Make sure Your Holidays are Healthy and Safe --11.25.2013
COLUMBUS PUBLIC HEALTH – Press Release
For Monday, November 25, 2013
Make sure Your Holidays are Healthy and Safe – Get Protected!
Vaccines are the Best Way to Protect the Entire Family from Flu and Pertussis
With the onset of cold temperatures and more time spent indoors with family and friends celebrating the holidays, comes the increased risk of bugs such as influenza and pertussis. So before you travel or gather with your loved ones this holiday season, make sure to protect yourself and the entire family by getting a flu shot, making sure your kids’ vaccines are all up-to-date, and getting a pertussis booster if there’s a baby in your life.
Flu season is here. And this school year in Columbus and Worthington, there have already been eight school outbreaks of pertussis.
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 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.
“Flu vaccines and pertussis booster shots 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 check with their healthcare provider today to see if they need a pertussis booster and to make sure all their shots are current.”
Flu and pertussis vaccines are widely available through private providers’ offices, public health clinics and retail pharmacy and grocery stores.
For more information on flu and pertussis, visit Columbus Public Health at www.publichealth.columbus.gov or on Facebook/Twitter.
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