HELENA — St. Peter’s Health is reminding the community to get the flu vaccine this season.
They said getting the flu vaccine in 2020 is more important than ever. If you’ve never received the vaccine, St. Pete says now is a good time to start.
In 2019’s flu season, the CDC estimated over 60,000 deaths occurred due to influenza with close to 750,000 hospitalizations.
St. Peter’s Director of Infection Prevention admits the flu isn’t as bad compared to the COVID-19 virus. However, community members taking the flu vaccine could help St. Peter's and other hospitals stretch out their resources for this winter season.
“Because of the expected "double pandemic" that we could be expecting with an increase in cases of flu and COVID. If you are protecting yourself against the flu, that will protect yourself from getting one less respiratory infection that can be potentially serious," says Dr. Anne Anglim, Director of Infection Prevention at St. Peter’s.
St. Peter's recommends getting the flu shot by the end of October to maximize the effectiveness of the vaccine before the flu season begins in November or December.
