Editorial

High temperatures won't stop the flu

Friday, September 6, 2013

Triple-digit temperatures belie the fact we're already in the second week of football practice and school children are busy exposing each other to all sorts of illnesses.

Yes, it still feels like summertime, but there's no reason to put off getting flu vaccinations as soon as possible, experts say.

And, yes, there are better flu vaccines on the way, including ones that are OK to give to people allergic to eggs, but that shouldn't keep parents from checking with their family doctor.

The numbers aren't clear, but according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, somewhere between 3,000 and 49,000 people a year die from the flu in the United States, and up to 200,000 are sent to the hospital

"With the exception of children less than 6 months of age, everybody should go out and get their influenza vaccine as soon as the influenza vaccines are available," Dr. Michael Brady of Nationwide Children's Hospital and chairman of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the Academy told NBC news.

If you don't believe in gambling, you could never make it in the flu vaccine business. That's because the pharmaceutical companies that produce them have to try to predict, months ahead of flu outbreaks, just which strain will be most prevalent each year.

That's tough, because unlike normal cells, which replicate accurately enough to make mutations a relatively rare occurrence, viruses go about it in a sloppy manner, incorporating genetic material from birds, horses, swine and humans, for example, making medical treatment a crapshoot.

This year, many companies are making vaccines for four strains of flu, instead of the normal three.

Not all the companies are able to keep up, however, so doctors will use a variety of vaccines this year. Officials hope all vaccines will cover four strains next year.

For more information, contact your local health department or healthcare provider.

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