Quote:
Originally Posted by yournamehere
The worst cases (death or extended hospitalization) are due to a double whammy of the flu and bacterial pneumonia. The flu attacks the respiratory system and immune system so badly that, even after someone seems to be improving, they catch pneumonia and get much worse. Most of the deadly cases are due to this.
Even though there may be a shortage of flu vaccine, there is no shortage of pneumonia vaccine. If you go get a pneumonia vaccine, at least if you catch the H1N1 flu, you won't run the risk of having it followed by pneumonia. That will probably ensure that you will remain in the 99.5% of cases that suffer no greater effects than those of the seasonal flu. Nothing is certain, though . . . . .
ps - Pneumonia shots are good for about 10 years, too - they're not required annually.
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Thank you very much for that information. I'll add that the pneumonia vaccine appears to be part of the standard list of vaccines given to children these days (my son is 7), so now we're a bit less worried about our son. We all already have the seasonal, I'll think I'll take a trip today for the pneumonia as well.