Friday, September 30, 2022
Public Health News & Alerts
COVID-19 boosters are key to keep Jefferson County in the green
Jefferson County has shifted from a "medium" to "low" COVID community level status for the first time in months. Vaccines continue to show effective protection, and the updated COVID-19 booster provides protection against the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants. These newer subvariants are more contagious and able to evade protection that your body might have against earlier subvariants.
CDC recommends that everyone ages 12 years and older in the United States receive an updated COVID-19 booster. Like the original boosters, the updated doses help restore protection that might have gone down since your last dose.
Everyone who is eligible―including those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised―is recommended to receive one dose of the updated booster at least two months after their last dose (either the final dose of the primary series or the last booster shot). To find a provider of COVID-19 boosters near you check out vaccines.gov.
At all COVID-19 Community Levels:
Make sure to keep yourself safe from West Nile virus
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness is continuing to test mosquitoes for West Nile virus and is actively conducting mosquito fogging in several ZIP codes where the virus has been detected.
Recently, there have been four people who have tested positive for the virus in Jefferson County, and one of them has died.
While the virus can infect people of all ages, people over 60 are at the greatest risk for severe disease. Those with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and people who have received organ transplants are also at greater risk for serious illness.
To check if your area has been fogged or will be fogged, call the mosquito hotline, 502-574-6641, or visit the department’s website. To make a complaint about mosquitos in your neighborhood, call Metro Call at 311 or 502-574-5000.
Avoid mosquito bites
- Use insect repellents when you go outdoors. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535 and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection. To optimize safety and effectiveness, repellents should be used according to the label instructions. More information about insect repellents can be found here.
- Wear long sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don't apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.
- Take extra care during peak mosquito biting hours of early morning and dusk. Be sure to use repellent and wear protective clothing from dusk to dawn or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
- Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitos outside.
Tomorrow Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins
Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat and before it is big enough to feel or cause symptoms.
Are you worried about the cost? CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program offers free or low-cost mammograms to women who have low incomes and are uninsured or underinsured. Find out if you qualify.
Ask your doctor when you should get a mammogram.
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Who should get the flu vaccine this season? You!
Flu vaccination has important benefits. It can reduce flu illnesses, visits to doctor’s offices, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as make symptoms less severe and reduce flu-related hospitalizations and deaths.
Different flu vaccines are approved for use in different age groups.
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