Editor, Most people wouldn’t consider driving down the highway with their children or grandchildren unrestrained in the front seat of the car, or willingly standing outside with members of their family during a lightning storm.
Yet every year, some people refuse to get a flu shot. That decision will put lives at risk.
Seasonal flu is a significant cause of illness and hospitalization and every year, 36,000 people die from complications due to seasonal flu. While it’s impossible to predict the severity of H1N1 flu, we know that hospitalizations and deaths may result from infections with either seasonal or H1N1 flu.
Each year, a new vaccine is developed for seasonal flu based on the flu strains that are expected to cause the most illness that year. A vaccine for H1N1 flu is being developed in much the same way.
It is that simple.
I will get a shot, as will everyone in my family, including my three grandchildren.
Getting your flu shots helps keep you and others out of harm’s way. What could be more important than that?