We have received our supply of the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine!    Health experts recommend that everyone older than 6 months should get a flu shot.

Flu shots can be given during any office visit, or on a walk-in basis.

It is especially important that the following groups receive the flu vaccine:

• Pregnant women (or women who plan to be pregnant during flu season)
• Household and caregiver contacts of children younger than 6 months of age (e.g. parents, siblings, and daycare providers)
• Health care and emergency medical services personnel
• People who have chronic medical conditions associated with a higher risk of influenza complications.

These are at highest risk for suffering complications from influenza (e.g. pneumonia, hospitalization, or death). Therefore people in these groups need the vaccine most of all.  (Please note that the vaccine cannot be given to babies less than 6 months old.)

Click here for more info about flu shots.

Getting a  flu shot is a matter of public health. Flu shots are the best way to protect yourself against getting the flu, but also the best way to prevent the spread of disease. The more people who get vaccinated, the fewer people who get sick.  Remember, flu can be dangerous. According to the CDC, each year in the United States, "on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from seasonal flu-related complications. Flu seasons are unpredictable and can be severe. Over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, estimates of flu-associated deaths in the United States range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people." Protect those around you...

• ...in your household
• ...in your neighborhood and workplace and school
• ...in your town
• ...in all of North Carolina
• ...in the entire United States

Infants younger than 6 months old are particularly vulnerable to the flu, but are too young to receive a flu shot.  The best way to protect them is for as many of us as possible to get our flu shots!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you think you have the flu, click here.

For other information about flu, click here.