Flu cases reported in Michigan, health officials urge flu shot
Flu cases are popping up in Michigan this season, and health officials are urging that people six months and older get vaccinated.
The state health department has seen cases in regions across the state, said Angela Minicuci, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
"It is definitely flu season," she said. "And we are starting to see those cases come in.”
More than 30 cases have been diagnosed in recent weeks in Washtenaw County, but no hospitalizations have been reported, the county reports.
“A lot of people say: It’s just the flu,'" Christina Zilke, immunization coordinator at the Washtenaw County Public Health said in a statement. “However, influenza is a serious respiratory illness. Nationally, it causes more hospitalizations and deaths than all other vaccine preventable diseases combined.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends flu shots, but not the nasal spray flu vaccine.
“It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against flu, so make plans to get vaccinated early in fall, before flu season begins,” the CDC’s website says. “CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.”