Please follow good health habits.

• Pregnant women
• Children younger than 5; especially younger than 2
• Persons 50 and older
• Those people having a chronic medical condition
• People in long term care/nursing home facilities
• health care workers
• care givers of children younger than 6 months of age.

OFHC flu shots are available by calling 376-7778 to schedule an appointment.

This year, 2011-2012, the flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three flu viruses that experts predict will be the most common during this season. These include an influenza B virus, an influenza A (H1N1) virus and an influenza A (H3N2) virus.The 2011-2012 vaccine can protect you from getting sick from these three viruses, or it can make your illness milder if you get a related, BUT DIFFERENT, influenza virus strain. Above all, DO NOT be deceived by the following myths concerning annual flu shots:

• MYTH - Influenza is kind of like a common cold...it's not a big deal.
• TRUTH - Influenza is a severe respiratory illness that can easily be spread and can lead to severe complications or even death.
• MYTH - The flu shot can give me influenza.
• TRUTH - It is absolutely impossible for the flu shot to give you influenza because it does not contain a live virus. Some people will experience slight side effects such as mild soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site, and rarely a headache or low-grade fever,
• MYTH - The flu shot does not keep people from getting influenza.
• TRUTH - A flu shot does not guarantee that you will not get influenza, but it significantly reduces your risk. There are multiple types of flu viruses circulating in the community,and they change from year to year. Each years' flu shot protects you from the most common types of influenza expected during that flu season, and is very effective in preventing flu.

  Recently, there has been even more information on the protective effects on the heart of receiving an annual flu shot. The accompanying article from Johns Hopkins applies.

The newest tool for preventing heart attack is a flu shot!Between 10% to 20% of people catch the flu annually, and a bad case can be deadly for individuals with coronary heart disease. Yet only one in three adults with cardiovascular disease gets an annual flu shot.

People with heart disease are not only at higher risk for flu than the general population but also are more likely to have a severe case and to develop complications such as viral or bacterial pneumonia. What's more, the flu can worsen coronary heart disease and trigger a heart attack.

No one is absolutely sure how the flu increases the risk of a heart attack. One possibility is that the inflammation associated with the flu can trigger the rupture of unstable plaque, leading to the formation of a blood clot that could cause a heart attack.

The strongest evidence for protection from a flu shot in people with heart disease comes from the Flu Vaccination in Acute Coronary Syndromes (FLUVACS) study. In that study, some 300 individuals who had been hospitalized for either a heart attack or a planned angioplasty were randomly assigned to receive a flu vaccine or remain unvaccinated. Over the next year, twice as many of the unvaccinated group (23%) died of heart disease, had a nonfatal heart attack, or developed severe ischemia (insufficient blood supply to the heart tissue), compared with those who were vaccinated (11%).

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a flu shot with the same enthusiasm as it does the control of cholesterol, blood pressure, and other modifiable risk factors for heart attacks. In a scientific advisory issued by the AHA and the American College of Cardiology heart doctors were asked to do something they may not normally do - give their patients flu shots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued extensive recommendations pertaining to those individuals who should obtain flu shots. Go to our Home Page and click on Flu Alert for full details.

Besides getting a flu shot, two other simple measures - frequent hand washing (see Hand Washing 101) and, if possible, avoiding close contact with a flu sufferer - can help reduce the risk of catching the flu.

Source: Johns Hokins Health Alerts