October will arrive on Wednesday which marks the start of flu season in Iowa, and a pharmacist in northeast Iowa is urging people statewide to get vaccinated now. Ashley Brehme, pharmacist and owner of Brehme Drug in Manchester, says it usually takes about two weeks for the vaccine to take effect and for your body to build up immunity. The CDC says about 300,000 Iowans get the flu every year, and an average of 1,000 die from it, along with complications from pneumonia. State health officials say the flu is generally spread to others when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Flu symptoms include: cough, fever, chills, sore throat, muscle or body aches, runny or stuffy nose, headache, fatigue. Brehme says it’s important to get the vaccine early, and it should last well into next year.
