From the Doctor’s Desk

Tips for the Upcoming Flu Season – Get Vaccinated Early and Often

2009 is shaping up to be a very “painful” year as far as influenza, or “the flu”, is concerned. It looks as though most people will need 2 to 3 shots this year to protect themselves against the various forms of flu that are expected to infect millions of people. To better understand the issues there is the usual “seasonal flu” which comes around every year and is responsible for the flu shots that most people get every year. Vaccine makers do their best, with the help of the CDC, to design the vaccine based on what they think are going to be the responsible strains of influenza for the coming year. They don’t always get it right and that is why some people still get the flu even though they were vaccinated. Contrary to popular belief, the vaccine does not give you the flu since the viral strains in the vaccine are killed. The other flu is the swine flu, otherwise known as the novel H1N1 strain. Various drug companies are working on an effective vaccine to combat this new strain of influenza.

As far as seasonal flu is concerned the new recommendation from the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) this year is that all children over 6 months of age receive the flu vaccine. In past years this has only been an encouragement but it is now a full-on recommendation. If the children have never received the vaccine they should receive 2 doses 1 month apart. Additional recommendations are listed at the end of this article. There is good news in all of this! Anyone between 2 and 49 can receive the intranasal vaccine which is obviously less painful and may even be more effective than the shot.

The CDC and the drug companies are currently working on a vaccine to protect against the current swine flu novel H1N1 strain that you all have heard so much about. Recommendations will be coming out in late September 2009, and will probably involve 2 shots 1 month apart. As you can see, the authorities have quite a task before them. They would like to get as many people as possible vaccinated against the seasonal flu as early as possible and once that is accomplished try to get as many people as possible vaccinated against swine flu.

In Chicago during elections the old saying used to be vote early and vote often. I think this can be applied to this year’s flu season as well. So get vaccinated early and get vaccinated often!

The 2009 influenza vaccination recommendations for children and teens aged 6 months to 18 years include the following:

All children aged 6 months to 18 years should be vaccinated annually.
Children and teens at higher risk for influenza complications should continue to be a focus of vaccination efforts. They include those who:

Are aged 6 months to 4 years (59 months)
Have chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus)
Are immunocompromised
Are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and therefore might be at risk of experiencing Reye's syndrome after influenza virus infection
Are residents of long-term care facilities
Will be pregnant during the influenza season

Children younger than 6 months cannot receive influenza vaccination.
Household (including breast-feeding mothers) and other close contacts of children younger than 6 months, including older children and teens, should be vaccinated.
The 2009 influenza vaccination recommendations for adults (>18 years) include the following:

Any adult who wants to reduce the risk of becoming ill with influenza or of transmitting it to others
Persons 50 years or older
Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season
Persons who have chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, hematologic or metabolic disorders
Persons who have immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medication or by HIV)
Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
Healthcare personnel
Household contacts and caregivers of children aged younger than 5 years and adults older than 50 years, with particular emphasis on vaccinating contacts of children younger than 6 months
Household contacts and caregivers of persons with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for severe complications from influenza