Resolutions for the New Year are important matters at this special time of year. However, let us begin first with a New Year’s Greeting. In 1893. George William Curtis greeted New Year’s Day with an amazingly fresh and contemporary verse.
New Year’s Resolutions Verse for You, from the Distant Past
He wrote “It is the day of hope and a fresh beginning.
Old debts shall be forgiven; our feuds forgotten; old friendships revived.”
And, referring to New Year’s Day, he added, To‑day shall be better than yesterday. The good vows shall be kept. A blessing shall be wrung from the fleet angel Opportunity.”
Then he concluded, “There shall be more patience, more courage, more faith; the dream shall become life. To‑day shall wear the glamour of tomorrow. Ring out the old, ring in the new!”
New Year’s Day: We Begin a New Decade
In spite of the world’s health problems, we at FLASS are infected with optimism from the above verse. It is appropriate to bring you our warmest wishes for a Happy New Year Holiday. Yet at the same time, this blog will update you on a growing concern here at FLASS. You might have guessed: we are a little worried about the flu and you in the New Year.
Even as we “ring in the new” with a new year and a new decade, let’s “ring out the old” flu fears. We can do that by learning how to avoid this season’s influenza.
New Year’s Resolution Time
Before making any New Year’s Resolutions or goals, we always investigate the problems we hope to solve. We must know the facts behind the situation we resolve to battle with a new resolution. Therefore, we now present you with the most recent activity report concerning the Flu. Only when you have the facts can you make a proper resolution.
Influenza & influenza-like illness (ILI): Your FLASS New Year’s Flu Summary:
Without causing you to be unduly alarmed, we report that activity in our state has increased. We also need to inform you that we currently have more active flu levels than we did at this time last year. “A total of 1,593 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations were reported by FluSurv-NET sites between October 1, 2019, and December 14, 2019.
- Did you know that influenza and ILI activity remain particularly elevated in children for this time in the season?
- Sadly, there has already been one influenza-associated pediatric death in the last 2 weeks. The child had not been vaccinated for the 2019-20 Season.
- The CDC has reported a total of three influenza-associated pediatric deaths so far this season.
Make it one of your New Year’s Resolutions: Get Your Flu Shot
As we have stated in previous years, make a New Year’s Resolution to get your flu shot now. The doctors and staff at FLASS reassure you, “It is not too late!”
- As we at FLASS and the doctors at CDC have consistently advised you each year, annual vaccination is the best and surest way to protect yourself and your loved ones. Influenza has potentially severe complications.
- Please let FLASS re-appeal to you in the name of children. We seriously hope those under two get their flu-shots. Furthermore, FLASS warns you to get the flu-shots for your child if he or she has an underlying medical condition.
- Vaccination has been shown to reduce a child’s likelihood of dying from influenza by 60%.
- Did you know, “Influenza vaccines are designed to protect against the three or four strains experts believe will be most common during the season.”
New Year’s Resolutions: Know the Flu
The following facts might seem dull to you, but we want you to be aware of them and understand their value to your family’s health.
- Influenza A 2009 (H1N1) activity increased notably in recent weeks.
- Influenza B Victoria remains the most common subtype identified at the Bureau of Public Health Laboratories
- Both type A and B are included in the 2019-20 Quadrivalent and Trivalent vaccine options.
- Influenza A 2009 (H1N1) and influenza B Victoria lineage strains are susceptible to the top four antiviral treatments.
What To Do if You Get the Flu
If you catch the flu, call your doctor right away, as soon as you have that special flu feeling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that we prescribe antiviral treatment as soon as possible. This is especially important for people with people who are at high risk for complications. If you are a child under 2, an adult over 65 or a patient with underlying medical conditions, your doctor or FLASS should treat you within 48 hours of the onset of the flu.
Our Terrific Take-Aways
Be aware that the 2019-2020 season is underway. Every region of the country reports elevated levels of flu and flu-like illness.
- Shocking News from the CDC shows us that so far into this season “there have been at least 3.7 million flu illnesses, 32,000 hospitalizations and 1,800 deaths from flu.” https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/flusight/index.html
- Again, we repeat that antiviral medications are an important flu-fighting weapon in addition to the flu vaccine. Almost all of the influenza viruses the researchers tested for this season are susceptible to the four FDA-approved influenza antiviral medications. That is good news for you, provided you call your doctor and start treatment right away.
Just One More Happy New Year’s Wish for Your New Year’s Resolutions and Beyond
Once again, the Healthcare Professionals and Staff of the Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists wish you a Happy, Lucky and Prosperous New Year. As we have quoted in previous years, “Let our New Year’s resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.
To that comment, we add the words of Oprah Winfrey, who simply said, “Cheers to the New Year and Another Chance for Us to Get It Right!”
With the bulk of the flu season ahead of us, there is no doubt we will be bringing you new information on the flu. Likewise, we will be reporting the most recent break-through news in the EVALI crisis and vaping.
Remember, the New Year is a blank book with 365 brand new, pages upon which we pause before we write the story of 2020. Let’s make it a good one! And let’s make it
Flu-Free.