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Officials advise flu shot for 6 mos. and up
The very young and older people are particularly vulnerable to getting the flu.
YOUNGSTOWN — Flu shots are valuable for almost everybody over 6 months old, but the emphasis this year is on school-age children in an effort to stop the spread of the contagious disease, public health officials said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is emphasizing pediatric vaccinations this year, said Linda Ewing, deputy director of clinical services for the Mahoning County District Board of Health.
School-age children can easily infect each other with the flu and then take the disease home to their brothers and sisters and parents and grandparents, Ewing said.
She said a limited amount of nasal spray, which contains weakened live flu virus, is available for children who don’t want shots.
Flu shots are recommended for everyone 6 months and older. But, the vaccine is especially recommended for the very young, people over age 50, and those with chronic illnesses, such as asthma and diabetes, because those age groups are particularly vulnerable to the flu and its potential side effects, such as pneumonia, Ewing said.
Influenza is not just a nuisance disease, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health, who also emphasized the importance of getting a flu shot.
He said about 36,000 people in the United States die each year of the flu and another 200,000 are hospitalized for the flu and its most serious complication, pneumonia, from which even healthy people can die.
The flu also can make people more susceptible to MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), said Dr. John Venglarcik, medical director for the county health department.
MRSA is a highly contagious staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics.
Dr. Venglarcik said the influenza vaccine protects against three strains of flu, but like last year, does not always protect against the strain of flu that develops.
Even when the vaccine is not on target, there is cross-immunity, and getting the shot will reduce the severity of the illness. No vaccine is 100 percent, but it’s worth getting the shot. For the vast majority of people, 6 months to the elderly, the flu vaccine works very well, he said.
Dr. Venglarcik said there are a variety of reasons for getting the vaccine. The primary ones are to prevent illness so one doesn’t miss work, circulate it in the community, and spread it to their loved ones, particularly grandpa and grandma. There is a 50 percent reduction in morbidity and mortality among the elderly who get the shot, Dr. Venglarcik said.
alcorn@vindy.com