Officials urge vaccination for flu

McCook — Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department supports the Healthy People 2020 goal for influenza vaccination, which states 70 percent of children and adults will receive an annual flu shot. Traditionally, less than 40 percent of adults and 50 percent of children are receiving this immunization.

Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. For 3 decades, Healthy People has established benchmarks and monitored progress over time in order to:

* Encourage collaborations across communities and sectors.

* Empower individuals toward making informed health decisions.

* Measure the impact of prevention activities.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the flu vaccine is safe. Hundreds of millions of Americans have safely received flu vaccines over the past 50 years, and there has been extensive research supporting the safety of seasonal flu vaccines. Each year, CDC works closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other partners to ensure the highest safety standards for flu vaccines.

“Social media listed a story recently stating flu shots are not safe. The story continued in an attempt to make the story appear true, however, there was no truth to the story. The medical agency listed in the story denied the implications in their entirety.” explains Melissa Propp, RN Public Health Nurse at Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department. She encourages, “Know the source of the information. Is the source credible and based on science?”

SWNPHD urges all residents to receive their flu shot, whether through their work, medical provider, pharmacy or with the health department.

Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department (308) 345-4223 serves Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes, Hitchcock, Keith, Perkins and Red Willow counties.

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