Extra: Who Should Be Vaccinated?
The best way to prevent getting the flu is to get a flu vaccination every year; however, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu shot is especially important for people who are at high risk for flu complications, including:
• Children ages 6 months up to their 19th birthday
• Pregnant women
• Those 50 and older
• People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People who live with or work with those at high risk for flu complications including healthcare workers, household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu, and household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated).
Who should not be vaccinated?
There are some people who should not be vaccinated without first consulting their physician. This includes:
• People who have severe allergy to chicken eggs
• People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination
• People who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) within six weeks of getting the influenza vaccine
• Children less than six months of age (influenza vaccine is not approved for this age group)
• People who have moderate-to-severe illness with fever (they should wait until they recover to get vaccinated).
WWW Address: http://www.gachd.org/extra/who_should_be_vaccinated.php