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Those who should get vaccinated for the flu include:
§
everyone 6 months of age and older, including
anyone
who received the 2009 H1N1 vaccine
and
anyone who got sick with H1N1
Additionally, vaccination of high risk persons is especially important to
decrease their risk of having severe flu illness. High risk persons include:
§
People who care for children younger than 6 months of age, because
children less than 6 months are too young to receive a flu vaccination and,
therefore, are at high risk of having serious flu illness if they get the virus
from someone close to them.
§
Young children 6 months and older, pregnant women, people with
chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart or lung disease, and
people 65 years and older.
Vaccination is also important for health care workers and other people who live
with or care for high risk people to keep them from spreading the virus to those
who are high risk.
As always, you can also help prevent the spread of the flu virus by:
§
Always practicing good hygiene habits, such as washing your hands
often with soap and water or using an alcohol based hand sanitizer
§
Sneezing or coughing into a tissue or your sleeve
§
Staying home when sick and keeping sick children home from school
And remember, while it is important to get your flu shot to prevent you
from getting sick, it is also important to get your flu shot to prevent others
getting sick from you. Be flu smart, do your part. For more information
about the flu virus and vaccine, visit the CDC website at
www.cdc.gov/flu/ or visit
www.flu.gov.
Other helpful information:
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