People with Chronic Health Conditions Urged to Get a Flu Vaccine
By Ramona K. Anderson, Immunization Program Coordinator | New Britain Health District at November 30, 2023 | 8:00 am | Print
If you are one of the millions of Americans with a long-term health condition like asthma, diabetes, stroke, heart or lung disease, this important information about the flu applies to you. When combined with your existing health condition, the flu increases your risk of becoming seriously sick, which could result in an unexpected and expensive trip to the hospital—or even death.
“We have known for years that the flu is a serious disease, especially for people with certain chronic health conditions,” says Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service and CDC’s Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Each year it’s estimated that more than 200,000 people are hospitalized because of flu-related complications. Last season, nearly 90 percent of adults hospitalized from flu complications had a long-term health condition; as did about 50 percent of hospitalized children.
Health conditions that put people at greater risk of flu-related complications include asthma (even if controlled by medication), lung disease, endocrine disorders (like diabetes, both type 1 and type 2), and heart disease. Other conditions that confer greater risk of serious complications are neurologic conditions (like stroke and other conditions related to the nervous system, brain or spinal cord), blood disorders, kidney disorders, liver disorders or a weakened immune system.
The burden of flu on people with these conditions is demonstrated each flu season. During the 2010-2011 flu season, the most frequently-occurring underlying conditions of adults hospitalized with flu were cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders such as diabetes, chronic lung disease and asthma. In a study of 1,400 children hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza, almost half had an underlying condition, and nearly 1 in 5 had asthma or reactive airway disease.
Millions of Americans are impacted by long-term health conditions, although many people don’t know that they have one of these conditions. For example, diabetes impacts an estimated 25.8 million Americans, but 7 million people (27 percent of those who have the disease in the United States) don’t even know they have it. Heart disease affects an estimated 26.8 million Americans, and asthma affects 24.5 million Americans. Ask your doctor whether you have a health condition that makes you more vulnerable to the flu.
The message is clear: people with long-term health conditions should take action to protect themselves against the flu by getting a flu vaccine. Like last season, the 2011-2012 season’s vaccine will protect against 2009 H1N1 and two other flu viruses. Flu vaccines have been given for decades. They are safe, and cannot give you the flu. Everyone 6 months of age and older is recommended to get the 2012-2013 flu vaccine.
Symptoms of flu include fever (though not everyone with flu will have a fever), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. Dr. Schuchat said “Flu viruses are constantly changing. Each flu season, different flu viruses can spread, and they can affect people differently based on their body’s ability to fight infection.” Flu viruses are thought to spread mainly from person to person through the coughing, sneezing, or talking of someone with the flu. Flu viruses may also spread when people touch something with flu virus on it and then touch their mouth, eyes, or nose. Many other viruses spread these ways too.
Getting a flu vaccine is more convenient than ever before. Vaccines are available, for example, from your doctor or local health department, and at many retail pharmacies. Many employers, schools, colleges and universities also offer flu vaccines. Moreover, the annual vaccine supply continues to grow, helping to ensure that enough vaccine is available for everyone who wishes to be vaccinated. So when you’re out and about in your community and see signs offering flu shots, or when you visit your doctor for a routine check-up, remember: the flu vaccine is the single best way to prevent the flu.
National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is a national observance that was established to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination, as well as fostering greater use of flu vaccine after the holiday season into January and beyond. NIVW will be held Dec. 2-8.
