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SOUTHERN ARIZONA ENDODONTICS I
NSURANCE PROCESSOR

Hoping to avoid another brutal flu season, local and state health officials are encouraging the public to get vaccinated — and now is not too early, they say.

Flu-shot clinics are up and operating this week at drugstores and other retail locations in anticipation of an annual spate of flu infections. They report a big supply of the vaccine this season. In previous years, flu vaccine supplies have run low.

Last flu season, Pima County recorded a record 782 influenza infections during an unusually long, nearly eight-week flu season that emptied out workplaces and strained emergency rooms.

The flu season is still at least six weeks away — it can start as early as late November or early December, said Dr. Karen Lewis, medical director for the immunization program at the Arizona Department of Health Services. But getting vaccinated now is good insurance through the entire season when flu may typically strike, she said.

"Vaccines are good, influenzas are bad," said Lewis, a pediatric-infectious-disease specialist who spent 20 years working in that field. "People can forget who the enemy is. Sometimes they think it's the vaccine, but the vaccine is our body armor."

Flu was cited as a cause of death for at least two children in Arizona last season, state health department officials confirmed Monday. The total number of Arizona deaths last season is still not available, but the federal Centers for Disease Control say flu kills about 36,000 people every year and is responsible for about a quarter of a million annual hospitalizations.

Every year, the flu shot is designed to cover three flu strains — two type-A's and one type-B — most likely to show up that winter. Last season, the shot gave almost no protection for the type-B strain that circulated, and only partial coverage for one of the type-A's.

It is the B strain that was blamed for the two pediatric flu deaths in Arizona this year — an infant and a child younger than 10. Both died in March in Maricopa County, which tallied a total of 2,627 confirmed flu cases last season.

Still, Lewis remains a strong advocate of vaccinations. She can remember too many cases from her years in pediatrics in which young children and infants were miserably ill with a flu that could have been prevented.

She had some advice for her adult patients that became repetitive: "Get the shot and make me happy, don't get the shot and make me rich."

Some people do need to consult with a physician before they are vaccinated, including anyone who has a severe allergy to chicken eggs. And people with a moderate or severe illness with a fever should wait to be vaccinated until their symptoms lessen.

Lewis stressed that flu does not typically involve vomiting or a sore throat. It's a disease more commonly characterized by a sudden high fever, severe exhaustion, muscle aches, and sometimes a cough and a runny nose.

Last season's flu season in Tucson hit its peak between the first week of February and early April. During that time the city's largest emergency room — Tucson Medical Center — handled more than 300 emergency patients a day.

"Last year was most unusual. I really can't predict this year — I'm hoping it will stay quiet," said Edmee Botwright, who manages Pima County's vaccine-preventable disease program.

"We'd like to get as many people as we can vaccinated and just be prepared. We usually peak in February when the Gem Show and all kinds of stuff is happening here. The best we can do is protect ourselves and it should be OK."

Botwright says it's particularly important for any health-care worker to get vaccinated. In general, state and county officials say anyone who wants to reduce the chances of getting the flu can be vaccinated. Infants 6 months and older may be vaccinated. But certain people should be more vigilant about getting vaccines because they are at a high risk of having serious flu-related complications or because they live with high-risk people.

Flu-shot clinics accept most health insurance, and costs for people who aren't covered are typically about $30.

Where to go for flu shots:

• Mollen Immunization Clinics are operating at several local locations. For details, call 1-602-279-3588 or go to www.flushotusa.com

• Maxim Clinics operate, among other places, at local senior facilities, churches and retail locations. For information call 790-8200 or go to www. findaflushot.com

• MinuteClinic offers flu shots at local CVS Pharmacies. For information go to www.Minute Clinic.com/en/USA/

• Quality of Life Medical and Research Centers have flu-shot clinics from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at its offices, 5350 E. Erickson Drive, near East Grant and North Craycroft roads. Appointments are recommended. Call 733-2250.

• Community Information & Referral has information about local flu shots at www.cir.org/seasonal- flu-county.html

There are two types of vaccines: the flu shot that is given with a needle — usually in the arm — and approved for use in people older than 6 months old; and the nasal-spray flu vaccine, which is approved for use in healthy people ages 2 to 49 years of age who are not pregnant. The difference between the vaccines is that the shot is an inactivated vaccine containing a killed virus, and the nasal-spray vaccine is made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause flu.

Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention