Family Health & Help Center
Take Time To Get A Flu Vaccine
Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory disease that can lead to serious complications, hospitalization, or even death. Anyone can get the flu, and vaccination is the single best way to protect against influenza. Even healthy children and adults can get very sick from the flu and spread it to family and friends.
There are two reasons for getting a yearly flu vaccine.
1) The first reason is that because flu viruses are constantly changing, flu vaccines may be updated from one season to the next to protect against the most recent and most commonly circulating viruses.
2) The second reason that annual vaccination is recommended is that a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time and annual vaccination is needed for optimal protection. Who should get a flu vaccine?
Everyone is at risk for seasonal influenza.
Everyone, 6 months of age and older, is recommended to get vaccinated A flu vaccine
Health experts now recommend that everyone 6 months of age and older get vaccinated against influenza.
While everyone should get a flu vaccine each flu season, it’s especially important that the following groups get vaccinated:
- Pregnant women
- Children younger than 5, especially children under 2
- People 50 years of age 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 flu
For a complete list, see “Who Should Get Vaccinated Against Influenza” at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/whoshouldvax.htm
Influenza vaccine is not approved for use in children younger than 6 months, so they should not be vaccinated, but their caregivers should be vaccinated instead.
People who are sick with fever should wait until their symptoms pass to get vaccinated.
Some people should not be vaccinated before talking to their doctor. This includes:
- People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs.
- People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination in the past.
- People who developed Guillian-Barré syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine previously.
If you have questions about whether you should get a flu vaccine, contact The Family Health and Help Center at 765-569-4008.