More Flu Vaccine Available

Marilyn Place, director of the Senior Center, in collaboration with the Newtown Health District and the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA), will be holding another flu shot clinic at the Senior Center on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook from 10 am to noon on Tuesday, November 23.

Senior citizens, aged 65 years or older, must call the Senior Center at 270-4310 to register and learn about the necessary paperwork. People who are under 65 years of age but have chronic medical conditions, should also call the Senior Center. People with medical conditions should obtain documentation from their doctor to present at the flu shot clinic.

A clinic will be held on Tuesday, November 16, at which 300 doses will be administered, but this flu clinic already is filled by preregistrations. Three hundred doses also were dispensed on October 23.

The Newtown Health District is working with the Senior Center and the Visiting Nurse Association to create a priority list for potential recipients of the flu vaccine.  People between the ages of 2 and 64 and in good health are encouraged not to seek a flu shot his year, and should expect to be turned down if requesting one.

Priority has been placed on age (65 years and greater) and/or the existence of underlying chronic medical conditions (specifically, heart disease, kidney disease, lung diseases like asthma, metabolic diseases like diabetes, blood disorders like anemia, or a weakened immune system caused by cancer or cancer treatment, HIV/AIDS, or steroid therapy).

On Wednesday, the state Department of Public Health reported that the first flu case of the season has been reported in Connecticut.  Type A influenza was the cause of illness for an elderly woman in New Haven County, the DPH said.

People with influenza usually experience a rapid onset of fever, chills, headache, and muscle ache followed by a runny nose, sore throat and cough, which is often severe and lasts for many days. Most persons with influenza recover within two to seven days.

The DPH has a website at www.dph.state.ct.us/BCH/fluvac/flu.htm with information about who should get a flu shot. General information on influenza is available at www.dph.state.ct.us. The state also has a hotline at 800-830-9426.

The Health District continues to collaborate with the local doctors and nursing homes to try to best meet the needs of the community.  People are encouraged to continue to work with their primary care physician whenever possible.  The Health District, the Senior Center, the VNA and the local medical community continue to monitor the flu vaccine availability and inform the public as information becomes available.