Health Officer Dr. Rick Johnson said influenza will arrive in the Eastern Sierra sooner or later.

Dr. Johnson said that the Eastern Sierra has plenty of flu vaccine, and the recommendation is that everyone should consider getting a flu shot. They’re available through your health care providers, pharmacies and the health departments.

Johnson said that the flu going on around the country is off to a slow start, much like our snow season. But it’s inevitable that it’s going to happen. Dr. Johnson said it is hoped that the flu season doesn’t happen until after Christmas so we can enjoy the season.

Every winter, the flu kills about 36,000 people in the nation.

Dr. Johnson said that often times the flu starts in big cities, so Southern California has a lot to do with what happens in the Eastern Sierra. If we start to see an outbreak in Southern California prior to Christmas and then we have a lot of tourists coming up, that puts us at risk. Johnson noted that the good thing for us is that our kids are out of school for two weeks. School is a place where the flu spreads rapidly.

He said that if we can get our kids out of school before Christmas without the flu, we’re in pretty good shape until sometime in January or February.

 

Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading