Seniors and the Flu Facts

Q. I'm an older adult and increasingly confused about flu shots -- what I need and when. I'm also getting emails about shots. Where do I go for credible information?

Your doctor will be your best source of information about what flu shots you need and when. Please contact your physician and beware of information you receive by e-mail.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions in December alerted the media to a scam e-mail circulating the internet attempting to fool Americans into revealing personal information. Those who click on the link are downloading a malicious code on their system.

The CDC said it has received reports of fraudulent e-mails (phishing) referencing a CDC sponsored State Vaccination Program for H1N1. There is no such program. The messages request that users create a personal H1N1 (swine flu) Vaccination Profile on the CDC.gov Website.

Users that click on the embedded link in the e-mail are at risk of having malicious code installed on their system. CDC reminds users to take the following steps to reduce the risk of being a victim of a phishing attack:

· Do not open or respond to unsolicited e-mail messages.
· Do not click links embedded in e-mails from unknown senders.
· Use caution when entering personal information online.
· Update anti-virus, spyware, firewall and anti-spam software regularly.

Recent studies have shown that about a third of adults 65 years of age and older may have some level of immunity against the H1N1 flu virus. As a result, this group is not among the priority groups to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine, according to the CDC Web site.

It is, however, still extremely important that the elderly get the seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible, according to the CDC. For older adults, the seasonal flu can be very serious, even deadly, says the CDC.

“Each year in the U.S., an average of 36,000 people die and more than 200,000 are hospitalized from serious flu complications,” the CDC reports. “Ninety percent of flu-related deaths and more than half of flu-related hospitalizations occur in people age 65 and older.”

If you need help getting to your doctor’s appointments or picking up medications, contact Home Instead Senior Care for assistance.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, visit www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about flu shots, log on to http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/vaccination/index.html#priority.