9/1/2009
Seasonal flu vaccine now available for adults
Children’s seasonal flu vaccine expected later this month
Contact |
Alan Melnick, MD, MPH, Region IV Health Officer |
Vancouver, WA—While much attention has been focused on novel H1N1 (swine) flu, it’s important to remember that seasonal influenza is a serious illness that each year kills about 36,000 Americans and sends more than 200,000 to the hospital. Complications of seasonal flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes.
“Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and your family from seasonal flu. Because this year’s flu season is complicated by the spread of H1N1 flu, we strongly urge everyone to get a seasonal flu shot early as a way to minimize illness in our community,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, health officer for Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties in Southwest Washington. This year, seasonal flu vaccine has been produced earlier than usual, and is currently available for adults in many locations. Seasonal influenza vaccine for children is expected later this month. Call your health care provider for more information.
Health officials encourage everyone to get vaccinated for seasonal flu, especially those most at risk of complications. Those most at risk include:
• Children ages six months to their 19th birthday
• Pregnant women
• People ages 50 and older
• People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from seasonal flu, including:
- Health care workers
- Household contacts of people at high risk for complications from seasonal flu
- Household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children younger than 6 months (these children are too young to be vaccinated)
To get a seasonal flu shot, you can:
• Contact health care providers
• Contact local pharmacies, such as those at Albertsons, Fred Meyer, Longs, Rite Aid, Safeway, and Walgreens
• Visit the Flu Clinic Locator online at http://www.flucliniclocator.org.
Businesses wishing to have seasonal flu shots provided onsite to staff can call:
• Adventist Health: 503-251-6818
• Get A flushot.com: 877-FLU-SHOT
• Maxim Health Systems: 800-79-MAXIM
Vaccination with the live, nasal-spray flu vaccine (FluMist) is an option for healthy people ages 2 to 49, except for pregnant women. Health care workers younger than 50 who are in good health and are not providing care to anyone who has a severely weakened immune system should consider receiving FluMist.
In addition to vaccination, the following guidelines are recommended to reduce the risk of developing or spreading influenza, colds and other diseases:
• Cover your coughs and sneezes. Cough or sneeze into your elbow. If you cough or sneeze into your hands, you risk spreading disease when you touch surfaces that others come into contact with.
• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizers.
• Stay home if you are sick. If you are sick with flu-like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, except to get medical care or other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to prevent spreading illness.
A seasonal vaccine will not protect you against novel H1N1 (swine flu). However, a new vaccine against H1N1 flu is being produced and will start to become available this fall. Federal guidelines call for it to be offered to those at highest risk for complications from H1N1 before it is offered to the general public.
This new H1N1 vaccine will not protect you against seasonal flu. Therefore, health officials urge people to get the seasonal flu vaccine now and obtain the novel H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. For more information about seasonal flu visit http://www.clark.wa.gov/public-health/diseases/flu.html or flu.gov. More information on H1N1 flu (swine flu) is available at http://www.flunewsswwashington.org/.
