Flu Shots

WASHINGTON -- Some serious summer flu outbreaks have infectious disease experts gearing up for what could be a ferocious -- and early -- flu season.Too few people are getting the flu shots that could save their lives in the yearly epidemics that sweep the nation, said experts who gathered here yesterday for an international conference on vaccines.Even fewer are getting a second shot, pneumococcal vaccine, which prevents the pneumonia, bronchitis, middle-ear infections and sinusitis that often follow flu. The vaccine, needed only once in a lifetime, has been available since 1977 and can be taken at the same time as the flu shot.

Childhood vaccination is one of America's genuine success stories -- only 200 to 300 American children now die every year from diseases that could have been prevented by vaccination. But the figures for adults tell a much sadder story.Every year, 50,000 to 70,000 adults die of influenza, pneumonia, hepatitis B and other diseases that could be prevented, says the National Coalition for Adult Immunization, a group of 85 health organizations.In fact, despite safe and effective vaccines, influenza (the "flu")

My pediatrician gives our son a flu shot every fall, . but this year he has been sick already. I know the flu vaccine is made new each year. Is it just not good this year?"

Low-cost health care, conveniently located. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is -- especially when the boss wears the stethoscope.More workers are going to the company doctor than ever before. Many are eagerly taking advantage of corporate "wellness programs" stressing preventive care like flu shots and periodic screenings for heart disease and breast cancer.Before you rush to have your blood pressure checked at the next "health awareness" week or sign up for a routine physical by the company doctor, consider the implications for your career.

Flu shots may backfire on people with AIDS, raising the level of the AIDS virus in their blood without protecting them from the flu, a new study has found.Researchers at the University of California's San Francisco Medical Center found that most study participants had three times the normal amount of HIV in their blood for a short time after getting an influenza vaccination.The flu vaccine activates the same immune-system cells that harbor HIV, causing it to multiply as the cells divide, according to the researchers, who presented the study this week at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy and Immunology in San Francisco.

Complete this sentence. The Hubcabs are:A. Yet another shiny, metallic automobile accessory that men lavish way too much time and attention on.B. Those round, pseudo-pancakes McDonald's serves for breakfast.C. Seven musicians who plan on taking Glen Burnie back to the '50s this weekend.Discover the answer Friday when the Hubcaps bring their nostalgic music to a dance sponsored by the Holy Trinity Knights of Columbus from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Columbian Center, 335 N. Ritchie Highway.Tickets are $25 per person at the door, $22 in advance.

Q: I keep hearing this is going to be a bad winter for flu. Shouldn't my kids get flu shots? I don't want them to miss school.A: Influenza appeared earlier than usual in some parts of the country this year. It may well be a bad flu year. Doctors have been making an extra effort to immunize people at high risk for complications if they become infected with the influenza virus.Senior citizens, health-care workers and adults and children with chronic diseases (especially diseases that affect the lungs, heart or immune system)

Baltimore County's Health Department is having vaccination clinics for senior citizens and young children who need flu or pneumonia shots.Flu shots will cost $6, pneumonia shots $12. Both fees are covered by Medicare, Part B.The flu vaccines are different each year. This year they will protect against the Type A Beijing flu which is expected here this winter. People allergic to eggs should not get flu shots.The department recommends the shots for people over 65, those with chronic health problems and those who care for the elderly.

With the flu season approaching, state health officials are advising the elderly and people with chronic illnesses to get their annual immunizations.This year, the influenza vaccine protects against the three strains that are likely to prevail -- Type A-Texas, Type A-Beijing and Type B-Panama. They are not considered particularly virulent strains, but officials still advise shots for those people considered at risk.In an average year, the flu kills 10,000 to 20,000 people nationally. Most of the deaths occur among the elderly.

Q: The papers keep reminding people to get their flu shots. Can I get them for my children? Every winter they miss school several times with the flu.A: The flu shot you have been reading about is given in the fall to vaccinate against the influenza virus that usually begins to circulate in the United States in December or January. Influenza virus infection often makes people quite ill. They have fever, headache, runny nose, cough and muscle aches. They often feel so ill they decide to stay in bed. Influenza is a much bigger illness than the usual cold.

Flu shots are never an easy sell to the pregnant women Dr. Katharine Taber sees at her Towson obstetrics practice. These are women who worry about everything they put into their bodies, from tuna fish to coffee to pain relievers. So Taber has to explain how important it is that they get the tried-and-true seasonal flu vaccine, because a serious case of flu could be dangerous to their developing babies. This year, Taber is working double-time on her salesmanship. Health officials have made pregnant women among the highest-priority groups to get the swine flu vaccine, which is still being tested, when it becomes available next month.

Flu season, with its aches, fever and cough, is around the corner, says Dr. Timothy Doran, chairman of pediatrics at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. This year, for the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all children 6 months to 18 years old receive flu vaccinations. Flu shots are available now and will be given until the flu season begins (which may be any time between December and March), Doran says. Why did the CDC recommend flu shots for children this year?

Federal health officials are urging that more Americans than ever before get flu shots, including, for the first time, children age 6 months through 18 years. Experts say they are also concerned about adults over 50. While two-thirds of those over age 65 were vaccinated against the flu last year, only 36 percent of those between 50 and 64 were immunized. Experts urged health care providers to get their patients vaccinated. "The message is not getting out to those in the 50-plus category," said Dr. Cora L. Christian, a member of the AARP board of directors, who spoke yesterday on a panel sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

As Maryland wraps up its worst flu season in three years, a small army of researchers is working on a vexing problem: why flu shots so often don't help the elderly. No matter how many people are vaccinated and what recipe drug makers use to formulate the flu vaccine each year, it generally works in only 30 percent to 40 percent of those over 65 - compared with 80 percent to 90 percent of younger adults, experts say. Doctors gauge a vaccine's effectiveness by examining blood levels of the antibodies our bodies produce after receiving it. They say older bodies have more trouble producing the antibodies than younger ones, even with a push from flu vaccine, so they're working on a more potent version of today's shots for older patients.

Almost all children under 18 should get annual flu vaccinations, a federal advisory panel recommended yesterday - the first time the vaccine is being suggested for groups who do not have the highest risk of death from the disease. The recommendation to vaccinate 30 million additional school-age children is based on more than a desire to keep youngsters healthy and in class. Doctors hope it will protect their parents and grandparents, too. "Kids are not just transmitters, they're amplifiers," said Dr. James King, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Driving through a maze of orange cones at the Ripken Stadium parking lot, hundreds of people lowered their windows, rolled up their sleeves and got a flu vaccination from a nurse without leaving the comfort of their heated cars. In addition to providing a convenience to patrons, the drive-through operation also served as an emergency response training opportunity for the county Health Department. "We do it as a bioterrorism drill," said Tina Regester, department spokeswoman, before the event.

For parents who wince in empathy every time their child has to be vaccinated, news that a spray can be more effective than a shot in warding off flu in very young children is promising. In the largest pediatric study comparing flu shots and flu spray, 8,000 children under age 5 were given either a shot or the nasal spray FluMist in 2004. Among the nearly 500 children who caught the flu, those who took the shots caught it twice as often. One researcher noted that although shots can enhance existing immunity, the spray is more effective in stimulating antibodies when there is no immunity.

A nasal spray marketed by Gaithersburg-based Med- Immune Inc. appears to be more effective than flu shots in protecting children under 5, according to a major study published today. "It's good news. We need it, we need a new flu vaccine for children," said Dr. Neal A. Halsey, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He was not involved in the study. Researchers gave either flu shots or the company's Flu- Mist nasal spray to almost 8,000 young children in 2004 and found that of the nearly 500 children who caught the flu, those given shots caught it twice as often.

With the flu season expected to peak next month, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine reported today that vaccinating schoolchildren against the disease reduces not only their risk but that of their families as well. The scientists gave nasal spray vaccine to more than 2,000 children ages 5 to 11 in Maryland and three other states at the outset of the 2004 flu season. During the peak week of that flu season, children who got the vaccine and their families were less likely to contract the flu or come down with flu-like symptoms than those who weren't vaccinated.

Howard County residents will be able to get flu shots without getting out of their cars at a Sunday drive-through clinic the Health Department is planning next month on Gateway Drive in Columbia. The county plans to use a two-mile loop of roadway in the Gateway Business Park -- normally empty on Sundays -- for the Oct. 15 clinic, which they say will be able to handle up to 500 people ages 5 and older per hour between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The clinic is intended to dispense flu vaccine but also test the ability to administer mass immunizations in a pandemic or other emergency.