Photo: CDC/Unsplash
Tim DitmanOSF Healthcare
DANVILLE --- As we enter fall, the emails from your workplace or pharmacy may start to pop up in your inbox.
"It’s time for a flu shot!"
But how early is too early to get the yearly jab?
It depends, says Jason Kole, MD, director of Emergency Department Services at OSF HealthCare in Danville, Illinois.
Dr. Kole says every influenza season is different. When will it peak? What will be the dominant strain of the virus? How effective will the flu vaccine be against that strain? Plus, Dr. Kole says, health care providers are still devoting time to treating COVID-19 patients.
"If [the vaccine] actually hits the strain of flu that’s prevalent during that season, then the flu season’s going to be relatively mild," Dr. Kole says. "If it doesn’t hit that strain, then we’re going to have a heavy flu season."
"We’re all going to have to stay on our toes and make sure we’re well prepared," Dr. Kole adds of the upcoming flu season.
Dr. Kole recommends taking the month of September to talk to your health care provider about the flu shot and other vaccines.
Questions to ask: Which vaccines and how many doses are recommended for me? Should I have concerns about side effects or other issues? Are there special circumstances to consider if I’m pregnant? Are there special circumstances for my child? My elderly parent?
Then by October, you’re ready to make an appointment to roll up your sleeve.
Immunizations like the flu shot are an important tool for everyone to stay healthy. But for seniors and people with underlying health conditions, Dr. Kole stresses that they need to be a priority.
"For the most part, when [the emergency department sees] someone come in with flu, we’re looking at a patient that’s older. We’re concerned about the complications of the flu developing into pneumonia or another serious illness," Dr. Kole says.
Some misconceptions on the flu shot:
"I made it to January without getting the bug. I can skip the flu shot this year."
Dr. Kole says you should still talk to your health care provider about the shot.
"We have seen [flu season] come in January or February," Dr. Kole says. "Sometimes it’s late. It doesn’t necessarily have to be coming in October, November or December."
"I got the flu shot last year, so I’m still good for this year."
This one elicits a smile and a shake of the head from Dr. Kole.
"Every year, the flu is different," Dr. Kole repeats. "The vaccines are designed to attack that particular [year’s] flu strain. So it’s key that you get [the flu vaccine] every year."
"I didn’t have any side effects after my flu shot, so it must not be working."
Like the COVID vaccine, flu shot recipients may experience a headache, muscle aches, nausea or other minor symptoms. Those are a sign the vaccine is working, Dr. Kole says. But not having side effects doesn’t mean the immunization isn’t effective.
"I need a flu shot and a COVID booster, but I don’t have time for two appointments."
Research has shown it’s safe to get both at once.
"I got the flu shot but still got sick later that day."
Dr. Kole says once you get the flu vaccine, you have some level of immune system response fairly quickly. But it takes a few days for you to build up a more robust immunity that, hopefully, prevents a trip to the emergency department.
"Once you’re vaccinated, you can be confident that you’re not going to get seriously ill," Dr. Kole says.
Will you own an electric car? If you live long enough and that’s all that is being made, you probably will. Many of us we’ll hold out for as long as possible.
I’m all for electric cars especially if someone else is buying them. If 20 percent of America’s driving population goes to the electric vehicle, EV, then surely gasoline will become cheaper. Less people buying gasoline will reduce the demand and it should reduce the price. We hope.
California will not allow the sale of gasoline cars by 2035.
This same state told EV drivers not to charge their electric cars during the past Labor Day weekend when the temperatures were expected to hit triple digits for millions of residents putting a drain on the power grid.
This brings us to the same crisis every community will face. America’s power grids aren’t ready to accommodate millions of EVs plugging in a for a recharge. The prospects of city and regional blackouts are alarming. You can forget charging your car. You won’t be able to charge your cell phone or have air conditioning or heat during a blackout.
I’m not opposed to electric cars. I am opposed to them being crammed down our throats. The manufacturers are being pushed to eventually eliminate all gasoline vehicles. We will see how this goes over the next ten years.
Plan to spend some money. A local salesman talked to me about an electric Mustang. Stickered at $48,000 but they were asking $58,000 because as he said, “We can get it.” I didn’t want the car to begin with but was curious about the car.
It sounds time consuming to recharge an EV, although some EVs are promising up to 150-mile charge in a short amount of time.
EVs could mean fewer people on America’s Interstates. Currently in most American communities its much easier to go home to recharge at your own power station. Cross country driving will be out of the question or very difficult in an EV for the next two or three years. Currently an EV will go about 250 to 350 miles on a charge. This means you will always be searching for the next power station. This will be a major lifestyle change.
There are reports that Pilot and Flying J will have charging stations installed by 2025 and are spending a billion dollars to upgrade their facilities. They will also want to recoup their costs.
The car will cost you more money. You will spend anywhere from $20,000 (low minimum) to $6,000 to install a station at your home and this is all variable. To keep your car charged at home will cost you about what you spend on your monthly electric bill now. So, figure your electric bill doubling, if you’re lucky.
You may be wanting something different in your life and an EV may be just what you want. There is a lot to consider and on some level they will impact all our lives, eventually.
"People in the winter time, particularly in northern, far northern latitudes or far southern latitudes, farther away from the equator will tend to get kind of sluggish and maybe depressed, they start to have carbohydrate cravings, and it may be enough that it’s really a significant problem for them," explains Dr. Scott Hamilton, a psychiatrist with OSF HealthCare Behavioral Health in Bloomington.
As a behavioral health psychiatrist, Dr. Hamilton works with people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. He says there’s a difference between SAD and a case of the occasional winter blahs. If you find your mind and mood are impacting your relationships, ability to work, or social activities, it’s something that needs to be addressed.
There are a number of treatment opportunities for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Dr. Hamilton says one of the most effective is bright light therapy.
"These have a UV shield, full spectrum light, 30 minutes in the morning is how most studies were done with pretty good results. Pretty uniformly positive results in people that have wintertime depression, and people that don’t have winter depression, they do sometimes still help, but they’re not as likely to be helpful."
Dr. Hamilton says these light boxes are available online, often for less than $50. He also says that simple behavior modification can help with SAD symptoms. He says eating well and exercise can have a tremendous effect on depression symptoms, but if a person is having a tough time functioning on a day-to-day basis, he or she might want to see a therapist for professional help.
"I think trying that and getting more exercise and doing some healthy things first does make sense," said Dr. Hamilton. "If they get to the point where they can’t function or they get suicidal thoughts, things like that, then they ought to talk to somebody. Those would be the real red flags."
Learn more about Seasonal Affective Disorder 
