No late applications will be considered. Scholarships will be awarded on December 12 at the Auxiliary board meeting. Call volunteer services at 4753 for more details. Compared with other viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold, influenza infection can cause severe illness and also precipitate serious and life-threatening complications in all age groups. Epidemics of influenza occur during the winter months nearly every year and are responsible for an average of 20,000 deaths per year in the U.S. Rates of infection are highest among children, but rates of serious illness and death are highest among persons greater than 65 years of age and persons of any age who have medical conditions that place them at high risk for complications from influenza.
Symptoms of influenza are fever, cough, chills, sore throat, headache and muscle aches.
Influenza vaccine is the primary method for preventing influenza and its more severe complications. The viruses that cause influenza change often. Because of this, influenza vaccine is updated each year by replacing at least one of the vaccine viruses with a newer one. Protection develops about two weeks after the shot and may last up to a year. The best time to get the influenza vaccine is from October to mid-November.