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RESOURCES FOR FLU SEASON
- Danbury VNA FLU HOTLINE – Clinic Locations (203) 730-5239
- VNAA - Visiting Nurse Associations of America - Find a Flu Clinic
- H1N1 Public Hotline - Satte of CT DPH - 800-830-9426 - M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm
- ALA Flu Hotline 1-888-No To Flu to locate Flu clinics in Connecticut
- To keep updated on flu information, as the season progresses, go to: www.cdc.gov/flu
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hotline, 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636), is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY: 1-888-232-6348.
- H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation
What is the flu?
The flu is an infection of the respiratory tract caused by the influenza virus. It is a highly contagious disease. Although most people who get the flu recover with in 1-2 weeks, the flu can cause more severe, and in some cases, life-threatening complications such as pneumonia, particularly in children and the elderly, as well as people with certain medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes.
Every year, 5 to 20 percent of the population gets the flu, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications, and about 36,000 people die from the flu.
Who should get vaccinated for flu season?
1. People at high risk for complications from the flu:
- People 65 years and older;
- People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that house those with long-term illnesses;
- Adults and children 6 months and older with chronic heart or lung conditions, including asthma;
- Adults and children 6 months and older who needed regular medical care or were in a hospital during the previous year because of a metabolic disease (like diabetes), chronic kidney disease, or weakened immune system (including immune system problems caused by medicines or by infection with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV/AIDS]);
- Children 6 months to 18 years of age who are on long-term aspirin therapy. (Children given aspirin while they have influenza are at risk of Reye syndrome.);
- Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season;
- All children 6 to 23 months of age;
- People with any condition that can compromise respiratory function or the handling of respiratory secretions (that is, a condition that makes it hard to breathe or swallow, such as brain injury or disease, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other nerve or muscle disorders.)
2.) People 50 to 64 years of age. Because nearly one-third of people 50 to 64 years of age in the United States have one or more medical conditions that place them at increased risk for serious flu complications, vaccination is recommended for all persons aged 50 to 64.
3.) People who can transmit flu to others at high risk for complications. Any person in close contact with someone in a high-risk group (see above) should get vaccinated. This includes all health-care workers, household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children 6 to 23 months of age, and close contacts of people 65 years and older.
- When should you get vaccinated? The best time to get influenza vaccination is between October and January
- Who should not receive a flu vaccination- Anyone with a history of egg allergies, anyone who experienced an anaphylactic reaction to a previous flu vaccination. Individuals with moderate to severe illness (Temperature >100.4) should defer vaccination until the illness is resolved
- Children <9 years of age, receiving a flu vaccination for the first time, should receive two doses of the vaccine, four weeks apart.
Please visit Danbury Visiting Nurse Association for Flu Clinic Information.
H1N1 Priority Groups
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