Maureen Caparas really didn’t want to get a flu shot.
“That looks like a big needle,” she said nervously on Thursday afternoon.
She didn’t have a choice.
As an employee of Juneau’s public health clinic, she’s required to get immunized. Everyone else in the clinic had their shot the day before, and now it was her turn.
“I’ve tried everything: coughing, looking away, having people talk to me,” she said.
“Just keep breathing,” said Lindsey Taylor, Juneau’s public health nurse.
“That’s good advice,” Caparas said, and with a quick poke and a shiny Band-Aid, it was over.
Oct. 1 is the official start of flu season in Alaska, and health centers across the state are getting their vaccines ready.
“There’s plenty of vaccines in the state,” said Gerri Yett, the influenza immunization coordinator for the Alaska Section of Epidemiology. “We purchased over $2.2 million” as part of the state’s bulk-buying program.
The state buys in bulk to reduce costs and then sells to local clinics. The idea is to reduce the toll taken on Alaskans by the flu every year.
Every year, the flu affects thousands of Alaskans, leaving many homebound and some bedridden.
It also kills. According to statistics kept by the Alaska Section of Epidemiology, seven “adult influenza-associated deaths were reported by health care providers or identified” in a search of death certificates.
Donna Fearey, the state’s flu surveillance coordinator, said the death toll was likely higher, and only confirmed cases are listed.
“Influenza — it’s really hard to paint a picture of what’s going on,” she said.
In 2015-2016, Alaska’s flu season spiked in March and April after starting to intensify after the first of the year.
“In general, that was a late peak in our activity,” Fearey said. “Some years, we’ve had peak activity as early as November.”
There’s no telling when flu season will peak — “You can only know in retrospect,” Fearey said — and because it can take two or more weeks to build immunity after a shot, public health officials recommend action early.
Like Caparas, plenty of Alaskans don’t like getting vaccinated. This year, however, there won’t be an easy alternative.
The state is advising against the use of a nasal-spray vaccine, and it hasn’t bought any as part of its low-cost program.
That’s because the nasal spray, marketed with the name FluMist, was found to be ineffective by an advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Nobody likes a vaccination, a shot — bottom line — but it is one of the best protections we have against flu,” Yett said.
An immunization is like distributing “wanted” posters to your body’s immune system. Armed with that ID, your immune system responds promptly to any of the four flu strains within the immunization and keeps you healthy.
A different flu strain could still make you sick, but epidemiologists have become talented at predicting which flu viruses will circulate in a given year.
“It’s based on what we saw, what the World Health Organization saw, in the Southern Hemisphere earlier in their flu season,” Yett said.
Flu shots don’t just protect individuals, they also protect Alaska as a whole, Yett explained.
If enough people are immunized, the disease can’t spread.
“It may not be yourself you’re trying to protect, but it may be children under 6 months of age who are too young to be vaccinated or someone going through chemotherapy,” Yett said. “It is the best protection that we have against flu, and if you don’t do it for yourself, do it for others.”
Getting shots
Flu shots are available at the pharmacies in Safeway, Fred Meyer and Costco. On a visit Thursday, the Costco immunization was $15 without insurance and took 9 minutes and 47 seconds from paperwork to Band-Aid.
At the Juneau Public Health Center near Twin Lakes, staff are allowed to immunize anyone from six months old to 29 years old. Public health staff can provide immunizations to older Alaskans during exercises intended to train staff for an epidemic. The next drill is Nov. 5.
Many doctors in private practice can provide flu shots.
Flu shorts are covered by most insurance programs, and there likely will not be a charge if you are insured.
“I know as a state employee, I’m covered if I go to any pharmacy,” Yett said.
Bartlett Regional Hospital administers flu shots only to staff and already-admitted patients.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at 523-2258 or james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.
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