By John Perry

Ah-choo! Cough, cough. Groan.

Welcome back to flu season.

In Texas, most outbreaks occur between late December and mid-February.

Catching the flu is nothing to sneeze at. Don’t scoff at it as if it were another cold. The flu can lead to severe respiratory viral infections that may bring on life-threatening complications. Five to 20 percent of Americans are infected each year.

More than 40,000 adults die from flu-related illnesses each year, including bacterial pneumonia.

Pneumonia is particularly dangerous for the elderly. Adults in their 50s and 60s, especially those with immune systems compromised by illness or medications, are at a higher risk for developing respiratory complications leading to pneumonia.

Influenza and pneumonia together are the fifth leading cause of death among Americans 65 and older. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Take your best shot
“If you thought the only vaccine you needed was a flu shot, then think again,” said Dr. Melanie Mouzoon, managing physician of immunization services at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic.

“We are seeing more elderly people getting their flu shots every year. Which is great. It keeps them from getting the flu and spreading it,” Mouzoon said. “But not many have received a vaccination against pneumonia.

“It’s a shame. Every year, thousands of senior citizens die needlessly from respiratory complications that might have been prevented,” Mouzoon said.

Flu shots are given every year, but the pneumonia vaccine is generally administered once in a person’s lifetime.
Mouzoon believes patients should be proactive with their health care.

“It is our hope they will request the pneumococcal vaccine,” Mouzoon said. “It’s readily available and offers a cost-effective way to prevent disease.”

About 175,000 Americans are hospitalized for pneumococcal pneumonia each year. (Source: National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.)

“People 65 and older and those with chronic medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease and asthma are at high risk for serious complications triggered by pneumococcal disease,” Mouzoon said. “Talk with your primary care physician and get immunized this winter.”

She suggests keeping a personal immunization record. (Print a blank adult immunization record.)

“Vaccines are as important to adults as they are to children.”
Helen Murphy couldn’t agree more.

“I was getting bronchitis every year and it would segue into pneumonia,” said Murphy, 63, a city retiree working part-time as a benefits coordinator in Human Resources. “It was awful. I’d cough my head off for a month.”

Fed up, she requested the vaccine the year before last.
Dr. Lisa Hauser, a practitioner of family medicine at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, gave Murphy the one-time shot of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine.

The PPV, which can be given at any time during the year, protects against 23 types of bacteria responsible for 90 percent of pneumonia cases among older adults.

Serious reactions to the vaccine are rare, but mild swelling and redness at the injection site occur in about half receiving the shot.

“Since mine, I’ve skipped my yearly bout with pneumonia,” Murphy said. “I recommend getting the vaccine as long as your doctor OKs it.”

The PPV is a covered benefit of the city’s health plan. If provided during a regular office visit, there is no copayment for participants in the HMO Blue Texas HMO, Aetna, or the TexanPlus and Texas HealthSpring Medicare Advantage plans. There is a $30 copay for in-network PPO, and 40 percent of the cost after deductible for out-of-network subscribers.

Pneumococcal disease can attack different parts of the body. Other illnesses caused by pneumococcous, include meningitis, middle ear and sinus infections, and a condition called bacteremia, a dangerous blood infection.

In a recent survey, 65 percent of people 65 and older had never received a pneumococcal vaccination. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Dartmouth Medical School considered the results a “massive underuse” of pneumonia vaccines by those covered through Medicare.

In this time of skyrocketing health costs, immunizations save many, many health care dollars by preventing illnesses and avoiding expensive hospital stays.

For more information, visit the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases at www.nfid.org and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov.

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