3 flu deaths already reported in Washington
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Flu activity has picked up across Washington, especially in Western Washington, the state Health Department said Thursday.
A Pierce County boy and two older adults in King County were the first influenza deaths in the state this season, the department said. The boy, who was younger than 12, was the first death, earlier in December. A man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s in King County died in the past two weeks.
An average of two children and 25 adults die of the flu each year in the state. The worst flu season recently was 2009-2010 when 5 children and 95 adults died in Washington, department spokeswoman Julie Graham said.
Flu is common, but the only confirmed cases that doctors are required to report are deaths. And those don't include flu-related deaths. The flu often makes a person susceptible to another illness, such as pneumonia, which is listed as the cause of death, Graham said.
The health department monitors the flu through cooperating labs that share samples to identify what kind of flu is circulating and anything unusual.
The deaths were a reminder for people who haven't had a vaccination to protect themselves.
The department has urged everyone from 6-months-old on up to have an annual flu shot. The shots are especially important for people 65 and older or who are vulnerable because of medical conditions.
This year's vaccine was well-matched to the current strains, the department said.
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A Pierce County boy and two older adults in King County were the first influenza deaths in the state this season, the department said. The boy, who was younger than 12, was the first death, earlier in December. A man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s in King County died in the past two weeks.
An average of two children and 25 adults die of the flu each year in the state. The worst flu season recently was 2009-2010 when 5 children and 95 adults died in Washington, department spokeswoman Julie Graham said.
Flu is common, but the only confirmed cases that doctors are required to report are deaths. And those don't include flu-related deaths. The flu often makes a person susceptible to another illness, such as pneumonia, which is listed as the cause of death, Graham said.
The health department monitors the flu through cooperating labs that share samples to identify what kind of flu is circulating and anything unusual.
The deaths were a reminder for people who haven't had a vaccination to protect themselves.
The department has urged everyone from 6-months-old on up to have an annual flu shot. The shots are especially important for people 65 and older or who are vulnerable because of medical conditions.
This year's vaccine was well-matched to the current strains, the department said.
For More Information:
Find Flu Vaccine
I love all these people here that claim the flu shot to be ineffective because they haven't gotten one and never gotten the flu. Â I had never gotten a flu shot until three years ago and until that time, I was down with the flu at least twice (if not three times) every season. Â I, too, said "no more" and started getting the shot. Â Since I started getting it, I have continued to get the flu, but to lesser severity and lesser frequency every time.Â
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Everyone's bodies and immune systems are different. Â Just because you don't need it doesn't mean that someone else doesn't.
The flu is nothing to take lightly. And if you get it, please stay home! Not everyone you come in contact with has a strong immune system.
What? No H1N1 this years?
I guess we got bigger fish to fry this time..
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Mom used ta get us shot every year. Every year we got the flu. When I came of age, I said no thanks. 35 years later, I've come down with it maybe 5 times. I'll take those odds.
I don't really like the flu shot. However, I ride around in the back of an ambulance with sick patients and being in that close proximity I elected to get it this year. We try to wear face masks if we think a patient is sick and we will make the patient wear one if it wont compromise their treatment.Â
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The flu shot is safe. If you want it get it, if you don't then don't get one. No sense spewing nonsense about the flu shot, especially when said non sense is not based on fact.
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For that matter, most people don't even know what the flu is. The flu is a respiratory illness affecting the lungs. It doesn't affect the stomach nor does it cause vomiting like most people think. Likewise there is no such thing as the "stomach flu."
 @seattleemt There is such a thing as stomach flu, its just caused by having the flu and snot running down your throat into your stomach and getting nausea.
Have never been vaccinated in my life. Had quite a battle getting through school and playing sports because of that. Best decision my parents ever made. I would never get a flu shot. Its just the flu.
 @Blindman  @seattleemt What?  I've not once heard that definition of "stomach flu" in my entire life.  The commonly referred "stomach flu" is actually viral gastroenteritis.  You can Google it pretty easily.
 @seattleemt What's your definition of 'safe'?
The handful of times I had the flu shot, I got really sick  the same year. To the point I had to be hospitalized. Not sure if it was something in the shot or not but I most certainly do blame  getting the shot for the reason I was so sick. In the past 10 years of not taking the shot, I haven't been hospitalized. So I will take my chances and not get the shot. I know that the shot is sometimes mixed with eggs, I am not allergic to eggs or poultry so I know that's not what caused me getting so sick like that. My doctor has tried pushing the vaccination on me but with no success.Â
@PrairieDawn You aren't the only one. Everytime I've had a flu shot I got sick. The worst was the swine flu shot in 1977. That particular vaccine caused a lot of problems for people. I've been told by professionals that it doesn't make you sick, but I'm with you I know what it does to me.
 @PrairieDawn You can have a negative skin scratch test and still be allergic or sensitive enough to eggs to cause a serious enough reaction to make you sick.  My younger brother had every allergy skin test known to man kind and was told he wasn't allergic to anything, my parents ended up taking him to a naturopath who performed a specialized blood test called an elisa test, which showed several things that he was in fact not only definitely allergic to but that he was also highly sensitive, too.  He also found out that he had celiac disease because of a specialized elisa blood test panel that the naturopath performed on him, he had stomach and other problems for the first 10 years of his life because he had a disease that the doctor's didn't even bother testing him for, because they thought it was extremely rare.  Now they know it's a highly hereditary disease.  Take yourself to a naturopath and have them do an elisa test and i'll bet that eggs shows up on it.
My apologies at being redundant, just trying to get my thoughts out there.Â
After twenty years in the military with flu shots annually, I no longer get one. After nineteen years of retirement I am still ok. I have not had the flu in over 50 years. Uh yu think this is about pharmaceutical companies pushing this? No longer willing to poison my body with nonsense. Â They can report as much as they want but I call BS.
@Tolly371 I agree with you. Every year they start this and several years it was of pandemic proportions and last year it was only a epidemic. Enough.
It's likely that had they treated the young man with massive injections of vitamin C he would have recovered, as did the New Zealand farmer who had a case of swine flu so severe the hospital staff had advised his family to remove him from life support, because there was no hope. Injections of C have cured meningitis and advanced cases of polio, too, but you'll never find it mentioned by the mainstream media.
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The Cochrane Collaboration found the flu vaccine to be in essence 1% effective at preventing the flu, while the vaccines have a significant record of associated serious adverse reactions, including permanent disabilities and death. Vitamin D3, meanwhile, is very effective at fending off the flu, and helping eliminate it more efficiently should you contract it. It's perfectly logical, since D3 production is triggered by sunlight, the exposure to which is drastically reduced during the winter months; and the influenza virus doesn't fly south for the summer - it's with us all year long.
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You can't eliminate risk from life, but the risk of damage from vaccines far outweighs the risk of damage from disease.
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I've never gotten a flu shot, nor have I ever gotten my kids one, and I don't plan on starting. We generally don't get anything more than colds. However, this year's flu strains are pretty nasty, and thanks to some sick friends we ended up with them. Parents, keep an eye on your little ones. My 3 and 5 year olds have gotten over them pretty easily, but my 15 month old is having a really rough time, especially with the respiratory one. It comes with a high fever. (104-105) He just couldn't shake it and ended up on steroids and breathing treatments for bronchiolitis and antibiotics for a double ear infection. And now in addition to those he also has the stomach flu. (which I'm fairly certain the kids all picked up at the doctors office a couple days ago, since we haven't been anywhere else or had any visitors for the past week.) I'm sure he'll make a complete recovery, we'll just count this as one of the few "bad years". Sickness is part of life. Â
It hit everyone in my family except for me. I had the flu shot.
Before everyone goes out and gets the flu shot out of fear, you need to learn the FACTS about the flu shots (and your options):Â http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/vaccines/flu-vaccine-update-20112012-season
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I'd really like to know where Julie Graham (health department) gets her numbers from as well (not cited in the article above). Â If it's from the MMWR (Mobidity and Mortality Weekly Report), which is where most news agencies and doctors get the info, the numbers are false. Â The report that includes deaths from the flu also contain deaths from pneumonia. Â The numbers are combined into the category 'flu'. Â If you do a bit of looking, you'll find the yearly death rate is closer to under 3,000 for the flu. Â But those numbers don't indicate if the persons had other ailments, like dehydration or other sickness.
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http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_03.pdf (tables 10 and 11)
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You should also consider what ingredients are being injected into your body. Â Along with the ingredient list below, many of the vaccines are made with chicken egg embryos, chicken kidney cells, and MSG(nasal spray).
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Flu shots can contain any or all of the following (differs by vaccine brand, most brands contain most of the ingredients below):
-octoxynol
-sodium deoxycholate
-formaldehyde
-mercury
-betapropiolactone
-nonylphenol ethoxylate
-polysorbate 80
-hydrocortisone (steroid)
-egg proteins
-gentamicin (antibiotic)
-Gelatin
-Saline Solution
-polymyxin (antibiotic)
-neomycin (antibiotic)
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Please look those up so you know what is being introduced to your body.
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The Nasal Spray (flu vaccine) is the most likely vaccine to make you sick, nearly 2/3rds of people who use the nasal spray have symptons/side-effects similar to the flu, but it's also the most effective vaccine (ironic?). Â
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If you are pregnant you should not get a flu vaccine!
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 @Landshark There are flu shots made specifically for pregnant women that are safe. Don't give specific advise if you are not a Dr.
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If anyone has specific questions, they should talk to their doctor.
@Landshark There's worse stuff in a can of soda. Just ask about the mercury. Mine didn't have that and it's hard to believe that any would.
 @Magic 8 Ball  @Landshark @lovestolearn  Many MANY vaccines have mercury, usually about 250 micrograms and these are vaccine given to infants!  250 micrograms is considered a toxic amount by the CDC, yet many vaccines used today still have mercury in them.  Some have upwards of 600 micrograms. Of course there are some vaccines with little or no mercury as well, which is why I suggest to everyone to do their own research on the vaccine options.  The ingredients and amounts vary by brand.
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If there is a pregnancy safe vaccine, how long has it been used in the public and how many years have been put to testing the long-term affects on pregnant women and their child? Â It's always good to do your own research so you know what you really are getting in a vaccine, especially one like the flu vaccine which is not all that effective to begin with.
So how many people live in the state of Washington?? The average of 27 people a year while admittedly sad, doesn't seem that unreasonably high to me. Most of them I'd be willing to bet have compromised immune systems already.
 @football fan Yep. People don't die from flu unless they are already very sick and end up with pneumonia. Then of course they can end up like my mom. Go to hospital for treatment from pneumonia and end up with a staff infection from unsanitary hospital practices and dies.
@Blindman @football fan Geez, I think that's what happened to my mother too! Long ago, women who gave birth were dying at a steady rate from infection. It wasn't until much later, they learned the doctors and nurses were not washing their hands as they went from patient to patient for exams.
 @Koawoodplayer  @Blindman  @football My mom went to the most unhealthy hospital in the state, HArrison Hospital in Bremerton. Should have sued but didn't. Her doctor wrote on the death certificate the exact cause of death, staff infection from respirator. Hospitals are the worst place to go if your sick.
Hand sanitizer use is out of control. A friend of mine is a nurse, she even said the same thing and that if people would live normally and wash their hands after using the bathroom and before eating only, we would be a lot healthier. People dont get exposed to normal everyday germs anymore; its like living in a bubble. I'll accept the risk of getting the flu once every five years and not get the shot.
@northwestsurfer This seems to be the recent revelation about hand sanitizers. Those soaps wash away all the germs so much that people do not build up an immunity to common germs that would normally NOT kill you or make you all that sick.
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However, I don't know when I should be innoculated and when it's totally unnecessary. Those drug companies can sometimes scare us into getting a shot or pill for everything. Yet, those who are NOT immunized spread germs; or is that a myth?
@Koawoodplayer I dont know. I do agree that medical professionals in hospitals should use that stuff; "rub in rub out" when they enter patients' rooms and leave. But the general population is just becoming mindless scared fools. I never get sick, so I must be doing something right.
 @northwestsurfer But you are supposed to be so frightened by this story that you run out and get "immunized"! The fear mongering isn't working?! Oh NO
@northwestsurfer - me too