It is the start of the cold and flu season and some students and faculty have already seen the symptoms and are trying to avoid falling victim to these illnesses.    

     High School/Middle School nurse Cathy Chance said it may be difficult to avoid catching a bug. She said “around half the student body” gets sick each year. Chance has worked as a school nurse for over a decade.

    Chance suggested that students and staff take extra care around January and February and be sure to diligently sanitize.

     Some other ways to tell if there is a risk of getting sick is if the rest of a class has gotten sick.

   “Usually sickness will spread throughout the individual classes,” Chance said.

   The Centers for Disease Control estimates that there have been at least 780,000 illnesses, 8,000 hospitalizations and 490 deaths from flu so far this season. The flu season typically starts in October, but tends to peak between December and February.  

    It is difficult to avoid the flu. A study by the Centers for Disease Control found that, on average, about 8 percent of the U.S. population gets sick from flu each season. The same study found that “children younger than 18 are more than twice as likely to develop a symptomatic flu virus infection than adults 65 and older.” 

    Some symptoms of the flu include a fever, chills, body ache, sore throat, and fatigue.

    The flu is a virus and extremely contagious but there is a preventative measure available to the public, the flu vaccine. The CDC says the vaccine is the best way to prevent flu.

    Despite the high number of people who get the flu every year many students refuse the vaccine for a number of reasons. 

   Sophomore Adrian Cook has never received a flu vaccine and doesn’t plan to as his immune system is strong. 

    This doesn’t always work, however, and to be effective the flu shot needs to be taken by everybody, including those who aren’t sickly, so that it can be fully effective as many people can carry and spread the flu even if they don’t exhibit symptoms.

   He did believe that it is a good thing to take the vaccine and if a person is “sickly or has a weak immune system,” that getting the shot is the best option.

    However, it is wise to be careful and aware of what goes in the human body so checking up on any allergies to things such as egg proteins and other flu shot ingredients is always a safe way to go.

    Another widely common illness that goes around every year is the cold. According to mountsinai.org, symptoms of the common cold include congestion, runny nose and scratchy throat, sneezing and coughing, and sore muscles.

    To prevent getting a cold a person should try to isolate themselves from others who have a cold, clean hands and face, and most important of all try to avoid touching anywhere on the face.