Flu Vaccine: More Than Enough to Go Around
By: Carole Fleck; Source: AARP Bulletin Date Posted: 2006-10-13 10:01:00-04:00
During the flu season of 2004-2005, unprecedented shortages and delays of vaccine sent waves of panic around the country. This year, it's a different story, with public officials anticipating a record supply.
Vaccine makers plan to produce 100 million doses, 17 percent more than were available last flu season. Consequently, the government is recommending for the first time that people 50 and older be immunized instead of just those 65 and older. That's also the case for children from 6 months to 5 years, up from age 2.
Curtis Allen, spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says adults 50-plus need flu shots because "they may have hidden medical problems they're not aware of." Older people are more susceptible to pneumonia and other serious complications from flu, a viral respiratory infection easily spread by sneezing, coughing or even speaking. Each year, an average of 36,000 people die from flu complications—most of them elderly—and more than 200,000 are hospitalized.
Nursing homes serving Medicare and Medicaid patients are required to offer flu shots to residents, says Mary Kahn, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Patients and/or their families ... can refuse the shot," she says, "but the nursing home has to offer."
Vaccines are expected to be available to the public by the end of October. An immunizing nasal spray will also be available for healthy people ages 5 to 49. The shots and spray cost between $20 and $30; Medicare covers the shots.
For more information on flu prevention and treatment, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. The American Lung Association online also provides a "locator" of local public clinics giving flu shots.
Additional Related Links:
Anthony Fauci on Avian Flu (December 2005)
Protect yourself from the flu (AARP.org)
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