news-record.com

GREENSBORO — As flu season approaches, local and national officials are urging people to get flu vaccinations this fall.

Doses will be more plentiful than ever this year, with manufacturers expected to ship about 130 million of them. However, federal officials are concerned that some segments of the population most vulnerable to flu, such as infants and toddlers, are least likely to be vaccinated.

"The (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) expects flu vaccine to be plentiful this year," said Dianne Whitesell, clinical manager with the Guilford County Department of Public Health. "The immunization team at the (department) encourages all persons, including children and those individuals deemed high risk, to get a flu shot this year."

Why? For many people, flu isn't just an inconvenience. About 36,000 people die each year of flu or its complications, according to the CDC. Anywhere from 5 percent to 20 percent of Americans get the flu every year, with 200,000 being hospitalized.

It's not clear how many people contract the disease locally. Physicians aren't required to report flu cases to the state, only deaths from flu,
Whitesell said.

The most vulnerable are people older than 50 or younger than 5; people with asthma or other chronic diseases; pregnant women; and anyone who comes in close contact with a member of a high-risk population, including infants too young to be vaccinated.

But the government is concerned that only 21 percent of children between 6 months and 5 years of age were vaccinated in 2005-06, the most recent season for which statistics are available. Children receiving their first flu vaccination need two injections a month apart, and only 10 percent of children needing the second injection got it, the government said.

Among senior citizens, the vaccination rate was 69 percent during 2005-06.

The government is aiming for 90 percent of senior citizens and 60 percent of younger adults who are at greater risk of flu complications to be vaccinated annually by 2010.

There are two kinds of flu prevention treatments. A flu shot contains dead flu viruses that stimulate the body to produce flu antibodies, which fight live flu virus.

Instead of the injection, some people may be given a nasal spray that contains live but weakened virus, also to stimulate the body to produce flu antibodies.

But the government has approved the spray only for healthy people ages 5 to 49.

The county health department plans inoculation clinics but does not have details yet, Whitesell said.

Contact Lex Alexander at 373-7088 or lalexander@news-record.com

The Associated Press contributed to this report.