Health Officials Encourage Public To Prepare For Flu Season

Health department officials from the City of McAllen and Hidalgo County are encouraging the public to prepare for the 2010 flu season, following last year’s deadly global pandemic of H1N1.

“H1N1 impacted Hidalgo County extremely hard,” said Hidalgo County Health Director Eddie Olivarez, in an interview with the McAllen Cable Network. “We had the highest rate of mortality in the state of Texas, over 30 deaths.”

Immigration, tourism and rapid population growth, Olivarez believes, are all factors attributed to the higher occurence of the flu in Hidalgo County.

Last year, delayed and short supplies of the H1N1 vaccine created panic but this year Olivarez expects vaccines to be more readily available.

Recently passed legislation now allows local pharmacists to administer and distribute flu vaccines.

“If you combine the local pharmacies, private physicians, public and non profit clinics, county clinics, if you combine all of that together, accessibility to this vaccine is extraordinary,” said Olivarez.

Additionally, the seasonal flu vaccine will be combined with N1H1. The vaccine will be administered as one shot, instead of two.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, healthcare workers, pregnant women, young adults, small children, seniors and people with existing medical conditions are among those at a higher risk of contracting the flu.

“Prevention is extremely important,” stressed City of McAllen Health Director Josh Ramirez. “We remind everyone about the 3 C’s: Cover, Clean, Contain. Cover your cough and sneeze, clean your hands and contain your germs. Stay home if you’re sick.”

For more information about the 2010 flu season, visit www.flu.gov or visit www.cdc.gov/flu.

To find out where to get a flu shot, call the Hidalgo County Health Department at (956) 383-6221 or the City of McAllen Health Department at (956) 681-1900.