MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
OK, Steve. Not trying to get in your biz, but has anybody in your house gotten this awful flu that's going around?
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Oh, yeah. There've been a couple of people. Not me yet.
MARTIN: Oh, my goodness. Well, you're lucky, and you're not alone. The CDC has recorded at least 18 million flu cases and hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations.
INSKEEP: Wow.
MARTIN: And even though reported cases have started dropping, flu season is not over.
INSKEEP: So we asked a professor of infectious disease what works and what does not work when trying to avoid the flu. Dr. William Schaffner teaches at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and he says one common myth leaves him cold.
WILLIAM SCHAFFNER: It's uncomfortable to go outside in the cold with your wet hair, but that really won't predispose you to getting the flu. These flu viruses and common cold viruses are indeed viruses. You have to catch them from someone else.
MARTIN: And that old saw, feed a cold, starve a fever? Nope.
SCHAFFNER: That's an old saying, but the body needs both hydration and energy to fight off an infection. And I put the special emphasis on hydration. Keep your fluids up regardless of the kind of infection you have because if you tend to get dehydrated, you're more likely to get the complication of pneumonia.
INSKEEP: Hydration is everything. But the professor says the No. 1 way to prevent a bad flu is? Go ahead, Michel.
MARTIN: Well, get your flu shot.
INSKEEP: OK.
MARTIN: And contrary to another common myth, getting vaccinated will not make you sick.
SCHAFFNER: You may get a bit of a sore arm, and some people do get a degree of fever. But that is just an example of your immune system starting to develop the protection to fight off the virus.
INSKEEP: Now, the flu strain and heavy circulation this season emerged after the most recent flu shot was developed. But early research from the University of Pennsylvania finds the vaccine still helps.
SCHAFFNER: Getting vaccinated is the single most important thing you can do to prevent influenza. And COVID, for that matter.
MARTIN: Schaffner says that's especially important for people who are older or pregnant or those at high risk because of chronic conditions like diabetes.
SCHAFFNER: If those folks are now going out indoors to crowds, put that mask back on. Keep your hand-washing up and try to avoid people who are coughing and sneezing.
MARTIN: And if you do get sick, Schaffner has one request.
SCHAFFNER: Please stay home. Don't go to work or school and be a dreaded spreader.
MARTIN: Dreaded spreader. He says the flu usually peaks in the U.S. in February, but the flu season can stick around as late as April. Time to get that shot. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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