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With Ebola Scare Over, Focus Now Turns To Flu

Flu vaccine (top); Toinette Parilla, City of Cleveland's Dir of Public Hlth (pic: US Army Corps of Engineers/Brian Bull)
Flu vaccine (top); Toinette Parilla, City of Cleveland's Dir of Public Hlth (pic: US Army Corps of Engineers/Brian Bull)

Vaccines became available last month, and health officials say it takes up to two weeks for sufficient antibodies to build up in a person's body to ward off the flu.

At a press conference this past week, Cleveland's Director of Public Safety, Toinette Parilla summarized the city's campaign.

"We have coordinated with all of our local health systems, our Cuyahoga County Board of Health, to ensure that we are pushing flu vaccines across the board," said Parilla.

"We need to make sure we get in front of the flu, to add that added level of health and safety."

The CDC says the timing of flu season is hard to predict. While it commonly peaks between December and February, it can start as early as October.

The current vaccine safeguards users against three common strains of flu.

Health officials add that while seasonal influenza and the Ebola virus can cause similar symptoms, flu is the likeliest - and common - ailment.