Dubuque County ramping up flu vaccine efforts for dairy farm workers

As concerns about bird flu continue nationwide, Dubuque County is using state-administered grant funds to provide dairy farm workers easier access to influenza vaccines. While no poultry flocks or dairy farms have been impacted in eastern Iowa, and no farm workers — or Iowans in general — have been diagnosed with the highly pathogenic avian influenza, precautions are still being taken to keep animals and workers safe. Recently, the county accepted $45,000 in Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant funds to drive an initiative to encourage dairy farm workers to get the seasonal influenza vaccine. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against bird flu, but it can decrease symptom severity and lessen the strain on health care providers during flu season, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also states that as more people become vaccinated for the seasonal flu, it makes it easier for providers to detect potential bird flu cases and prevents the rare co-infection of both flu viruses.