EDITORIAL: Are you protected against the flu, Boomer?

Times Leader - 11/15/2019

Nov. 15--OK, Boomer, listen up.

No, this editorial isn't about that irritating phrase that has been making the rounds on social media and in the culture at large.

Now that we have your attention, however, it is about a health issue of great importance to many in the Baby Boomer generation: flu shots.

As our health columnist, Dr. Alfred Casale, recently pointed out, approximately 70 to 85 percent of influenza-related deaths and 54 to 70 percent of flu-related hospitalizations during previous flu seasons have occurred among people in the 65-and-older age group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

So, Casale pointed out, it makes sense that immunologists would craft vaccines that would improve chances for people in that population to fend off and fight the flu.

We know many folks out there are skeptical about flu shots.

And, indeed, the CDC notes that there are those who should not receive flu shots, or who should talk to their health care provider before getting a flu shot -- they include children younger than 6 months of age, people with allergies to eggs or other ingredients in the flu shots, and people who have had Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

Those people are, as the CDC puts it, among "rare exceptions," and the agency broadly recommends that everyone older than 6 months gets vaccinated against influenza before the peak of each flu season, and the earlier the better.

By all means, consult your physician about the suitability of receiving a shot, but please don't simply assume that you don't need it.

That, Dr. Casale explains, puts everyone at risk.

"You're not only protecting yourself, you're protecting everyone in your community, especially those whose immune systems may make them more susceptible to the flu than the average, healthy person," he wrote.

He also takes aim at the notion that flu vaccines make people sick.

"The risk of benign side effects is worth the reward of protection against the flu, which is at best a multi-day stint in bed and at worst a deadly virus," Casale wrote. "Since those 65 and older are at higher risk for major complication or hospitalization related to the flu, it's especially important for them to be vaccinated."

The good news is that flu shots are widely available, often at no or low cost and on a walk-in basis, at sites including pharmacies, urgent care centers, sometimes even at schools and workplaces -- not to mention your primary care doctor's office, of course (though of course you will probably need an appointment).

Back to the Boomer crowd.

Casale notes that specially prepared vaccines for people 65 and older are distributed wherever flu shots are offered across Geisinger's sites.

All Geisinger Careworks urgent care centers offer the vaccine with no appointment necessary and during Super Saturday Flu Vaccine Day events, select Geisinger community medicine and pediatrics clinics offer flu shots from 9 a.m. to noon, no appointments needed. The last of three Super Saturdays will take place on Nov. 23.

Please do yourself, your family and the human herd a favor and get that shot.

-- Times Leader

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