Flu Vaccine articles are typical for this time of year. In fact we recently blogged about the Flu Vaccine, sending our first early warning alert on September 13 of this year.
FLASS wanted friends and family to have plenty of time to get their flu shots before the flu season really hit us.
We all know the best connection to flu protection for your family is the flu vaccine. We wondered at that time if it was a little early to be alerting you. However, as you will see below, the timing was not too early.
Flu Vaccine and the First Fatality of this Flu Season
The New York Times released a story today.
The influenza overtakes the very young and the very old. Protect them with the flu vaccine.
They stated the “Florida Department of Health said that a child tested positive for one of the strains, influenza B, and later died.”
And they added that the child had not been inoculated with the flu vaccine. However, they stated that he or she died at some time between October 30 and Sept. 6.
Chilling Statistics.
Later, CNN also announced that the first victim of the new flu season was a child, and they too added that the child had not received the flu vaccine.
And all the major networks followed suit. And now we know; the flu is with us here in Florida. We have been warned in a terrible way, and we can only add that our hearts go out to this annonymous child’s devastated family.
Setting the Record Straight: Common Influenza Can Be Deadly
Meanwhile, Dr. Richard Webby, a faculty member of the infectious disease department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, said “Unfortunately, this is what influenza does. Influenza B can be quite a severe infection for younger children so it’s tragic but, unfortunately, nothing that we don’t expect from flu.”
That First Statistical Flu Death: Never Fair
In this portrait of a flu virus attacking a healthy cell, we see a lesson: Get your flu shot.
It is tragic that the influenza, the simple,ordinary, every-day flu, can actually take lives. And over the years, we have seen many such heart-breaking statistics at the beginning, middle and end of flu season.
And yet, it is always a shock that such a common disease can be so deadly. Indeed, this death caused many headlines, coast-to-coast simply “because it occurred before any significant outbreaks in Florida or beyond and before many people have even received the vaccination.”
Here in Florida, people simply did not have time to process the information and get their flu shots.
The Protection Connection: Get Your Flu Facts and Your Flu Shots
Flu is not one of the fun things about the fall season. Flu does not rank with football, Halloween, or movie night at home in front of the fireplace.
1. The CDC states that the flu has caused between 140,000 and 710,000 hospitalizations yearly.
2. They also estimate that and between 12,000 and 56,000 people have died each year since they started keeping records in 2010.
3. Calculations for last year are not yet available, but they suspect that it was record-breaking in severity. And they are cautiously commenting that the coming season will also be rough.
The Flu Vaccine Menu: A Short List of Available Vaccines
This is only an abbreviated list, however the CDC has a very complete page on the various vaccines at their online resource.
- Standard Dose Flu Shots: The most common way of making flu vaccine is using an egg-based manufacturing
Getting the Flu vaccine is much better than getting the flu, even if you don’t like needles.
process.
- Shots made with virus grown in cell culture: The CDC informs us that manufacturers have used for this technique for more than 70 years. Egg-based vaccine manufacturing is used to make both inactivated or dead vaccine (the “flu shot”) and live attenuated (weakened) vaccine (the “nasal spray flu vaccine.”)
- Health professionals inject the standard dose flu shot with a needle. However, Alfluria and Alfluria Quadrivalent can administered to some people (those aged 18 through 64 years) with a jet injector.
- Something Special for Senior Citizens: High Dose High-dose Shots made with adjuvant for older people.
- Recombinant Flu Vaccine: Shots made using a vaccine production technology (recombinant vaccine) that does not
You can not see the flu virus, but it’s all around you. Protect your family with the flu vaccine.
require the use of flu virus. “Recombinant flu vaccine does not use the influenza virus or chicken eggs in its manufacturing process.”
Special News abouot Recombinant Flu Vaccine: Please Beware!
- Note: Recombinant flu vaccine has a slightly shorter shelf life than most other currently available injectable influenza vaccines.
It expires 9 months from the production date. Our health care providers at FLASS always check the expiration date before administering recombinant flu vaccine.
In A Class By Itself: The Nasal Spray Vaccine
Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) – or the nasal spray vaccine – Special alert: LAIV is approved for use in non-pregnant individuals, 2 years through 49 years of age. Special Caution: FLASS recommends you avoid the use of nasal spray flu vaccine if you have an underlying medical condition.One Note on the Manufacture of Flu Vaccine
Our Terrific Take-Away: Please Get Your Flu Shot Today
The Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists are not alone in recommending that you make getting the flu vaccine a family priority. We join the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases, the AMA and many other medical groups in endorsing the flu shot.
Sheild yourself, your family and your community with the best method of flu prevention: The Flu Shot. FLASS thanks you for reading our blog, and we are honored to be your healthcare connection to flu protection, with the flu vaccine. Schedule your shots today.