National Flu Vaccination Week Hopes to Motivate
Stragglers to Get It Done
'The time to get vaccinated continues in December,
January, and later,' CDC
Nov. 24, 2007 – Most senior citizens, by this time
of year, have already received a potentially life-saving flu shot. But,
some have not. It is these stragglers that are the target of National
Influenza Vaccination Week, which starts November 26 and ends December
2. Sponsors include the Centers for Disease Control, Health and Human
Services and the National Influenza Vaccine Summit.
There are a number of reasons people who have not
gotten their annual flu vaccination should do so in the coming days and
weeks.
First, the influenza season in the United States
usually lasts until May, with January and February often months with
many people becoming infected.
Second, there have been relatively few reported
cases of influenza in the U.S. so far this season. Thus, people who
still need to get an influenza vaccination will benefit from doing so --
and the sooner they get vaccinated, the better.
Few people get a flu vaccine after November, and
influenza vaccination for those recommended for vaccination remains
below target levels.
For the past two flu seasons, approximately 84
percent of all influenza vaccinations for the year were administered
during September through November, according to data from the National
Health Interview Survey.
"National Influenza Vaccination Week is aimed at
making people aware that the time to get a flu vaccine does not end in
November," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of CDC.s National Center for
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "The time to get vaccinated
continues in December, January, and later, to avoid getting the flu when
the season peaks."
CDC encourages state and local health departments,
public health partners, and health care providers to plan vaccination
clinics and other activities to promote influenza vaccination during
NIVW, and throughout the remainder of the influenza season.
During NIVW, CDC will highlight the importance of
influenza vaccination for all people at high risk, the people who live
with or care for them, and anyone who wants to be protected from
influenza. CDC, Families Fighting Flu, and other partners also have set
aside Tuesday, Nov. 27, as National Children's Flu Vaccination Day, to
put a special focus on the importance of vaccinating high-risk children
and the people close to them.
"Vaccination levels are not where we want them to
be among children or the people who have close contact with them," said
Schuchat. "So we are devoting a day to encourage all parents who want to
protect their children from influenza to have them vaccinated, and get
themselves vaccinated as well."
CDC's current recommendations state that all
children should get a flu vaccine each year starting at 6 months of age
up to their fifth birthday.
Flu can be a serious illness at any age. Children
less than 2 years old are nearly as likely to be hospitalized with
influenza as people aged 65 and older, and children between the ages of
2 and 5 are more likely to be taken to a doctor, an urgent care center,
or the emergency room because of flu.
Each year in the United States more than 20,000
children under the age of 5 are hospitalized due to influenza. Children
six months to 18 years of age with certain chronic health conditions,
such as asthma and diabetes, are also at high risk of having serious
flu-related complications and should be vaccinated every year.
Children under 6 months of age are the group of
kids most likely to get serious complications from the flu, but they are
too young to get a vaccine. The best way to protect them is to make sure
that every member of their household and all of their caregivers are
vaccinated. For more information about influenza and influenza vaccine,
visit www.cdc.gov/flu.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Web site:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu
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