you know winter is coming when....

[Guest guest]

you see crap like this:

on the homepage of .com

> By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer

> 15 minutes ago

>

>

> WASHINGTON - Far too few young children get annual flu shots, particularly

> those who are most at risk of serious illness or death because they have

> asthma or other chronic diseases.

>

> A survey released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

> estimates that only about one-third of children between age 6 months and 2

> years get a flu vaccination. A different survey, conducted by state health

> departments, says about 48 percent of children in that same age group are

> getting their flu vaccine.

>

> " The real message is, no matter what survey you look at, we're nowhere near

> protecting the number of children that we're supposed to, " said Dr. Jeanne

> Santoli, a pediatrician at the CDC.

>

> This year, medical experts have expanded the age range of children who should

> be vaccinated. Health officials now say children between 6 months and 5 years

> should get flu shots; previously the range was 6 months to 2 years. Many

> parents may not be aware of the change.

>

> The primary reason for the low vaccination rates is that many Americans don't

> take flu seriously. Less than half of the people who responded to a consumer

> survey plan to be immunized against the flu this year, says the National

> Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Of that group, 43 percent did not think

> the flu was serious enough to warrant vaccination.

>

> Many others, 46 percent, worried that getting a vaccine would cause them to

> get sick. Occasionally, people getting the vaccine experience a mild fever and

> fatigue for a day, but recipients cannot get the flu from the vaccine. " That's

> a very persistent myth, but a myth nonetheless, " said Dr. Schaffner, a

> professor at Vanderbilt University.

>

> This year, a vaccine shortage won't be a credible excuse for failure to get a

> shot. More than 100 million doses of vaccine will be available ‹ the most

> ever. The dosages are available as a shot or through nasal spray.

>

> " Vaccine that remains in the refrigerator cannot prevent influenza, " Schaffner

> said.

>

> The stakes are high when it comes to the flu, said officials who attended a

> press conference designed to raise awareness of the illness. It kills about

> 36,000 people each year and puts more than 200,000 people in the hospital.

> Most of the deaths and serious cases are among the elderly.

>

> Officials noted that the government pays for influenza vaccination for

> Medicare beneficiaries, yet only about two-thirds of seniors get a flu

> vaccine. The vaccine is one way the Bush administration is trying to get

> beneficiaries to focus on preventing disease, said Dr. Mark McClellan,

> administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

>

> " What we have here is another example of a prevention gap, " McClellan said.

>

> Officials are also trying to get the word out to families that children ages 2

> to 5 have been added to the list of groups that should get vaccinated.

>

> For that age group, officials noted the flu leads to a higher rate of clinic

> and emergency room visits than do other illnesses.

>

> While children under the age of 6 months should not get vaccinated, it's

> important that their siblings and parents do. First-ever vaccination of a

> young child requires two separate doses.

>

> Other priority groups for vaccination include: all people 50 and older, all

> people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and AIDS who are older than 6

> months of age, all pregnant women and all health care workers.

>

> Each year, reports of a vaccine shortage invariably flare up as doctors report

> not being able to get all of the vaccine that they ordered the previous

> February. Dr. Gerberding, director of the CDC, said there is often a

> mismatch in the early part of the season with some health care providers

> getting too many doses, and some not enough. However, overall, there should be

> plenty of vaccine this year.

>

> ___

>

> On the Net:

>

> National Foundation for Infectious Diseases: http://www.nfid.org

btw- they forgot to mention one of the reasons parents don't want their infants to get flu shots is because of the mercury... wonder why?