ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Mayo Clinic Health Oasis, www.mayohealth.org, has posted a recommendation that all Americans should consider getting a flu shot, even pregnant women and healthy people.
According to Mayo Clinic's Dr. Gregory Poland, vaccinations should be considered for anyone over six months of age. "People should get the shot because influenza affects nearly everyone's family every year," he says.
This year the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) lowered its recommended age for flu vaccinations because studies showed a significant rise in flu-related deaths in people over age 50. Before this year, AAFP recommended annual flu immunizations for everyone over age 65.
People should receive their annual flu shot between mid-October and mid-November. The shot protects against A- and B-type flu viruses and is usually 70 to 90 percent effective in preventing illness in healthy adults.
"The flu (including its most common complication, pneumonia) is the fifth or sixth leading cause of death in the United States annually," says the Mayo Clinic Health Oasis Web site. The site also recommends that people find out more about who should and who should not receive the flu vaccine by reading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's statement on influenza at http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/vis/vis-flu.pdf (Adobe Acrobat required). In addition, www.mayohealth.org contains information about the differences between stomach flu and influenza. It also gives other tips on preventing the flu.
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