It is not too late to get your flu shot!

As you sit down and take a moment to relax and enjoy the holidays and the soft tinkle of pine needles falling off your tree, you suddenly think “I never got my flu shot, is it too late?”

Not to worry, it not too late — although it is best to get the flu shot in the fall so that the immunization has time to work in your body to develop the proper response.

But I repeat, it’s not too late to get your flu shot.

At the Raiter Clinic, we are just starting to see our first positive flu tests. Currently, the Minnesota Department of Health reports the statewide flu activity as moderate.

Last year there were 79,000 deaths from the flu nationally and 435 in our state with five pediatric deaths. Recently the flu burden has been heavier in the senior population but all age groups are affected. There was nearly one million hospital admissions last year. This a burden the patients and the families. By getting the flu shot, it gives you the best chance of not being part of those statistics.

The standard flu shot contains proteins three or four strains of influenza. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) engineers the flu shot to contain influenza strains that they believe will appear in the upcoming season. It takes months to make the shot, so they make their predictions early in the year. Each year the flu shot is different based on what the CDC thinks will come around the following season. Most years the flu shot gives good protection but occasionally a surprise flu virus shows up and the protection is not as complete.

I get my flu shot every year. It is easy for me to get the shot because I see what can happen if you do not. Seeing someone ill, hospitalized or, worse yet, struggle for their life sends home the message that this is serious stuff. Minnesota has a great health care system and a health-conscious population. We are in the top five for flu vaccination of the general population at nearly 50 percent. Therefore, when the influenza arrives in our state, it does not spread as easily.

Look at the flu shot as a civic duty. You are protecting not only yourself but those who can not get the flu shot in our community.

People have many reasons for not getting the flu shot. I hear “I never get the flu,” but, unfortunately, your first influenza infection could be your last or leave you a respiratory cripple — not to mention the time you miss with work and life. For those who have gotten sick anyways, it is true that the flu shot does not prevent all illness but it certainly lessens severity and duration of illness. At least they are here to complain that the shot did not work completely.

There is treatment for the flu but it is not very effective. It has to be taken at the onset and will lessen duration by about 12 hours. Protection from the shot is preferable to treatment.

Is it too late for a flu shot? No, we will continue to offer the flu shot until we run out.

I wish everyone a healthy and happy flu-free holiday season and new year.

Dr. Ken Ripp is a family medicine physician at the Raiter Clinic in Cloquet.