Our Life Without Emily: Flu, Fear, Guilt and Regret

Take the time to talk to someone you care about to ask if their son or daughter or grandchild or neice or nephew has been been vaccinated against the flu this year.

Shot of Prevention

By Joe Lastinger, Board Member, Families Fighting Flu

My daughter, Emily, should have started high school this year full of excitement and potential. Her teachers would ask her, “Are you Chris’s little sister?” or “Are you Andrew’s little sister?” In my head I imagine her earning high marks in advanced classes, joining student council, playing volleyball and basketball and having a great group of close friends. Now I realize that it might not have turned out that way. It’s quite possible that Emily would have entered high school at the peak of her teenage rebellion and might not even be on speaking terms with her mom and me. We will never know, because she died suddenly and tragically from influenza when she was only 3½-years-old.

Emily died from influenza in 2004. She died in our bed, in her pajamas, watching cartoons – just hours before we were scheduled to take…

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National Influenza Vaccination Week Dec 7-13 2014

From Florida’s Immunization Section in Tallahassee: We are pleased to remind our immunization partners about the upcoming observance of National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW). National Influenza Vaccination Week is an annual observance to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination though the holiday season and beyond. This year NIVW is scheduled for December 7–13, 2014. Flu vaccination activity drops after the end of November. The CDC and partners want to remind the public that even through the holiday season is upon us it’s not too late to get a flu vaccine. As long as flu viruses are spreading and causing illness vaccination can provide protection against the flu CDC Recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6-months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against influenza disease. A goal of NIVW is to communicate the importance of flu vaccination for people who are at high risk for developing flu-related complications: Young children, pregnant women, people with certain chronic health conditions and people 65-years and older. A full list of “People at High Risk of Developing Flu–Related Complications” is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/high_risk.htm. There are many choices available for flu vaccine, both in terms of where to get vaccinated and what vaccine to get. Millions of doses of influenza vaccine have been administered to people safely for decades. Once vaccinated people can enjoy their holiday season knowing they protected themselves and their loved ones against the flu.

Please visit the CDC resource site at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw/ to obtain educational and promotional materials to encourage community participation for NIVW activities.