Special Health Care Needs Increase Vulnerability to the Flu

COURT HOUSE – The county reminds residents that flu is serious business. Each year many children get the flu, and some of those children die from it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year an average of 20,000 children under the age of 5 are hospitalized because of complications from the flu. Children and youth with special health care needs or disabilities are particularly vulnerable. In a recent survey, CDC found that only half of children with neurologic and neurodevelopmental conditions are vaccinated against the flu each year. Last year, according to the CDC, 64% of children with underlying health conditions who died from the flu had a neurologic disorder or neurodevelopmental condition.
If you are a parent of a child with special child health care needs or disabilities, learn about the complications of the flu, take steps to prevent avoidable illness, get an annual flu vaccine for your child and the entire family, and share this information and concerns with your childcare providers. As a reminder, all children less than 5 years old who attend daycare or preschool in NJ must get a flu vaccine each year to continue in school after Dec. 31.
The Department of Health posts all of its flu clinics online at www.cmchealth.net or on the flu hotline at 463-6581. Upcoming County flu clinics are for everyone over 6 months of age. Free flu shots and FluMist will be offered:
• Oct. 30 at Margaret Mace Elementary school from 2:30-4:30 p.m., located at 1201 Atlantic Avenue in North Wildwood.
• Nov. 6 at the County Library Main Branch from 12-2 p.m., located at 30 West Mechanic St in CMCH.
For all County flu clinics, if you have a severe allergy to eggs, other vaccine component, or if you have been told by a doctor that you have had Guillain-Barré syndrome, you must receive the flu vaccine from your personal physician.
Information on the flu can be found on our website, www.cmchealth.net and at www.cdc.gov/flu. Information specifically on the flu and children and youth with special health care needs or disabilities is available at http://www.fv-ncfpp.org/activities/flu/flu-media/