Flu activity has escalated across the region and the state, and North Olympic Peninsula public health officers say it’s not too late to get vaccinated.
Influenza is now considered widespread — technically an epidemic — and the peak of the season is yet to come, health officials said Thursday.
“We have almost certainly not seen the peak yet,” said Dr. Christopher Frank, Clallam County health officer.
“It’s very difficult to predict when the peak will be and how big the peak will be because every year is different.”
The state Department of Health has reported nine lab-confirmed influenza deaths so far this season, none of which occurred in Clallam or Jefferson counties.
Public health officials say the best way to avoid getting the flu or spreading it to others is to get vaccinated, wash hands, cover coughs and stay home when sick.
Dr. Tom Locke, Jefferson County health officer, said it’s “never too late” to get vaccinated.
“The one caveat to that is it takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to be fully protective,” Locke said.
“It’s never too late to get it, but it’s always best to do it before there is widespread influenza activity.”
The vaccine, which is readily available at area pharmacies and health care clinics, protects against the H3N2 strain common to this year’s outbreak and other types of influenza.
Frank and Locke each reported upticks in the number of patients with influenza checking into Clallam and Jefferson County hospitals.
“It looks like we’re seeing the same thing in Kitsap County as well,” Locke said.
“Once you reach a certain number of cases in the community, you start seeing this chain reaction.”
Because the epidemic curve suggests that the peak of the season has not yet arrived, Frank said there is “still a lot of benefit” to getting a flu shot, particularly when influenza activity is widespread.
Epidemic is a technical term used when the community spread of influenza reaches a certain level, Frank said.
“We meet the criteria virtually every year at some point,” he added.
Locke said he preferred to use the word outbreak because epidemic “has potential to be an alarmist phrase for some people, but is technically correct.”
Most of the influenza deaths that have occurred this year have happened in King and Snohomish counties, Frank said. Most occurred in patients who had other chronic medical conditions, he added.
Eight of the nine flu deaths occurred in patients who were 65 or older, and all nine flu victims were older than 50, according to the state Department of Health.
For comparison, last year’s flu season claimed 68 lives in Washington state. The 2014-15 flu season killed 157, state officials said.
H3N2 is associated with higher rates of complications and more deaths than other common strains, health officials said.
In most years, flu activity continues into spring, Frank said.
Locke said it was too soon to compare the severity of this year’s outbreak with recent years.
“Often we only know it at the peak of the outbreak,” Locke said.
“We’re still in the early stages of the outbreak season, so I think it’s still too early to conclude.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
