Flu vaccine now available

Pumpkins aren’t the only living things that crop up this time of year. Flu viruses also begin circulating about now.

Flu season peaks in the Inland Northwest in February, but it’s wise to get vaccinated now, a public health official said.

Those most at risk are people whose immune systems are weak, children 6 months and older, and people over 50. However, everyone should get a shot, said Cynthia Taggart, spokeswoman for the Panhandle Health District in North Idaho.

The vaccine takes about seven to 10 days to reach its full effect, she said.

Public health officials have “tons and tons” of vaccine this year, unlike last year, Taggart said.

“The CDC is really certain they’ve hit it with this vaccine, which works on both the A and B” strains, she said.

And even if the shots don’t ward off a full-blown case, they help ensure the symptoms won’t be as severe, she said.

Flu shots are available at public health departments and many pharmacies.

Billings

Snowmobile use to be studied

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park administrators will conduct another environmental study of snowmobile impacts before deciding how many of the machines can access the parks this winter.

A District Court judge in Washington, D.C., last month threw out the Bush administration’s plan to allow 540 snowmobiles a day in the two parks and on the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway.

Judge Emmett Sullivan said the plan would increase air pollution and disturb wildlife. A ruling in a related case in District Court in Wyoming is pending.

In the interim, park officials say they will lay out the coming winter’s snowmobile caps by early November.

“We’re working on the details,” said Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash. “We’re committed to this planning process and having a decision by Dec. 15.”

Seattle

Guard brigade heading for Iraq

The Washington National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat Team has completed training in Wisconsin.

After Wednesday’s send-off ceremony at Fort McCoy it will head for Kuwait and a 12-month deployment in Iraq. The 81st will protect convoys and provide other security.

The brigade headquarters are in Seattle. It is made up of 2,400 soldiers from Washington and 900 from California.