CDC officials state that a record 130 million doses of vaccine (about 10 million more than last year) will be available this season.
In the past there were occasions when it wasn't so easy getting hold of a flu vaccine shot.
This year, however the vaccines are in plentiful supply for the coming season, from October to March. You can get yourself vaccinated easily at any doctor's clinic. In most cases, the cost of the vaccination is borne by Medicare.
Even those who are not insured can get hold of a vaccination at a reasonable cost. People also have the option of using an inhaler delivered vaccine rather than the traditional injection.
Officially, the flu season starts on the first of October. Yet, many people, for some reason or another, do not think it important enough to have themselves vaccinated. On Wednesday, officials the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Washington lamented the few numbers of people who showed up for vaccinations in 2005 -06 in spite of some of them being at risk of losing their lives due to it.
People had grown used to the vaccine being unavailable in the past three years. The shortage of 2004 was due to one of the pharmaceutical companies producing the vaccine having to shut down. Enough of the vaccine was then manufactured in the next two years but distribution was faulty as a result of which many people could not get their hands on a vaccine.
This year, however, there appears to be enough of the vaccination for everybody who needs it. Even though anyone can be immunized it is recommended that people over 50, those at risk, and children below five be especially given the vaccination.
CDC officials state that a record 130 million doses of vaccine (about 10 million more than last year) will be available this season. It revealed that in the 2005-06 immunization seasons: only 20% of children from six months to 23 months, 30% of grownups from eighteen to 49 and 69% of senior citizens 65 and above were vaccinated, but expects many more to be immunized this year.
It recommends flu shots especially for pregnant women, people in long-term care, health care workers, children aged 6 months to 5 years, people older than 50 and people suffering from asthma, diabetes, heart disease or other chronic illnesses irrespective of their age.
The CDC pointed out that those over 65 also should be immunized against pneumococcal pneumonia. This type of pneumonia needs a one-time shot and perhaps a booster after five years for high-risk patients.
Young children need two doses a month apart the very first year they're inoculated. Last year, according to the CDC, just 21 percent of children ages 6 months to 2 years were fully vaccinated, and just over one in 10 who needed two doses got both.
They recommend that if a child missed the necessary second dose last year, he or she makes it up this year with two shots.
The CDC also announced that it had extended the recommended flu shot season so that anyone who cannot get a shot by October should be able to get one as late as January. Traditionally, the peak of the flu season is in February, but in many places, flu shots are offered only until December.
It is better to receive your vaccination at least a fortnight before the first of October since it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to have maximum effect. Since the virus changes in form each year new vaccines have to be created annually.
Head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,Dr. Julie Gerberding, said "Flu is a formidable foe. It is not an illness we should be complacent about."
Statistics at the CDC tell us that the seasonal flu virus kills about 36,000 people each year and necessitates over 200,000 hospitalizations.
The CDC is concerned about and is closely observing whether a new strain (one that hasn't been targeted by this year's vaccine) emerging toward the end of Australia's flu season will be causing any illness here.
The flu vaccine is available in two forms- the regular injection and the nasal spray such as FluMist which has now been approved for children from 2 years and above. To adults younger than 50.
Each vaccine contains three influenza viruses- one B virus one A (H3N2) virus, and one A (H1N1) virus, and. The viruses in the vaccine change each year dependant upon international surveillance and scientists' estimations about the types and strains of viruses that will circulate in a given year.
People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs, have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination in the past, have developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine previously and children less than 6 months of age should not be vaccinated.
