Dr. Cheryle Stone of Tyler Memorial Hospital administering a flu vaccine. STAFF PHOTO/MATT VINE

BY MATT VINE

Wyoming County Press Examiner

An early flu season has already confirmed more than 60 cases throughout Wyoming County.

Flu season for the country has been ongoing since December.

Dr. Cheryle Stone, a family-practice physician at Tyler Memorial Hospital for 24 years, said the main way to keep flu from spreading is to have a flu vaccine.

“Anyone at the age of six months or older can be administered a flu vaccine,” Stone said. “It takes three to four weeks for the vaccine to kick in.”

She noted that when a person gets the flu, he or she feels very weak and the whole body starts to ache.

“The reason why people are getting sick from the flu is that people are spending their time indoors and less outside in the colder weather,” Stone said.

Stone suggests that if a person’s temperature reaches 101 degrees and the body starts to have sharp pains, call your doctor.

“If the flu virus is already inside a person, then we administer an antibiotic,” Stone said. “The antibiotic will kick in two to three days after being administered.”

James P. McGuire, a spokesman for Commonwealth Health, said that when he gets the flu, it hits him like a ton of bricks.

“I feel the strength that’s inside me saps through my body and hits me hard,” McGuire said. “I can be up and alert one time and the next passed out on the couch.”

Stone said that the vaccine stimulates a person’s immune system, and helps fight off all the virus cells from spreading throughout the body.

“People are mistaken (when they think they’re) receiving the flu from a flu vaccine,” Stone said. “A flu vaccine already carries an inactive flu virus. People can’t get sick from a nonliving cell.”

Stone also said that people who are the most at risk of having a serious case of the flu that could lead to death are the very young and the elderly.

“It is ideal to get a flu vaccine during the months of October and November,” Stone said. “Why suffer needlessly? Get a flu shot before January and February and be protected.”

Stone also said that it is not to late if a person has not already received the vaccine.

Tyler Memorial Hospital will be offering a free clinic on Jan. 14 from 2 to 6 p.m.

To reserve a time, phone 996-1281. Walk-ins are welcome as well.