Flu Facts
Flu season usually runs from November through April.  The flu can cause mild to severe illness, and even lead to death. Each year, in the U.S. about 36,000 people die from flu-related illness and there are more than 200,000 people hospitalized. Over 90% of deaths and about 60% of hospitalizations occur in people older than 65.

Who is at risk?
In seasonal flu, certain people are at “high risk” of serious complications. This includes people 65 years and older, children younger than five years old, pregnant women, and people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions, such as chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.

Who should get a seasonal flu shot?

  • People 50 years of age and older
  • People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions, such as chronic kidney disease and kidney failure
  • People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
  • People who live with or care for those at high risk including health care workers and household members
  • Children aged 6 months to 19 and pregnant women

What is swine flu?

There has been a lot of recent news about the swine flu, also called Novel H1N1.  The virus is separate from the traditional seasonal flu virus we see each year.  H1N1 was first detected in people in April of 2009.  Scientists thought at first that it was similar to a common virus found in pigs throughout North America, but now know that it is very different.  In June, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a pandemic was underway, meaning that this new flu had spread over large portions of the world in many countries.

This means you may need two vaccines this year to prevent the flu – one to protect you against seasonal flu and another to protect you against H1N1.

Who should get an H1N1 vaccine?

  • Pregnant women
  • Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age
  • Healthcare and emergency medical services staff
  • All people from 6 months through 24 years of age
  • Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

Where can I get the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines?
Seasonal flu shots are available now from your doctor as well as many pharmacies, county health departments, community clinics, and health and wellness events.

The H1N1 vaccine is expected to ready in October and will be distributed to 90,000 sites, including schools and clinics, across the U.S. that state health departments have chosen as best at getting the shots out fast.

How to prevent the flu
The single best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccination each year. There are two types of vaccines:

  • An inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle
  • A vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for “Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine”) is given as a nose spray. LAIV should not be given to people on dialysis.

Yearly flu shots are given beginning in September and continue throughout the flu season. It is better to get one late than to not get one at all.

Other things you can do to protect yourself

  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also work well. Make sure they are at least 60% alcohol. Remind others to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or to cough into their arms – not their hands, and to tut tissues into the trash right away and wash their hands
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because germs are spread this way
  • Stay away from sick people as much as possible
  • Talk to your dialysis unit about what you should do if you or a family member becomes sick
  • Ask your dialysis unit about the proper and most effective way to use surgical masks
  • Disinfect telephones and keyboards daily
  • If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone
  • Your doctor might recommend treatment with an anti-viral, such as Tamiflu, to treat or prevent the flu

Should everyone get a flu shot?
Almost everyone should get a flu shot, but there are some people who should not do so without talking to their doctor first.   They include:

  • People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs or gelatin
  • People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination in the past
  • People who developed Guillian-Barré syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting a flu shot in the past
  • Children less than 6 months of age
  • Anyone with a moderate or severe illness with a fever should wait to get vaccinated until they are well

How the flu can affect people on dialysis
Because kidney disease weakens your immune system it is more likely to cause problems like pneumonia and make other health problems worse.   If you think you have the flu you need to tell your kidney doctor right away so they can take steps to prevent complications.  You may not feel like eating or even doing your dialysis treatments, but it is important to keep your strength up and not miss treatments.  If you go to a center for treatments you will need to alert the staff, before arriving at the clinic, that you are sick. They may ask you to wear a mask to prevent spreading the virus.  You may also be placed in a separate room for your treatments.

Everyone is encouraged to get vaccinated. 
Find out where you can get both the seasonal flu shot and H1N1 vaccine near you

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