A runny nose, watery eyes, a high fever, a sore throat, a cough and muscle aches. If these symptoms sound like something you�d like to avoid, it�s time to roll up your sleeve. Before the flu bug bites you hard, it�s time to get a flu shot.
Flu shots are being given out right now to residents, patients and employees at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital. But flu shots are not only for the elderly. Doctors are recommending that adults of all ages and even some children be vaccinated against the flu.
Influenza is a respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus. More than 100,000 people are hospitalized every year with the flu, and 20,000 die from it. The flu vaccine protects between 70 percent and 90 percent of healthy adults from getting the virus, and between 50 percent and 60 percent of the elderly and immunocompromised from contracting pneumonia.
It�s one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy and protect yourself from becoming sick this winter,� said Susan Levy, M.D., vice president of Medical Affairs at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital. Even if you contract the flu, with the vaccine, the symptoms are usually less severe.� If the flu is not treated, it can, in some cases, turn into pneumonia. The best time to get a vaccine is between October and December. It is a myth that it will make you sick, unless you are allergic to eggs or some other component in the shot,� said Dr. Levy. Another myth is that the shot can cause more instances of the common cold.
Medicare and Medicaid cover some of the cost of getting the flu vaccine and, in some cases, the entire cost.
