Posts Tagged ‘latex’

This is going to be a busy flu season, especially considering that there will be two different flu vaccines available – one for the seasonal flu and the other for H1N1 (swine) flu. There are different recommendations for both vaccines, but only the seasonal flu vaccine is currently available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends any adult who wants to reduce their risk of becoming ill with influenza to get the vaccine. However, if you are on the fence about the decision here is an up-to-date list from the CDC of high risk groups that should not think twice about getting the vaccine:

• persons aged 50 years and older;
• women who will be pregnant during the influenza season;
• persons who have chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, hematological or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);
• persons who have immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus;
• residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities;
• health-care personnel;
• household contacts and caregivers of children aged <5 years and adults aged 50 years and older, with particular emphasis on vaccinating contacts of children aged <6 months; and
• household contacts and caregivers of persons with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for severe complications from influenza.

*If you have concerns about thimerosal or other vaccine preservatives, this year’s flu vaccine only comes in two flavors – latex-containing and latex-free. Neither contains thimerosal.

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