Health officials in Iowa have confirmed the death of 2 people in this state from complications arising of flu season in recent weeks. The Department of Public Health at Iowa mentioned that the death involved two women that were between the age group of 60 to 80 while the other being more than 81 years of age in the northwest region of Iowa.
Officials mentioned that both the women showcased underlying conditions of flu along with other contributing symptoms that led to their deaths. As per the health officials, the flu cases in Iowa-based communities have increased in recent months. The CDC recommends that anyone who is more than 6 months of age needs to get vaccinated against the flu. The infants, elderly, as well as the ones with a compromised variant of immune systems, tend to showcase greater complications from respiratory illnesses.
These cases are among the very first deaths from the flu for the year 2019-2020. Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the Medical Director at the Department of Public Health, Iowa, mentioned that these deaths can be an unfortunate reminder of the fact that flu can actually be among the serious variants of illnesses. Dr. Pedati, also added that the virus comes with a potential to induce severe illness & possibly death for the vulnerable section of the community. This is why it is best to get your loved ones and yourself vaccinated for the prevention of flu before being infected.
As per the CDC, the flu vaccine can take as long as 2 full weeks post-vaccination for your body to start showing its full-scale benefits against the virus. The symptoms of this virus include headache, fever, sore throat, tiredness, cough, body aches, and nasal congestion. The time-duration for the symptoms of the flu to show up typically ranges between 2 to 7 days.
As per the CDC report, this year shows a mere 29 percent effectiveness as compared to the previous season for flu vaccination. This has been the second lowest as compared to the year 2014. This time, around 30 states have been experiencing the effects of flu, which is the highest in the past decade. Among these, three states, Louisiana, California, as well as Maryland, have been experiencing widespread activities related to flu. On the other hand, seven states have been experiencing regional activities such as Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Nevada, Tennessee, New Hampshire, as well as Texas.