2012 Flu Season Begins

If you’ve seen the local news this morning you may have heard that the New Hampshire Health Department has already confirmed its first case of flu. Last year, the flu hit later than usual and was one of the mildest years in history, according to the CDC.

Flu clinics are being held throughout the state; locally North Country Hospital began offering its clinic on September 20. You can view the full flu shot clinic schedule HERE. Many pharmacies also offer walk-in flu shot clinics throughout the season.

To stay current on the flu in Vermont, bookmark the Vermont Department of Health Flu Surveillance website. Here you can find about the flu in general, find a clinic, find health resources, and vaccine information. (I also find the Google Flu Trends website and the CDC flu maps interesting to watch during the season.)

Who should be vaccinated? Anyone over the age of 6 months! Some groups are at a higher risk of developing complications from the flu, these include:

• Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 (but NOT children under 6 months who are too young for the vaccine)
• Pregnant women
• Adults 65 years and older
• People who have medical conditions (especially certain conditions which are listed here)

If you live in a nursing home or live with or care for people who are at a high risk for flu complications, you should also get the flu vaccine.

The CDC publishes a Flu Guide for Parents on their website if you need more information.

We’re headed out Wednesday and Friday for our flu shots!

Do you know of other clinics in the area? Please post them here!

Naptime means playtime for NEK mom Aimee Alexander, whose creative outlet is writing about all things mom-related over at AimeeLAlexander.com including children’s health advocacy, education, raising kids in rural America, and the occasional project or recipe. You can also find her on Facebook and Pinterest!