More people are expected to take the flu vaccine than ever before after the Centers for Disease Control decided to increase the recommended age for vaccination to those from 6 months old to 18 years. The previous recommended age group were those between 6 months and 5 years.
The CDC increased the age group to target all school-aged children since they are the population that bears the greatest disease burden and are at a significantly higher risk of needing influenza-related medical care compared with healthy adults.
School-aged children are two to three more times likely to contract the disease.
Because of the increase in children that should take the vaccine, CDC says they aim to vaccinate 261 million people.
The St. Charles Community Health Center has begun offering flu shots for $25 during clinic hours, which are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Additionally, the Winn-Dixie in Luling will offer shots from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 9 and the Winn-Dixie in Destrehan will have vaccinations available from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 10. Walgreens in Boutte will offer flu shots on Oct. 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Julia Bodden, from the St. Charles Community Health Center, says that the clinic expects to vaccinate at least 2,000 people.
“All children under 18 and older than 6 months should get the vaccination, as should anyone over 50 and those of any age that have a chronic disease,” she said.
In an average year, 60 million Americans get the flu and 36,000 die from complications. The elderly have the greatest risk of death.
In addition to children and those over 50, pregnant women and those that work with children should also be vaccinated.
Influenza is especially dangerous because it spreads easily, with the highest infection rates occurring in children.
Influenza can also worsen chronic medical conditions or cause serious complications in people with a variety of chronic illnesses.
Flu season annually begins in October and can end as late as May. The season usually peaks around February and one vaccination a year is 70 to 90 percent effective against the virus. Now is the best time to get the vaccine because it takes about two weeks for the body to build up enough antibodies for protection.
Know before you go
According to health.com, the flu shot is only as good as the educated guesses of a group of vaccine researchers across the globe. Every February, they try to predict which flu viruses will work during the next fall and winter. Their top three choices are put into the vaccine.
This year, all three viral strains are new, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
The vaccine can also cause some negative side affects, though only about 26,000 such events have been reported since 1991. Most of those dealt with fever, rash, headaches or hives.
Experts have always been worried about the possibility of the flu virus mutating into a strain that can kill healthy adults in a day, like the 1918 pandemic. During that year, somewhere between 20 and 40 million people died, and it is known as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. Like most flus, it may have originated in birds and that’s why there is such a concern today over the avian flu, which is a flu the vaccine does not protect against.
However, researchers have found that millions of people have been infected with avian flu without suffering serious complications.
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