Flu season advice

I plan on getting a seasonal flu vaccine this year as they are readily available through grocery store pharmacies and health clinics. Last fall the new strain H1N1 was spreading quickly and the vaccine wasn’t yet available to everyone. This year the CDC http://www.cdc.gov/flu/ is recommending that everyone over the age of six months get the vaccine. From the site.

“Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine as soon as vaccine is available this fall. While flu is unpredictable, it’s likely that 2009 H1N1 viruses and regular seasonal viruses will cause illness in the U.S. this flu season. The 2010-2011 flu vaccine will protect against three different flu viruses: an H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus and the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season.”

I’m wondering if my family knows about herd immunity, and no it is not just about cows, it is why people need to get vaccinated. You do it to protect the members of the population that cannot be vaccinated the babies, the sick, those who have had organ transplants etc. Modern vaccines have low risks and they are proven to save lives.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Herd immunity (or community immunity) describes a type of immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a portion of the population (or herd) provides protection to unprotected individuals.^[1] Herd immunity theory proposes that, in diseases passed from individual to individual, it is more difficult to maintain a chain of infection when large numbers of a population are immune. The higher the proportion of individuals who are immune, the lower the likelihood that a susceptible person will come into contact with an infectious individual.^[2]”

I always give money to organizations that provide vaccinations where needed in the poorest countries because so many children in our world die from preventable diseases. Get your own vaccinations and give generously to provide them for others. Vaccines are good.

Lou