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Why Get Vaccinated?
- Influenza is highly contagious
- Preventing influenza helps you and those you care about
- Influenza prevention is an important public health goal
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Influenza is highly contagious
Influenza is a serious, highly contagious disease. Therefore, it is recommended that anyone who wants to avoid
influenza should get vaccinated. It is strongly recommended that certain people who, due to age or other health
problems, are "at risk" get vaccinated to protect themselves from serious complications due to influenza. In fact,
one influenza vaccine can be given to children as young as 6 months old.
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Preventing influenza helps you and those you care about
It's no fun contracting influenza disease. You get a fever, your body aches, and you feel totally wiped out.
But more importantly, an influenza infection can sometimes be very serious. It can lead to pneumonia, maybe
even a trip to the hospital. Even worse, it can spread to someone else—a small child or an elderly
person—who has a much higher risk of severe illness and possible death.
When you reduce your risk of influenza, you help to reduce the risk of everyone around you. Influenza is very
contagious and not everybody can be protected. Infants less than 6 months old are too young for the vaccine.
Some people have weakened immune systems, which means that they may not receive strong enough protection even
if they are vaccinated. This is why people who live or work with those who are at high risk for influenza and
its complications should be vaccinated.
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Influenza prevention is an important public health goal
Increasing influenza vaccination among people age 65 and older is one of the goals listed in "Healthy People 2010,"
a government-sponsored initiative designed to improve the health of people in America. Immunization rates in older
adults have risen from 33% in 1989 to 64% in 1998. The immediate goal is to have 90% of people age 65 and older
receiving an annual influenza vaccination by 2010. Click here to learn more about
the different options for influenza prevention.
Source: Healthy People 2010. Leading Health Indicators. Available on-line at
www.healthypeople.gov
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For U.S. Residents Only
