Too many forgo flu vaccine, experts say

Flu activity is high in many Triangle communities, but many people still resist getting the flu vaccine, experts say.

"Most parents wouldn't think about not making their kids wear seat belts or bike helmets," said Linda Butler Chief Medical Officer at Rex Hospitals. "But they send their kids to school without a vaccine."

Fourteen North Carolinians have died from complications caused by influenza this year, one of the higher flu death tolls in recent years. Six of those deaths were children.

Before becoming Chief Medical Officer, Butler was a pediatrician in the Rex system. She said flu vaccines are the best way to protect children, who often bring diseases from school into the home, because their hand-washing skills are not always ideal.

"School mandates you vaccinate your kid against measles, mumps and rubella," Butler said. "But I know of more deadly flu cases than mumps cases."

It's not too late

Zach Moore is a state epidemiologist who works at the Department of Health and Human Services. He said this year's vaccine is well-matched to the current flu, a combination of three strains including H1N1, the "swine flu."

This year's flu is an equal opportunist, Moore said, infecting children, adults and the elderly with vigor. Many nursing homes are reporting outbreaks.

"We have an effective vaccine, and it's not too late to get the shot and get protection from it. That's the good news," Moore said.

The bad news is skepticism and cavalier attitudes are still the common enemy of the flu vaccine.

"People, like college students, think 'I won't get sick, I don't need it,' and others say, 'I've never gotten the flu vaccine in my life, why start now?" Moore said.

NCSU outbreak

N.C. State University has had 624 cases of the flu since second semester began on Jan. 10. That number is very high, said Dr. Mary Bengtson, medical director and staff physician at N.C. State Student Health.

"Those are only the cases that we've seen and treated," Bengtson said. "The case number may be much higher if students self-treated or saw their personal doctor."

Misinformation can play a role in the reluctance to get a flu shot.

"No matter how many times scientists disprove associations between vaccines and autism, or prove that the flu shot cannot give you the flu, people will continue believing that," Butler said.

Moore said the flu vaccine has been administered in the U.S. for more than 50 years and is very safe.

"I just don't see a downside to getting the vaccine," Butler said.