Monday, January 14, 2013
CDC reports flu is widespread and continuing to increase.
- LOCAL CONNECTIONS
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Monday, January 14
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting the flu is now widespread and the number of cases are continuing to increase. “Reports of influenza-like-illness (ILI) are nearing what have been peak levels during moderately severe seasons,” according to Dr. Joe Bresee. Breese advises it is not too late to get a flu shot. “Anyone who has not already been vaccinated should do so now,” Bresee said in a released statement. “And it’s important to remember that people who have severe influenza illness, or who are at high risk of serious influenza-related complications, should get treated with influenza antiviral medications if they get flu symptoms regardless of whether or not they got vaccinated. Also, you don’t need to wait …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Flu season typically begins in October and can run through May. Find out what you need to know to protect yourself and your family.
- AWARENESS
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Have you had a flu shot yet? CVS with its newly opened MinuteClinic, Rite Aid, Publix, Kroger and Walgreens are just some of the local places where you can get a flu shot. Are you guaranteed to get the flu if you don’t get vaccinated against it? Of course not—but here’s why getting a flu vaccine just might be worth your while. Influenza, or the "flu,” is a contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses infecting the nose, throat and lungs. Symptoms include muscle or body aches, headaches, cough, sore throat, fatigue, fever or chills, and vomiting and diarrhea (the latter two are more common in kids). The flu can also worsen chronic medical conditions or cause death. Unfortunately, flu viruses can spread easily via infected people …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
CDC doctors strongly support it, but others wonder if it can target the wrong flu strains and do no good or create side effects. What do you think?
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012
It's a debate that comes around this time of the year. Should you get a flu shot to stave off a potentially unpleasant illness or—as many people say—does the flu shot create risks? According to FOX Atlanta and some medical researchers, less than 50 percent of the U.S. population receives a flu shot every year. That trend is bolstered by the growing distrust that vaccinations like flu shots can be ineffective. Much of the resarch says that it's in the public's best interest to get a flu shot, according to the mainstream medical community. In fact, Dr. Tom Skinner with the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the vaccinations "are the single most important thing people can do to protect themselves" during the flu …
Brenda L. Gibson
3:40 pm on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I received my first flu vaccine in the fall of 2009. I had a bad reaction at the center where I received it. The nurses made me sit with them while they had 911 on the phone. Complete muscle failure the next day which abated within 24 hrs. The next year, 2010, I foolishly received the flu vaccine again. Within one week, I was hospitalized and diagnosed with Guillain Barre' Syndrome. I was … more ›