October 2007

A Few CCs of Prevention

 

Dear friend:

Flu season is just around the corner, so October and November are the time to take preventive action to reduce your risk of seasonal influenza. The best preventive action? Visit your health care provider and get a flu shot. Flu shots are safe and they're effective. They contain inactive (dead) flu virus and cannot cause or spread the disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are two groups that should get a flu shot every year:

1. People at high risk for complications from the flu, including:
   
   
   - Children from 6 months to five years of age;
   
   - Pregnant women;
   
   - People 50 years of age and older;
   
   - People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions; and
   
   - People who live in nursing homes and other long term care facilities.
   
   
2. People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
   
   - Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu (see above)
   
   - Household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children under 6 months old (these children are too young to be vaccinated)
   
   - Healthcare workers.

The flu shot is safe and effective. However, you should consult a physician before getting a shot if you suffer from egg-related allergies or you've been affected with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

You may have heard about the live attenuated flu vaccine (LAFV), or the nasal-spray flu vaccine. While safe for most healthy individuals between the ages of 5 and 49 who are not pregnant, it is a LIVE but WEAKENED virus. Thus, the following individuals should NOT receive the LAFV:

• People less than 2 years of age;
  
  
• People 50 Years of age and over;
  
  
• People with medical conditions that place them at high risk for complications from influenza, including chronic heart or lung disease, such as asthma or reactive airways disease; people with illnesses that weaken the immune system, or who take medications that can weaken the immune system;
  
  
• Children under 5 years old with a history of recurrent wheezing;
  
  
• Children or adolescents receiving aspirin;
  
  
• People with a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome; or
  
  
• Pregnant women.

If you have questions, look at information on the CDC's Seasonal Flu website at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/, and everyone should consult with their health care provider before getting any vaccination to determine the best way to prevent the flu.

Aloha,

Neil Abercrombie

Member of Congress