I always kind of equate the flu with a really, really bad cold. I get it every year myself, usually mid-December, no doubt due to running around filling endless to-do lists. My health quits just when I need it the most. But did you know that 100 kids die from the flu every year? Not trying to scare anyone, but forewarned is forearmed and all that, you know?
To that end, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), created a new, short documentary, Why Flu Matters: Personal Stories of Families Who Lost Children to the Flu, a six minute video that you can watch online at http://www.youtube.com/cdcflu.
The CDCs statistics are eye-opening … every year in the United States, an average of 20,000 children younger than 5 are hospitalized because of flu-related complications, and as many as 1 in 5 children younger than 5 may have to see the doctor, visit the ER or other urgent care for treatment for flu. The best way to stop this? Vaccination, especially for children ages 6 months through 18 years.
The film was created by the CDC together with Families Fighting Flu, Inc., and directed by Emmy award-winning Mustapha Khan, creator of “House on Fire” and Tommy Walker, award-winning producer and co-director of “God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of Lost Boys of Sudan.”
For more information about the flu and the influenza vaccine, please visit www.cdc.gov/flu. For more information on Families Fighting Flu, please visit www.familiesfightingflu.org.
October 21st, 2008 at 10:37 pm
My twins got their first flu shots Friday. They’re 15 months old. Roni had a bad reaction and ended up in the ER with a 104.5 fever.
I’m pro-vaccination, but that fever scared the bejesus out of me.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:59 am
Check the negatives about vaccines as well as the positives. Infant vaccines (under 2yo) can be very dangerous if not life-altering.
I take anything the CDC says with an extremely large grain of salt, since their promotions are very one-sided.