By Katie Knapp
Omaha, NE – Nebraska has its first confirmed case of the flu, and health officials are encouraging anyone who hasn't done so to get a flu shot.
The first confirmed case, announced Tuesday, is in Lancaster County. In Omaha, the Visiting Nurses Association is hosting flu shot clinics this week. Registered Nurse Kris Shipp with the VNA says it takes about two weeks after you get a flu shot for immunity to build up. Shipp says it's not true that you can get the flu from getting a flu shot.
She says if you do catch the flu, you can be treated with antivirals so long as you visit the doctor within 48 hours. Without treatment, Shipp says the flu can lead to respiratory complications and pneumonia.
More than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year because of the flu, according to health officials.