Maxim Health Systems Supports National Influenza Vaccination Week
What: Maxim Health Systems proudly supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) annual National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW), which was created in response to poor vaccination rates that follow Thanksgiving, despite the fact that cases of influenza peak in February or later. Maxim continues to demonstrate its support of NIVW by actively educating the general public on the importance getting vaccinated, and by providing insight on flu-related topics through its informational Web site, info.findaflushot.com.
Who:
Steve Pellito, National Director of Wellness, Maxim Health Systems. Mr. Pellito can provide perspective on the cost of flu to business; flu facts vs. myths; and tech-focused approaches for making vaccination easier for the whole family.
W. John Langley, M.D, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer, Maxim Healthcare Services. Dr. Langley is a board-certified pediatrician with more than 35 years of experience practicing medicine. He can help to explain the effectiveness of the flu shot; protecting your family against the flu; CDC universal recommendations; and warning signs in children and adults.
Maxim Health Systems operates more than 28,000 influenza clinics across the country, making them one of the nation’s largest flu clinic providers. In addition to running on-site influenza clinics in many large retail pharmacy and grocery chains, corporate employers and places of worship, Maxim is also a leader in using social media during the flu season. Their site, www.findaflushot.com, has the latest information on flu and helpful prevention tips.
When: Sunday, December 5 – Saturday, December 11, 2010. Dr. Langley and Mr.Pellito are available to speak with reporters throughout the week. To schedule an interview, or for more information, please contact Monica Huang at 202.659.7936 or by e-mail at mhuang@apcoworldwide.com.
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About Maxim Health Systems
Maxim Health Systems is a division of Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc. Established in 1996, Maxim Health Systems offers a full line of comprehensive wellness services to Corporate and retail clients, in addition to schools, senior living facilities, and physician offices. We provide a variety of services including immunization programs, health screenings and health fairs. Our flu vaccine program has administered more than 12 million immunizations in the last four years alone. Together with Maxim Healthcare Services, we have branch locations in most metropolitan areas across the nation. For more information contact us at www.findaflushot.com/contact.php. Follow Maxim Healthcare Services on Twitter at @findaflushot.
It’s official! Flu season has arrived and this has been one interesting week in flu news. Plenty of myth-busting news stories about the flu and even more intriguing… a lot of scientific advancements in the flu vaccine. Researchers are fast at work to improve the time it takes to develop the seasonal flu vaccine each year, as well as the accuracy of predicting future strains. Find out how with these news stories…
1) “Designing Life: What’s Next for J. Craig Venter?” CBS 60 Minutes (November 18, 2010) – “The microbiologist whose scientists have already mapped the human genome and created what he calls ‘the first synthetic species’ says the next breakthrough could be a flu vaccine that takes hours rather than months to produce. Dr. Craig Venter talks to Steve Kroft and takes him on a tour of his lab on “60 Minutes,” this Sunday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. DNA programs all living things and now that his team has been able to create an organism with entirely man made DNA Venter argues that the potential to bioengineer useful things is nearly limitless. ‘I see in the future bioengineered almost everything you can imagine that we use,’ says Venter, the founder of the J. Craig Venter Institute, a non-profit research lab, and also Synthetic Genomics Inc., a for-profit biotech company. ‘The first things will start to come out in the next few years…possibly, next year’s flu vaccine could come from these synthetic DNA processes,’ he tells Kroft. ‘Instead of months to make a new vaccine each year, we could do it in 24 hours or less.’” Continue reading…
2)“Rice scientists use formula to identify next strain of flu” Houston Chronicle (TX) (November 16, 2010) – “Rice University scientists have developed a mathematical model that predicts the flu strain the upcoming season’s vaccine should cover more accurately and quickly than the current system. In a retrospective study published this week, the new model did better at predicting the upcoming season’s circulating flu strains than government health agencies. The model can determine whether an incipient strain will become dominant in as soon as two weeks after the sequencing of the strain’s genetic code.” Continue reading…
3)“5 myths about the flu” USA Today (November 15, 2010) – “In a new survey by Consumer Reports, only 30% of respondents were “very confident” that this year’s flu shot is safe. That leaves many doctors and scientists perplexed. Of all the many things to fear in the world, they say, vaccines should be at the bottom of the list. USA TODAY’s Liz Szabo talked to vaccine safety experts to address some of the most common myths. TWITTER: #fluchat questions & doctor’s answers. Myth 1: The flu shot causes the flu. The viruses in the flu shot are dead, so they can’t give people the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its most common side effect is soreness in the arm… Myth 2: The flu is just a bad cold. While some people develop worse symptoms than others, flu symptoms tend to be much more severe than — and come on much more suddenly — than a cold. Many who got H1N1 (swine flu) last year were out of work or school for a week with fever, body aches, sore throat, fatigue, headaches and a runny or congested nose, according to the CDC… Myth 3: This year’s shot — which protects against both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines — is riskier than earlier versions. Actually, the new flu shot was made the same way as every other flu shot, says Randy Bergen of Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek, Calif…. Myth 4: Only sick people need a flu shot. While older people and newborns are usually at greatest risk for complications, swine flu is actually most threatening to the young… Myth 5: Flu shots contain methyl mercury and other toxic chemicals. Although there’s no evidence that the ethyl mercury-based preservative thimerosal causes harm, vaccine makers responded to public concerns in 2001 and stopped using it in most vaccines.” Continue reading…
4) “Adults urged to get flu, whooping cough vaccines to protect kids” USA Today (November 17, 2010) – “As flu cases begin appearing across the country, and California battles its largest whooping cough outbreak in more than 60 years, health officials are urging adults to get vaccinated as a way protect babies and other vulnerable patients. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends flu shots for everyone over 6 months old, only a third of Americans in this age group received one in 2009, according to the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey… Babies can’t be vaccinated against the flu until age 6 months, says the CDC’s Melinda Wharton. The only way to protect infants against these infections is to create a ‘cocoon’ of vaccinated people around them — parents, grandparents, older siblings, babysitters, Wharton says.” Continue reading…
5) “To Your Good Health: Flu attacks lungs, not digestive tract” Columbus Dispatch (OH) (November 16, 2010) – “Q: I don’t intend to get the flu vaccine. I have had the flu a couple of times, and all it amounted to was a day of diarrhea. I don’t need a vaccine for that. I have also heard that the vaccine can paralyze you. If I change my mind, when is the best time to get it? How long does it last? A: The flu, or influenza, is a serious illness. It kills about 36,000 Americans every year. It’s an illness of the respiratory system, not the digestive tract. It comes on suddenly and causes a cough with a high temperature. Muscles ache. The symptoms are much more dramatic than those of the common cold. Diarrhea is not a common sign of flu. The swine flu might cause loose stools for a day or two, but the other flu viruses don’t home in on the digestive tract. “Intestinal flu” is a misnomer. The flu vaccine works well for most people. If a vaccinated person catches the flu, symptoms are less serious and less prolonged. Reactions to the vaccine are uncommon and mostly minor — swelling at the injection site or a day or so of muscle discomfort.” Continue reading…
6) “Situation Update: Summary of Weekly FluView” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (November 7-13, 2010) — According to the November 19, 2010 FluView report, for the week of November 7-13, 2010, flu activity remained low in the United States overall, but some key indicators increased over the previous week’s report. The percentage of viruses testing positive for influenza nationally continued to increase, led by sharp increases in the southeast region of the country. This increase in the number of specimens testing positive for influenza is an early signal that flu activity is picking up. In most years, flu activity doesn’t peak until January or February, although the timing of peak influenza activity can vary from year to year and occur anytime from late fall to early spring. Continue reading…
Think getting vaccinated against flu is inconvenient? We all have busy lives and taking time out of our day to do anything can seem like an inconvenience. But that excuse doesn’t fly for getting a flu shot.
Flu shot clinics are held in hundreds of convenient locations nationwide, including down the street at your local grocery store or pharmacy. And now, remembering to get a flu shot is a lot easier. Findaflushot.com has implemented reminder systems so you can easily remember to get vaccinated. You can find a flu shot clinic near you and sign up for a text message reminder or e-mail alert to remind you of what day the clinic occurs.
It’s easy. Simply go to the flu clinic locator on findaflushot.com and search for a clinic. When you see a clinic in your area, you can click on “Remind Me via Text” to get a text message the day of the clinic or click on “Remind Me via E-Mail” to get an e-mail reminder the day before your clinic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications each year.1 The text and e-mail reminders are a simple solution in your efforts to stay healthy despite a busy, on-the-go lifestyle.
Have friends and family that are short on time? Send them an eCard to remind them to get a flu shot. Tell them to take 10 minutes in 2010 to help protect them against flu this season.
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm
Video courtesy of Maryland Partnership for Prevention
You can’t be with your kids all the time. So, as they go off to school this fall, it is important you prepare them with the knowledge of how to help protect themselves from the flu.
The Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) is a great resource for creating talking points to chat with your kids about the upcoming flu season. Prevention is the key to helping your child stay healthy and safe during the flu season. Some tips from the CNMC include:
Find out what they know
Asking the question of what they know about the flu is the first step
Explain the facts
Explain how the flu is spread
Explain what the flu is
Explain where they can catch the flu
Explain how doctors and nurses are there to help
Talk about hygiene
Teach your children to wash their hands using soap and water for 20 seconds or more
Provide them with a small portable hand sanitizer and explain when to use it
Teach them that it is important to talk to you when they are feeling ill to help keep everyone healthy
Talk to them about the importance of getting vaccinated
Explain how a vaccine works
Tell your child how millions of people get vaccinated and how it keeps everyone safe
If your child gets sick
It is important to explain the recovery process and how long it takes
Tell them why you are taking their temperature and giving them medicine
Finally, the two most important tips are to stay informed and lead by example. Don’t just tell your child how to stay healthy, but show them by getting your flu shot and using the proper coughing and sneezing techniques.
about friends getting sick can be a scary time for children. Help them stay informed and let them know that chances of getting sick are minimized if you are prepared.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) encourages anyone above the age of six months to receive the vaccine for flu. Unlike last year, this year’s seasonal influenza vaccine contains the H1N1 (swine flu) strain, eliminating the need to receive a second immunization to receive complete protection. Every flu season is different, which is why it is important to get vaccinated every year. Even those who received the H1N1 vaccine in 2009 should receive a 2010 seasonal flu shot.
Groups that are highly recommended to receive the flu shot are those who want to reduce the risk of contracting the flu, people at high risk of having serious complications from influenza, and people who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, such as those with compromised immune systems and young children.
High-Risk Groups
Children aged six months – 18 years old
Each year, approximately 20,000 children are hospitalized due to flu-related complications, such as pneumonia.1 The flu can kill healthy children. Children under five years old are particularly vulnerable. The best way to prevent your child from getting the flu is to have them receive the flu vaccine.1 For any child under nine years who is receiving the vaccine for the first time, two doses are required at least four weeks apart from each other. Since the flu vaccine has not been approved for infants under six months, the best way to protect them is to make sure everyone in your household above six months gets a flu shot.
Pregnant women
Pregnant women are at a high risk for getting the flu, as well as several complications that may accompany it, such as pneumonia and respiratory distress. This can, in turn, cause miscarriage and premature labor. Getting a flu shot is a good way to prevent these problems. The flu shot takes about two weeks after vaccination to be effective.
Chronic medical conditions People with chronic medical issues such as, asthma or another lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, blood disease, etc. can be especially vulnerable to contracting influenza, as well as complications from the flu, such as pneumonia. People with immune system problems caused either by disease (e.g., HIV or lymphoma) or by medication (e.g., chemotherapy or radiation therapy) are also strongly urged to get a flu shot.
Other groups that are at high risk for influenza are residents of nursing homes and other long term care facilities, as well as, people 65 years of age and older.
People Who Should Not Receive the Flu Shot
There are very few people who are not advised to receive the flu shot. Those people recommended to discuss the benefits and risks of vaccination with their doctor are: those with severe allergies (life threatening) to any component of the vaccine, those with a history of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and those who are moderately or severely ill at the time of immunization.
The Importance of Receiving a Flu Shot
Each year, it is estimated that 25-50 million flu cases are reported in the U.S. Approximately 200,000 of these cases require hospitalization and 36,000 result in death.1Flu symptoms include fever, chills, coughing, sore throat, fatigue, headache, and runny nose.
The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu shot every year. The influenza vaccine works by exposing your body to the influenza virus so that your body can build up antibodies to the virus, which will protect you from getting the flu. The viruses in inactivated influenza vaccine have been killed, so you cannot get influenza from the vaccine.
Flu season usually begins in November and lasts until April. The optimal time to receive a flu shot is at the start of flu season, between October and November.
