Dr. Jamie Rutland of the American Lung Association

The fall season is approaching, bringing the risk of the seasonal flu. Last year, there were millions of influenza cases and thousands of deaths. Health experts urge high-risk individuals to get vaccinated. The flu can be serious and affect anyone, especially those with chronic lung or health conditions. Getting vaccinated as soon as possible is important. Ethnic groups, particularly Black individuals, are more likely to develop severe illness from the flu. The flu shot is recommended for everyone aged six months and older. The vaccination stimulates the immune system and may have mild side effects. It's important to know that these effects are normal and desired. The flu vaccine is readily available and can be obtained by making an appointment. For more information, visit lung.org/prevent-flu or call the Lung Helpline at 1-800-LUNG-USA. fall season is quickly approaching and with it the risk of the seasonal flu virus. In fact, last year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there were between, you ready for this, 27 and 54 million influenza cases and between 19,000 and 58,000 deaths that's due to the flu. Serious, highly contagious respiratory illness that really can affect anyone. Health experts are calling on Americans, you and I, especially if you're at a high risk to be prepared for the upcoming flu season by getting vaccinated. My guest who's joining me this morning with some more information, National Volunteer Medical Spokesperson for the American Lung Association. It's great to welcome Dr. Jamie Rutland to the RNJ Morning Program. Dr. Rutland, good morning. It's Burt Barron, WRNJ Radio here in New Jersey. How are you today? Good morning, Burt. Good morning, New Jersey. All right, good to have you with us here with some really good information. The latest data, the recommendations, and I think people with high risk really need to pay attention for this. You're risking really serious illness from the flu if you're in this this high-risk group of people. All the more important to get that flu shot. Listen, I know it's in the 90s this week in New Jersey, but people have to think about getting ready for those colder weather months. Definitely, I think about getting ready for those colder weather months because we spend a lot of time right next to each other and when you think about individuals who have high risk for influenza illness, these are individuals that have chronic lung disease or they have chronic disease in general, which essentially upregulates that inflammatory response. So when influenza does come around, it activates that inflammatory response in your lung. You cough, you can't breathe, and sometimes you end up in the hospital. Yeah, we want to avoid that for everybody, of course, and it's so critical to get that flu shot. I get mine right around usually that first week in October for me, Dr. Rutland. Is there a preferred time for somebody to go ahead and get that vaccination, or is just any point that you get one a good thing? You know, any point that you get one is a good thing, but when we think about peak influenza season, it's about September through March, and so you want to get your vaccination almost as soon as it's available. I know for me, I'm getting my vaccination this week in the office, and so I think it's important as soon as September hits that individuals begin to think about, okay, it's time to get that influenza vaccination, and then go ahead and make plans to go ahead and get that. And this is for everybody, right, doctor? There's no racial or ethnic group that might need to pay particular attention to this. This is really for everybody that's listening to us today. Get that shot and make that appointment. You know, you bring up an excellent point. This influenza vaccination is for everyone. Now, we have separated out who can receive which particular kind of vaccination based on age and risk factors, but the flu vaccination is for everyone. But when you look at individuals who are at higher risk of getting the flu, that's where ethnic groups actually do matter a little bit. And when you look at individuals who are black, they're two times more likely to develop severe illness from influenza and be hospitalized. So, I do think it's important for us to pay particular attention to that specific group and make sure that they are or we are vaccinated. Good information. Dr. Jamie Rutland is my guest here at the RNJ Morning Program, National Volunteer Medical Spokesperson for the American Lung Association. And we're just stressing the importance of getting that flu vaccine. So many benefits, of course, doctor, which, at least from my personal experience, certainly outweigh anything else that goes along with it. You get a little pinch, you get a needle, you go through the usual side effects anytime you get a vaccine, maybe a little pain or a little tenderness in the injection site for a day or so. But just to know that you're prepared for the possibility of what could possibly happen in those winter months, I think it's one of these things where the benefits clearly outweigh the risks. And there's still some problems getting that message across to people, unfortunately. Yeah, you're exactly right. I think what individuals need to understand is that when you're getting a vaccination, not only are you getting a needle to the arm, which again is going to hurt, but you're also stimulating the inflammatory response. You're actually stimulating the immune system to recognize pieces of the influenza virus so that it can act more efficiently down the line. So you're going to get normal things that happen when you get a vaccination. You're getting a controlled amount of substance, so you're going to have a controlled response. And that is going to be a little bit of an inflammatory response, but all of this is normal. We always say the term side effects, but I think it's important to stress that these effects are not just side effects, they're normal effects and effects that you want to have when receiving a vaccination. Yeah, that's true. And you're talking to a guy, doctor, who gives blood every 56 days, so I'm used to needles. For me, it's no big deal. It's just something else that I know is going to help me out down the road. And this is not like something like we saw in the early days of the COVID vaccine, doctor, where it was rolled out in controlled batches to certain age groups and certain qualifications. When it's out there, it's out there for anybody to make the appointment. Is that still correct? That's definitely correct. Again, the flu vaccination is recommended for people that are the age of six months and up. So it's definitely recommended. As soon as you hit that six month of age, recommended for everybody, every season to protect you against serious influenza viruses. For the group that you're paying the closest attention to, doctor, which I guess would be those with lung concerns, is there a website or a toll-free number where people can call to maybe get some more information about what they need to know? Yeah, if you want to learn more about influenza and the influenza vaccine, you want to go to lung.org backslash prevent-flu, or you can call the Lung Helpline at 1-800-LUNG-USA if you like to talk to people like I like to talk to. I feel healthier already. This was a good conversation today, Dr. Jamie Rutland, National Volunteer Medical Spokesperson for the American Lung Association. Thank you for the time today, and I hope you have a very healthy fall and winter season, doctor. Thank you again for the great information you shared. Hey, thanks again, Bert, and thank you again, New Jersey, for your ears.