TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Fall Signals Need For Flu Shot

ADVERTISEMENT

The Suncoast News

Published: September 26, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Think you'll need a shot in the arm soon? Don't dally. Your health is at stake.

'Now is a good time for all adults and seniors to check with their physician or the health department and see what immunizations are needed to prevent contagious diseases,' said David Johnson, director of the Pasco County Health Department.

October or November is the best time to get a flu shot, but people still can get vaccinated in December and later, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu season can begin as early as October and last as late as May.

'The annual flu shot is probably on the minds of most adults and seniors as the seasonal flu is about to rear its ugly head,' Lilyan 'Vee' Dayton, the county health department's senior community health nurse, said in a statement.

Local health officials are promoting the 20th straight observance of Adult Immunization Awareness Week, which ends Saturday.
Vaccine supplies appear plentiful enough to last through the flu season, officials say.

Annual immunizations are needed because influenza viruses are always changing.

The flu shot is recommended for:

•Healthy children and adults.

•Women who will be pregnant during flu season.

•Adults and children who have chronic diseases of the lungs, heart, kidney, liver and blood, plus diabetes or any disease that suppresses the immune system.

•All health care workers and caregivers of ill people.
Hospitalization rates during the flu season increase substantially for people who are 65 and older.

People 50 to 64 with underlying medical conditions also run a higher risk of ending up in the hospital during that time.

Another important vaccination is the pneumonia shot, county health officials said. People can get the shot at any time during the year, and they often get it in tandem with a flu shot.

The pneumonia vaccine also protects against pneumococcal diseases of the blood and pneumococcal meningitis.

Most patients need only one dose of the pneumonia vaccine. The CDC recommends it be given at age 65 and not repeated.

Younger people with chronic diseases such as severe diabetes, heart or kidney disease can get the shot and then repeat it when they reach age 65.

STAYING HEALTHY IS WORTH A SHOT

'Vaccines aren't just for kids. Far too many adults become ill, are disabled and die each year from diseases that could easily have been prevented by vaccines,' the Centers for Disease Control Web site says. 'Thus everyone from young adults to senior citizens can benefit from immunizations.'

Here are facts about a few illnesses that vaccinations can prevent:

•Diphtheria, a respiratory disease caused by bacteria; symptoms are gradual onset of a sore throat and low-grade fever; can cause airway obstruction, coma and death if not treated; is spread by coughing and sneezing. If you have not had a booster shot in 10 years or more - or never had the initial three-shot series - you should be vaccinated.

•Herpes zoster or shingles, an extremely painful viral skin rash; symptoms include itching, tingling, blister-like lesions usually on one side of the body, often the face or trunk, and sometimes fever, headache and upset stomach; more common in people with suppressed immune systems. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends a single dose of the vaccine for adults 60 or older.

•Tetanus, a nervous system disease caused by bacteria; early symptoms are lockjaw, stiffness in the neck and abdomen, and difficulty swallowing; 10 percent to 20 percent of cases end in death, and the percentage is higher for older people. It enters the body through a break in the skin. If you have not had a booster shot in 10 years or more, you should get a tetanus shot. If you never had the initial childhood tetanus vaccines, you should receive a series of three tetanus shots.

For information, visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT