Healthy and Safe Holiday -- 12.17.2010
COLUMBUS PUBLIC HEALTH – Press Release
FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17
Make sure Your Holidays are Healthy and Safe – Get a flu shot!
Protect the Entire Family this Holiday Season
As you gather with family and friends this holiday season, we want you to be protected. So before you travel or spend time with your family, make sure to get a seasonal flu vaccine and pertussis booster.
Flu season is here and pertussis cases continue to increase in Columbus and Franklin County with more than 910 reported cases of whooping cough as of Dec. 11 – the most cases in 25 years.
Infants less than 1 year of age are at an increased risk from pertussis, and nearly all infants who get whooping cough catch it from a close family member. So now is the time to make sure all loved ones who will want to cuddle your youngest family member have received their pertussis booster shot.
It is also important to get a seasonal flu shot as soon as possible. It takes two weeks for your body to build immunity, so there’s still time before the holidays. A seasonal flu shot helps prevent influenza, a serious respiratory illness that causes on average 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths each year.
“A seasonal flu shot and the pertussis booster are the best way to protect your family, friends and the entire community from preventable illnesses so that everyone can enjoy a safe and healthy holiday season,” says Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Teresa Long. “Vaccines are easy to get, so I encourage everyone to add them to their holiday checklist.”
Flu and pertussis vaccines are widely available through private providers’ offices, health departments and retail pharmacy clinics.
For a list of vaccine locations or for more information, visit Columbus Public Health at www.publichealth.columbus.gov