Articles For You

The 2010/11 flu season comes in the wake of an unprecedented amount of media attention on flu. This year everyone has heightened awareness regarding the dangers of influenza and the need for an annual flu vaccine. And with recently expanded vaccination guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even more people are being urged to schedule an annual flu vaccine shot.

The 2010/11 flu season comes in the wake of an unprecedented amount of media attention on flu. This year everyone has heightened awareness regarding the dangers of influenza and the need for an annual flu vaccine. And with recently expanded vaccination guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even more people are being urged to schedule an annual flu vaccine shot.

The newly expanded guidelines help eliminate confusion about who should get a flu vaccine shot: everyone ages 6 months and older is now advised to get the universal vaccine. For FFF Enterprises, the national largest and most trusted distributor of flu vaccine, getting this message out has become a top priority. FFF Enterprises, located in Temecula, Calif., has made a mission out of “helping healthcare care,” which includes protecting people from the deadly complications associated with the flu.

Even though flu awareness is higher, FFF says increasing flu vaccine compliance remains a challenge, since every year many people still buy into common flu vaccine myths. Frequently cited reasons for avoiding the flu vaccine include the belief you can catch the flu from the vaccine, or that if you were vaccinated last year you don’t need another flu vaccine shot this year. In fact, flu vaccines are composed of dead viruses, so you can’t become infected by getting your shot. Additionally, flu strains change each year so the 2009 vaccine will not protect you this year. Another important component is the fact that this year’s seasonal flu vaccine immunizes against the H1N1 pandemic strain and two other strains, providing even more protection.

Each year more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and over 36,000 die. While everyone should get a flu vaccine annually, it’s especially important that certain people get the flu vaccine either because they are at high risk of having serious flu-related complications or because they live with or care for people at high risk for developing flu-related complications. This includes older people, young children, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease).

While flu is always unpredictable and the severity of this year’s outbreak remains to be seen, in many ways, there has never been a better time to make getting a flu vaccine a priority. A good motivator, according to FFF, is the concept of “community immunity;” getting vaccinated protects not only the individual who gets the shot, but also that person’s family, coworkers and community at large.

Resources:

FFF Enterprises is the author of this article on Flu Vaccine.
Find more information about Flu Vaccines here.