Pepper
12-16-2004, 07:41 PM
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Department of Health has identified the state's first confirmed case of influenza in a pediatric patient from Hinds County, officials said Thursday.
Further details were not released but health officials on Thursday urged high-risk people to get flu shots.
"It is especially important for parents who have children at high risk to get them vaccinated against the flu," state epidemiologist Dr. Mills McNeill said. "Young children have a higher hospitalization rate due to the flu."
The pediatric vaccine can be obtained at any health department for $10, McNeill said. The adult flu vaccine costs $15.
The elderly, infants and those with chronic conditions are at highest risk of severe complications or death from the flu, which kills an average of 36,000 people and hospitalizes 200,000 each year.
High-risk Mississippians who want a flu shot must provide proof of residency, a Medicaid or Medicare card or a Social Security number and a check or cash.
The state's flu season typically begins in late December and runs through March.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/state/10433847.htm
JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Department of Health has identified the state's first confirmed case of influenza in a pediatric patient from Hinds County, officials said Thursday.
Further details were not released but health officials on Thursday urged high-risk people to get flu shots.
"It is especially important for parents who have children at high risk to get them vaccinated against the flu," state epidemiologist Dr. Mills McNeill said. "Young children have a higher hospitalization rate due to the flu."
The pediatric vaccine can be obtained at any health department for $10, McNeill said. The adult flu vaccine costs $15.
The elderly, infants and those with chronic conditions are at highest risk of severe complications or death from the flu, which kills an average of 36,000 people and hospitalizes 200,000 each year.
High-risk Mississippians who want a flu shot must provide proof of residency, a Medicaid or Medicare card or a Social Security number and a check or cash.
The state's flu season typically begins in late December and runs through March.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/state/10433847.htm