As public health officials continue to monitor what looks like an early flu season this year, the American Lung Association announced today that it is joining forces with Glaxo Wellcome Inc. to launch a new education campaign on influenza that will debut in early November. Recognizing influenza as a severe respiratory disease is the first step in understanding how to manage this illness. With the educational support and funding from Glaxo Wellcome, the public will receive useful information about the seriousness of influenza, both by encouraging everyone to protect themselves from contracting the illness by getting vaccinated now, and to better manage the disease if they become affected during flu season.
Influenza is a viral infection that typically causes significant disease that can be incapacitating.
It is differentiated from the common cold in that influenza comes on rapidly, usually within hours, and is marked by high fever, persistent cough, profound muscle aches and severe and early headache. Vaccination is the first line of defense against influenza and the American Lung Association and Glaxo Wellcome encourage Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible to avoid the infection this flu season. Vaccination is extremely important to groups at high risk such as healthcare workers, people with asthma and other chronic diseases and people at increased risk of developing complications of the flu, such as older adults and pregnant women in their second or third trimester. Flu shots are covered by Medicare, making access for older adults easier. Flu affects more than 100 million people each year in the U.S., the majority of whom are not vaccinated.