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Posts Tagged as CDC
Posted September 21, 2010 | Filed in CDC Alerts, Flu Shots, Flu Tips, Risk/Priority Groups
Receiving a flu vaccination is recommended for everyone six months and older, particularly for seniors (65 and over), residents of nursing homes, and other high-risk groups. As we age, our ability to fight off infection, including influenza and the common cold becomes more difficult. The flu facts for this age group are alarming and should be taken very seriously. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 9 out of 10 flu-related deaths and 60 percent of flu-related hospitalizations occur within the senior population.1
So how do those who are 65 plus prevent the flu and its potentially life-threatening complications? The first step that the CDC recommends is to get a flu shot. The 2010-2011 flu vaccine contains protection against three flu strains, including the H1N1 virus.
In addition to getting a flu shot, other steps that seniors can take to prevent the flu, as well as the common cold are to practice healthy behaviors, such as:
- Frequent hand washing
- Use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when on-the-go
- Staying away from others when they are sick
- Covering coughs and sneezes
- Discarding used tissues
- Avoiding touching of the eyes, nose, and mouth
- Eating balanced meals and drinking plenty of fluids
- Getting enough sleep (7-8 hours each night)
Finally, seek medical attention if you begin to notice flu-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, headache, sore throat, cough, runny/stuffy nose, chills, and fatigue. This is the best way to avoid further complications, such as pneumonia.
It is important to keep in mind that by getting a flu shot annually, seniors not only help to protect themselves from the flu, but also their spouses, children, and grandchildren. Stay healthy this season!
Find a flu shot location near you.
E-Mail a Virtual Card to your friends and family so that they remember to get their flu shots too.
Posted September 17, 2010 | Filed in CDC Alerts, Flu Shots, Flu Tips, Risk/Priority Groups
This is the first year the CDC is advising that all people over 6 months of age get their flu shot, regardless of how healthy they are. This is because in 2009, healthy people between the ages of 18-49, once largely unaffected by influenza, became more highly susceptible to the H1N1 flu virus.
Here are five reasons why you should still get the flu vaccine, even if you are young and healthy:
- Getting vaccinated reduces your risk of becoming sick and having to miss school or work as a result.
- The flu can lead to other complications, such as pneumonia, and in extreme cases, be fatal, even if you have a strong immune system.(As evidenced by the 2009 flu season)
- You may carry risk factors you are not aware of that increase your chance of getting the flu.
- Getting vaccinated reduces your risk of becoming infected with the virus and subsequently passing it on to friends and loved ones who are at higher risk, such as infants, pregnant women, or the elderly.
- Getting vaccinated is the single best way to benefit your health and the health of those around you this flu season[1].
In the past, people often thought they should weigh the risk of getting the vaccine against the risk of not getting it. This methodology has changed. In February 2010, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted for “universal” flu vaccination in the U.S. to expand protection against the flu to more people. This includes children as young as 6 months, because the risk to their health is much greater if they do not receive the vaccine. While everyone should get a flu vaccine each flu season, it’s especially important that certain people get vaccinated either because they are at high risk of having serious flu-related complications or because they live with or care for people at high risk for developing flu-related complications.
Getting vaccinated takes only a matter of minutes, it may just be the easiest health decision you’ll ever make.
Find a flu clinic location near you to receive your vaccine today.
1 www.cdc.gov/flu
Posted August 30, 2010 | Filed in CDC Alerts, Flu Shots, Pediatric
For the first time ever, the CDC recommends that all people age six months and older receive a flu shot. This year’s vaccine combines strains of seasonal flu and H1N1. Everyone over the age of nine years old will need only one dose of the vaccine. However, if a child six months through eight years old received at least one H1N1 vaccine last year, he/she should receive only one seasonal vaccine this year, provided he/she has had two seasonal shots in a previous season. To learn more about vaccination recommendations for children ages six months through eight years of age, download the chart below, which shows the decision-making process on dosage for this age range.
DOWNLOAD .PDF
Posted August 24, 2010 | Filed in Flu Shots, Flu Tips, H1N1 (Swine Flu), Risk/Priority Groups
Last flu season, the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as Swine flu, became the first global influenza pandemic in more than 40 years. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the pandemic over, H1N1 remains a threat this flu season and the CDC says that “it is likely that 2009 H1N1 viruses will continue to spread along with seasonal viruses in the U.S. during the 2010-2011 flu season.” (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/1011season.htm)
Last year the H1N1 virus “resulted in substantial illness, hospitalizations and deaths,” according to the CDC. While the virus is not expected to be as widespread as last season, it remains one of the strains likely to infect individuals this season. Like other years, the best way to protect yourself from flu is through a flu shot. And while last year the H1N1 vaccine was a separate vaccination from the annual seasonal flu vaccine, this year, protection against last year’s H1N1 virus is included in the seasonal flu vaccine.
The CDC has also expanded its recommendations for who should get vaccinated. The CDC now recommends that everyone six months and older get a 2010-2011 flu vaccine to protect themselves against influenza. While people age 50 and older remain a high risk group for seasonal influenza, the H1N1 virus disproportionately affected younger patients in the 2009-2010 influenza season. In fact, the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from July 30 states that “279 laboratory-confirmed, influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported, nearly four times the average reported in the previous five influenza seasons.”
Learn more about seasonal flu and H1N1
Use findaflushot.com’s resource center to learn more about the differences between seasonal flu and H1N1 and find out more information about flu and flu vaccines by reading through these frequently asked questions. Please consult the CDC Web site for additional information on who should be vaccinated and be sure to speak to your health care provider before any vaccinations.
Schedule a flu shot reminder
Need a reminder to get a flu shot? Sign up for a flu shot reminder and receive an e-mail in your inbox reminding you to get vaccinated. Also, check back on findaflushot.com on September 1 to search for flu vaccine clinics in your area for the 2010-2011 season.