Influenza Continues to Affect The Population in Large Numbers

Illnesses, epidemics, and pandemics derive from the living conditions and the social stratification of a society. Poverty tends to increase an individual’s possibility of getting sick due to deficient housing conditions, malnutrition, pressure, etc. Research supports that impoverished individuals experience higher death rates due to the insufficient medical care and nutritious food available to them. “An estimated 25 million Americans do not have enough money to feed themselves adequately and, as a result, suffer from serious nutritional deficiencies that can lead to illness and death” (Tischler 383). In effect, this contributes to the overall high mortality rates among groups of social classes. Those that live in poverty experience high levels

Social factors that can contribute to the development of the flu are income and education. People with limited income may not be able to afford healthy foods for their families. They also may be restricted in access to health care or may not have money for a doctor’s visit if they are ill. This affects access to preventative health screenings as well as immunizations for the flu. Education plays a role also. Uneducated people may not realize the importance of immunizing their family members. They may not understand that immunizations often prevent or reduce the severity of this illness.

As a result, the burden placed on the health care system is significantly reduced. Therefore, people at a high risk of contracting influenza should seriously consider being vaccinated. Evidence suggests that educating high-risk people about the influenza vaccine is worthwhile. For example, during the influenza season of 2000-2001, 70% of adults 65 years of age and older received the flu shot. This suggests

Last year, only twenty-six percent of eighteen to forty-nine year olds got the flu shot (Singh, 2014). With an average of 200,000 people hospitalized annually due to flu-related symptoms, these low vaccination rates are generating serious health risks among young adults all over the country (National Consumers League, 2013). This winter, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., the average age of people hospitalized with influenza was 28.5 years old, and of those that ended up in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, only two of the twenty-two had received the flu vaccination (Singh, 2014). The primary reason that young adults do not get the influenza vaccination is that they believe that they are invincible and influenza is not a serious illness (Singh, 2014). One in five Americans who do not receive the influenza vaccination claims that influenza is not a serious illness (National Consumers League, 2013). Of the Americans who do not get vaccinated, forty-five percent cited their good health as a rationale for bypassing vaccination (National Consumers League, 2013). This may be partly due to the targeted measures by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to increase vaccination rates among children and the elderly. In comparison to the twenty-six percent of young adults that were vaccinated, 56.6% of children (ages six months to seventeen years old) and 66.2% of seniors (ages 65 and older) were vaccinated. When targeted measures are used, they work. The problem

Ethically we must also respect and support each other as co-workers and protect each other from being infected by the flu. It is shown that when influenza vaccination is mandatory, many workers will choose not to get the vaccine because healthcare workers feel that they are not being given the choice to opt out of not having to get either vaccinated and must wear a mask. Nevertheless, if influenza is not mandatory many healthcare workers tend to get the vaccination, as all healthcare workers have one goal and that the protection of our other fellow workers as well as

The influenza vaccination in not only beneficial to recipients but also those that come in contact with the individuals exposed to or at risk for contracting influenza. Health care workers are at a constant risk of exposure to various diseases and illness including influenza. An emergency such as a vaccination shortage for influenza will not only affect at risk individuals but spread rapidly to all those exposed without knowledge or a-symptomatic at time of encounter. Health care workers will be exposed in physician offices, hospitals, emergency care or urgent care centers with heightened possibility of spreading the illness (CDC, 2015). Health care workers are not limited to the obvious: physicians or nurses but also, therapists, EMS,

According to Papatya Tankut—RPh Vice President of Pharmacy Affairs at CVS health—“Getting a flu shot is the most effective way to protect yourself and your family from getting the flu” (A). Most people underestimate the importance of the flu shot even though it is the best thing someone can do to stay healthy. It allows for people's body to identify influenza so it knows how to fight back incase it has to face the flu. With this, it is also never too late for someone to receive the flu vaccine. The CCD recommends to receive the influenza vaccine as soon as it is released for flu season; however, it is still beneficial to get the vaccine as long as the disease is circulating (C). Throughout the flu season, there are many opportunities to receive the flu and become sick. Even getting the influenza vaccine during the second half of flu season helps protect your body from that point until flu season ends. By families receiving the flu shot at the beginning of the season or towards the middle or end, the influenza vaccine helps people become more immune to the

Seasonal influenza is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the industrialized world. The United States alone averages more than 23,000 influenza-associated deaths annually (Cortes-Penfield, 2014). Everyone is given the option to receive the flu vaccination each year. The vaccine is offered in health care facilities, clinics, and pharmacies around

Vaccination rates among the general population in the United States is an important public health intervention aimed at preventing unnecessary hospitalizations and premature deaths related to influenza. Among these vaccinations is the influenza vaccination, in which our paper will primarily focus on the barriers which prevent vaccination and determine ways to reduce the number of reasons people choose not to be immunized. We will look at some of the determinants and how they affect vaccination rates. These determinants include looking at: age, gender, marital status, education, ethnicity, socio-economic status, social and cultural values, housing, behavioral beliefs, social influences, previous vaccine experiences, perceived susceptibility, sources of information, perceived health status, healthcare system accessibility, affordability, knowledge and attitudes about vaccination, and physicians’ advice. By looking at the impact of these determinants, we can draw conclusions on how decreasing these barriers will impact the vaccination rate for the influenza vaccine. We will focus on the general population as a whole and at risk populations including: the elderly over the age of 65, children younger than 6 years old and health care workers.

In recent years encouragement to get flu shots has become a yearly mantra. Elderly, children six months to two years, health care workers and immune-deficient people are urged in the strongest terms to go to their doctors or clinics and get a flu shot. This group encompasses about 98 million people. In the fall of 2004 this was in the forefront of American and to some extent the Western World media with the shortage of this flu seasons vaccine. Current medical wisdom states that flu shots are safe, effective and prevent mortality. A recent study published by The Journal of the American Medicine Association (JAMA) has brought the current wisdom into question. On February 14, 2005 JAMA

In the healthcare field, it is essential that workers receive the flu vaccination due to the potential to either become infected by a patient or unknowingly spreading the virus to the patient population. The state of New York requires that health care workers in not only hospitals but other medical agencies in the state “be immunized against influenza viruses as a precondition

The anti-vaccination sentiment exists worldwide, with activists arguing that vaccines are ineffective with a high risk of side effects, encouraging people to forgo immunization, including the influenza inoculation. Conversely, I wonder if these same activists would promote anti-immunization and anti-influenza inoculation to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for health care providers and medical personnel, especially countries with high infectious disease rates and high risk assessment of influenza with pandemic potential. Moreover, would these activists be willing to promote these individuals rights to perform their specialties in the United States without proper vaccinations? The answer to the question is not by any means. Nevertheless, a person deciding whether to be

Annual influenza vaccination is recommended to population ages 6 months and older. A concerning increase in influenza-related morbidity and mortality was reported in year 2013—2014 due to a low rate, immunization among adults in Puerto Rico. (Arriola, Mercado-Crespo, Rivera, Serrano-Rodriguez, Macklin, 2015). The predominant circulating virus in Puerto Rico during 2013-2014 influenza season, the pandemic H1N1 was included as a component in the influenza season vaccine. (Arriola et.al.). The Puerto Rico Department of Health improved the number and varied locations of influenza vaccination clinics across the island. It was interpreted in the survey that the doctor's recommendation for vaccination, and positive beliefs about vaccine safety and effectiveness, consequently, not knowing about viewpoints and practices regarding influenza vaccination in Puerto Rico caused the low rate of the influenza vaccination.

One in five US citizens are struggling to cope with medical debts and an ‘alarming high’ proportion of adults with chronic illness regularly skip their medication because they can’t afford it, according to a new study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund (Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 1996). The study, which surveyed 4,350 adults across the country, also found that two out of five uninsured adults who reported debt were unable to pay for basic necessities like food, heat or rent because of mounting medical bills (Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 1996). The uninsured are more likely to go without preventative care or screening tests that could prevent more serious and costly health problems (Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 1996). For an uninsured person who is unlucky enough to get sick, it is easy to see how quickly they can fall into a downward spiral of debt, forgone care and poorer health (Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 1996). Individual income impacts health status, but it is confounded by variables such as education and social capital. Social capital theory describes social relationships and their impact on health. Income distribution, the gap between the wealthiest and poorest, also affects health (Sistrom, Hale, 2006).

Year after year, older citizens and people with prolonged illnesses have a greater chance of receiving the flu or flu-related ailments because of a more vulnerable immune system. These groups are two of most the targeted groups during the flu vaccination season. However, in Germany, these groups are not vaccinated for influenza like they are in many other parts of the world. The purpose of this study was to determine why these groups’ flu vaccination rates are so low in Germany. Methods for this study were based on the German population. A cross-sectional analysis in adults older than 18 was performed using automated phone calls to German citizens. The investigators divided participants into two groups, the first group was residents 18-59 years old with prolonged illnesses, while group two was residents 60 years and older regardless of