CDC Recommending Vaccination To Combat Seasonal Flu
DETROIT (CBS DETROIT ) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is out with a reminder ... add a flu vaccination to that family 'to do' list!
"The recommendation is that everyone six months and older in the United States should be vaccinated each and every year against the flu," said Dr. Bill Schaffner an infectious disease specialist from Vanderbilt University and past President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
Schaffner tells WWJ's Jon Hewett that this year's vaccine is identical to last year's -- with a focus on H1N1 -- the virus which caused 13,000 deaths during the 2009 pandemic.
With recent concerns over the spread of the Enterovirus - Schaffner is quick to point out the influenza virus is different.
"The Enterovirus is different from the influenza virus that will come a bit later, those children will recover, however, flu can kill."
"What we can predict with certainty is that there will be flu and it will cause damage ... The flu vaccine may not be perfect but it's pretty darn good and it can prevent the sort of bad things that can take you to the hospital and put you into the intensive care unit," said Schaffner.
"One of the groups we are particularly interested in is pregnant women because when they get ill they get serious illness with lots of complications."
While there is no shortage of the flu vaccine this year, he says some health agencies have yet to receive their full shipments.
Your best bet is to call ahead to your doctor, local health department or pharmacy.
