2023-24 flu season begins: 1st confirmed cases reported – Lexington-Fayette County Health Department

OCT. 3, 2023: Its officially flu season in Fayette County: Lexington has its first two lab-confirmed flu cases of 2023-24.

Lexington had 3,472 lab-confirmed flu cases and 16 flu-related deaths in the 2022-23 flu season. About 80% of the cases were in people who were not vaccinated.

Free flu shots are available for anyone 6 months and older at the 2023 Free Flu Shot Clinic 3-6:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at Central Baptist Church, 110 Wilson Downing Road. Pre-registration is required, so sign up now at http://www.LFCHD.org/FluShots2023 (or http://www.lfchd.org/gripe2023espanol/ in Spanish)! The high-dose vaccine for ages 65 and older will also be available at this years event in limited quantities.

Be sure to check out the Facebook Event listing:2023 Free Flu Shot Clinic Facebook Event.

Free flu shots are available for uninsured/underinsured people by same-day appointment only at LFCHDs Public Health Clinic, 650 Newtown Pike. Please call 859-288-2483 Monday-Thursday to make an appointment; walk-ins will not be accepted in the Public Health Clinic.

The seasonal flu shot is recommended for all people ages 6 months and older and is especially important for people at the highest risk of serious complications from the flu: infants and young children, pregnant women, anyone with underlying medical conditions and adults 50 and older.

In addition to helping prevent you from getting sick with flu, a flu shot can reduce the severity of your illness if you do get flu and reduce your risk of a flu-associated hospitalization.

Please remember that lab-confirmed cases only reflect a small percentage of flu cases actually in Lexington, so the actual case count is likely much higher. Many providers use rapid testing, which is not required to be reported to state/local health departments. We are aware of people in our community testing positive for the flu virus in their providers offices through rapid testing, and the flu will continue to spread throughout the winter.

View post:

2023-24 flu season begins: 1st confirmed cases reported - Lexington-Fayette County Health Department