Posted on 12/15/2007 2:45:54 PM PST by BenLurkin
LOS ANGELES - The first confirmed case of Influenza A in Los Angeles County has been reported to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The diagnosed patient is a child living in the eastern San Fernando Valley.
"I urge everyone who has not already done so to get a flu shot. Be prepared this year and protect yourself and your family. There is still time to get a flu vaccination," said Jonathan E. Fielding, the county's Public Health director and health officer. "Vaccination is especially important for all persons at highest risk of serious complications of the flu, including infants and children 6 months through 5 years of age. There is no shortage of flu vaccine this year, so everyone should be able to get a flu shot or the FluMist nasal spray."
Influenza is the leading cause of pneumonia and accounts for 110,000 to 200,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 to 40,000 deaths in the United States each year. Receiving the flu shot is the most effective way to prevent the illness and its complications, county officials said.
Recommended groups for flu vaccination are:
People 50 and older.
Residents of long-term care facilities.
Children from 6 months to 5 years old.
Women who will be pregnant during the flu season.
People with medical conditions such as chronic heart or lung disease, diabetes or AIDS, that puts them at risk for flu complications.
Health care workers.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
No flu shot for me, thanks.
Of an illegal alien?
Baby sat by an illegal alien?
Just wondering.
No kidding. Flu shots just make me sick.
Exactly. I hate needles and tend to have a reaction to vaccinations. My husband got a flu shot two or three years ago, and was sick for days.
L.A. County is rapidly becoming an extension of Mexico. And that’s no joke.
Me too.
My wife has pernicious anemia and I have to give her B-12 shots a couple times a month. She's the brave one, my knees start knocking so hard I have have to do it sitting down.
We had the flu last year, influenza A. No, it was not fun, but we managed. Lots of chicken soup, warm fluids, TV, ibuprofen, and cuddling. That was 5 cases in this house but only the first one did we take into the doctor so if anything was reported, it was only him. There is not much they can do for flu — Tamiflu taken at the first sign has been proven to cause horrible emotional and psychological side effects so we skipped that.
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I think you're both brave. What a loving thing to do for your wife.
If you don’t like needles, you can ask for the intra-nasal administration of the influenza virus vaccine (FluMist by MedImmune). It’s just like using a spray nasal decongestant and very well tolerated.
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