Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

The Best Way to Protect Yourself from the Flu? Get Vaccinated

Wednesday, January 31, 2018, By News Staff
Share
facultyFalk College of Sport and Human Dynamicshealth and wellness
Lisa Olson-Gugerty

Lisa Olson-Gugerty

Lisa Olson-Gugerty, associate teaching professor in the public health department in Falk College, is a global health specialist. She answered a few questions about flu season, and the best way to protect yourself from getting sick.

  • 01
    What’s the most important thing to do to reduce the risk of getting the flu?

    Get vaccinated. You can still contract the flu even if vaccinated but it is believed that being vaccinated helps reduce the duration and severity of the disease.

  • 02
    How does flu become a pandemic?

    Influenza A is the strain that can cause a pandemic.  Influenza A can be transmitted between humans and animals.  The Avian flu is a strain of flu that can be transmitted from birds to humans and was responsible for the pandemic of 2009.  This strain is the one that worries many healthcare and public health professionals.  A well organized public health infrastructure and well-stocked healthcare system is needed to keep the Avian flu from repeating the devastation of the Spanish Flu in 1917-18.  By the way, Syracuse was one of the hardest hit cities in the country during the Spanish flu pandemic!   Influenza, B, C & D cannot be transmitted between human and animal as far as scientist know.

  • 03
    How bad might the flu get this year?

    The flu always has the potential to be bad. This year seems to be particularly bad, but we have to continue to watch and see what happens. The issue with the influenza virus is that it there are many strains of flu and there are other types of viruses that mimic flu-like symptoms, such as the adenovirus. The flu virus potentially can survive for hours as an aerosol mist in the air, as well as on table tops, door knobs, grocery carts, etc. Influenza virus is constantly mutating and adapting for survival, so it is hard to manage the risk of infection.

  • 04
    Do you have suggestions for pregnant mothers-to-be? The elderly?

    Get a flu vaccine and if recommended get a booster. Practice good general health practices, nutrition, sleep, hand washing, nutrition, etc. If feeling sick, stay home, minimize contact with others and seek medical attention as soon as possible.

  • 05
    It seems with the various strains going around, people from most age brackets are vulnerable this season. Is it normal to have multiple strains like this?

    Yes, absolutely. What people need to know is that anyone can get the flu and the best way to prevent individual sickness and prevent a pandemic is to get vaccinated. There is current research on creating a universal vaccine similar to the MMR and polio vaccines. This would reduce the need for annual vaccinations and potentially reduce the potential of pandemic flu outbreaks significantly. I believe the research is being done in Rochester, New York.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Languages Unlock Opportunities for English for Lawyers Alumna
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Hope Alvarez
  • Fall 2023 Career Week: Helping Students Achieve Professional Goals
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Gabrielle Lake
  • A Commitment to Arts and Sciences Excellence
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Dan Bernardi
  • Center for Sustainable Community Solutions and Environmental Finance Center Announces New Director
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Alex Dunbar
  • Expert Available to Discuss Rupert Murdoch Stepping Down at Fox News
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Vanessa Marquette

More In Health & Society

International Drug Policy Academy Offers a Unique Opportunity for Students Interested in Addiction Studies

Needing one more class or an independent study to complete a master’s degree in public health, Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics student Emily Graham turned to Public Health Professor Dessa Bergen-Cico for advice and Bergen-Cico offered the opportunity…

Hendricks Chapel Dean, Chaplains and Students Attend Parliament of the World’s Religions

Representatives from Hendricks Chapel recently attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions, held in August in Chicago. This year’s theme was “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights.” More than 7,000 participants from more than 95 countries, representing…

Roundtable: 3 School of Education Alumni Define ‘Human Thriving’ in the Context of Global Diversity

“Human thriving” is among the areas of distinctive excellence enumerated in the University’s 2023 Academic Strategic Plan. This concept is inspired by the words of Chancellor Erastus Haven. In 1871, he charged Syracuse students “to thrive here, to learn here,…

Lerner Center and Maxwell X Lab Join Sheriff’s Office to Reduce Illicit Drugs’ Impact

The Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health and Maxwell X Lab have partnered with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office on an initiative aimed at reducing the impact of opioids and other illicit drugs. The two centers, both…

PAIA Doctoral Student Receives Grant for SNAP Research

Clay Fannin, a doctoral student in the Maxwell School’s Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, has received a $25,000 grant from Tufts University to support his dissertation research on the impacts of COVID-era changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.