09.14.2020 Facebook Live Briefing Transcript

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Larry Little: Hi everybody. Thank you for joining us. I'm Larry Little. Flu season is here, and this morning Rodrigo Garcia-Reyes from public health, joins me to share information about preventative measures you and your family may consider, consider to stay well uh this year. But first we want to let you know that for this segment, we do remove our face coverings so everyone including our American Sign Language interpreters can clearly understand the information that we will be sharing uh this morning. Rodrigo thank you for being here. uh this year has it's 2020: we've had fires; we've been dealing with COVID most of the year; dealing with smoke; we had a small small cases of West Nile with birds and Milpitas; but flu season is here, but there's something we can do to get ahead of it. so thanks for being here and uh sharing information uh with us. so first who should be getting a flu shot?

RGR: good morning, Larry. the flu vaccine is recommended for anyone, six months and older. But it is important that folks 65 and older
get vaccinated, as well as people with chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease asthma or diabetes.

LL: all right so uh what type of protection will the flu shot provide for individuals?

RGR: well the flu vaccine protects against the the flu. we are approaching the flu season, and folks who get vaccinated would get
protection for several months.

LL: but it is not a guarantee? we're getting a flu vaccine for one strand correct?

RGR: that's correct every year, the the different strains of the virus change. that's why it is important that every year people get their flu shot.

LL: so how can people know, because we're in this COVID period, and some of the symptoms are very similar. how can people know the difference between the flu and COVID?

RGR: well people with the flu will experience this is a respiratory disease, and it's contagious it's caused by the virus of the
influenza, and the symptoms are very similar of those of the common cold. People who experience those symptoms should remain at home, should stay at home, and most likely in these times should also get tested for COVID, and just wait at home while they get the results.

LL:  yeah best to stay on the safe side and keep everyone around you and your family safe as well. so once a person takes the flu shot,
how long does it take before that flu shot becomes effective?

RGR: it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to start offering protection, and the protection lasts for uh for many months.

LL: and one of the great things here in Santa Clara County ... we're always providing resources. We have several testing sites where people can get tested for free for COVID and we are also going to be providing flu shots as well.

RGR: that's correct the Santa Clara County Public Health Department offers different locations through the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, and we have one at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds starting this Saturday and from then on every Saturday from 9 a.m to 4 p.m and you'll see you can find more information at the website scc phd dot org slash flu (sccphd.org/flu).

LL: and we want to mention here that flu shots will be available for everyone. immigrants are welcome. no appointment will be needed.
shots are available at this location for children age three uh and older, but you must be with a a parent of four three to 17. Of course the three-year-old is going to be with the parents! so in addition to getting a flu shot, what can community members do uh to protect themselves during flu season?

RGR:  well it is very very important that people follow all the precautions that we've been talking about in regards to COVID-19, that would also apply to the flu, which is making sure that you wash your hands, um every you know every single time you touch a surface, avoid touching your mouth, your nose, your eyes, cover your mouth and your uh and your nose ... if your sneeze or a cough, and if you have any of those symptoms, make sure that you stay at home to protect yourself and protect others.

LL: all right thank you so much again. We want people to know that this Saturday on the 19th from 9 a.m to 4 p.m., you can go to the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds and get a flu shot for free. Rodrigo, thank you for providing the information here today, and we will have you back sometime to talk about how it's all going because we're going to be doing flu shots for for some time.

RGR: Fantastic! I hope everyone gets vaccinated this year.

LL:  Thank you! all right thanks so much for being here. Air quality will be unhealthy today. folks with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens, should refrain from going outside. everyone else should reduce your time outside as well. we know outdoor dining is very popular here, but limit your time spent outdoors today, and support those local restaurants by getting take out. That's going to do it for this edition of Facebook Live here with the County of Santa Clara. Facebook Live in Spanish. i almost said español, and i said i wasn't going to speak Spanish today. it comes up on Wednesdays at 11 a.m and Facebook live in Vietnamese at 10 a.m on Thursday. Thanks for watching. Take care of yourselves. Be well and we will see you next time. Have a great day!

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