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N ovem ber 6, 2013
Jarliani» (Dhseruer
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Fall in Line for a Flu Shot
Making your family health a priority
by D r . R oger M uller
A ccording to the
T he leav es are
C enters for D isease
changing colors, stores
Control, everyone who
shelves are filling with
is at least 6 m onths of
seasonal decorations
age should get a flu
and evening tempera­
vaccine. It is increas­
tures are dipping into
ingly im portant to get
the 40s. Fall has arrived
vaccinated for people
in O regon, and that
who have certain medi­
means it’s also the be­
cal conditions such as
ginning of flu season.
asthm a, d iab etes or
Influenza is a seri­
chronic lung disease,
ous disease that can lead to hos­ pregnant women, young children
pitalization and som etim es even under 5 and people 65 and older.
death. The best way to protect
Despite the evidence and rec­
yourself and reduce your chances om mendations, hundreds of thou­
of getting the flu this year is to get sands of O regonians w on’t get
a flu vaccine.
vaccinated this year. Not only
does that put your own personal
health and w ell-being at risk, but
it increases the chances o f your
fam ily, friends, co-w orkers and
neighbors getting sick too.
Consider the follow ing: G et­
ting the shot will not give you the
flu.
According to the CDC, the flu
shot vaccine is made with either
inactivated flu viruses (and there­
fore not infectious) or with no flu
vaccin e v iru ses at all. M any
people report experiencing flu-like
sym ptom s after getting the vac­
cine, such as muscle pain or weak­
ness, but these symptoms go away
after a day or two, and are much
less severe than the actual flu.
Influenza does not discriminate
Gunshot Injuries to Children Studied
A research team led by Oregon
Health & Science U niversity and
the U n iv e rsity o f C a lifo rn ia ,
D avis, reveals that child h o o d
gunshot injuries, while uncom ­
mon, are more severe, require more
m ajor surgery, have greater m or­
tality and higher per-patient costs
than any other m echanism for
childhood injury - particularly
among adolescent males.
Previous studies on gunshot
injuries in children have focused
alm ost exclusively on m ortality.
This study is one of few to include
the much broader num ber of chil­
dren affected by gunshot injuries
and served by 911 em ergency ser­
vices, both in-hospital and out-
of-of hospital m easures of injury
severity, and children with gun­
shot injuries treated outside m a­
jo r traum a centers.
The researchers reviewed data
from nearly 50,000 injured chil­
dren aged 19 and younger for
whom 9-1-1 em ergency medical
services were activated over a
th ree-y ear period in Portland,
Vancouver, Seattle, Sacram ento,
Calif., Santa Clara, Calif., and Den­
ver.
The research team looked at
the num ber of injuries, severity of
injury, type of hospital interven­
tions, patient deaths and costs-
per-patient in children with gun­
shot injuries com pared with chil­
THE LAW OFFICES OF
Patrick John Sw eeney, P C .
dren whose injuries resulted from
other mechanisms, including stab­
bing, being hit by a m otor vehicle,
struck by blunt object, falls, m o­
tor vehicle crashes and others.
against age or healthy habits. Just
because y o u ’re young or d o n ’t
typically get sick doesn’t mean
you can ’t catch the flu. A ccord­
ing to the CDC, people who have
the flu can spread it to others from
as far as six feet away. You can
also catch the flu from someone
who has yet to exhibit any signs
or sym ptoms o f being sick.
In most cases, the cost of a flu
shot is covered by your health
insurance plan, w hether you buy
health insurance on your own or
are covered through your em ­
ployer, through Medicare or M ed­
icaid. M ore em ployers are now
offering free onsite flu shot clin­
ics at the office. If you get the flu,
the costs o f treating it and the
potential for m issed days o f work
or school far exceed the cost o f
the vaccination.
G etting a flu shot takes no more
than five m inutes. M ost neigh­
borhood pharm acies even offer
w alk-in options, so you d o n ’t
need to make an appointm ent. If
you are unem ployed or your em ­
ployer doesn’ t offer flu shots, you
can go to your prim ary care doc­
tor or nearby wellness clinic, most
retail pharm acies or contracted flu
shot providers.
To find a list o f flu shot provid­
e rs
near
you,
v is it
public.health.oregon.gov.
Dr. R o g erM u llerisch iefm ed i-
cal officer with U nitedH ealthcare
Pacific Northwest.
L egal N otices
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Expert eye and vision care
in your neighborhood
Nationally known Legacy Devers Eye Institute has a
new clinic at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
Blake V. Acohido, M.D., is a general ophthalmologist
who specializes in cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic
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Attorney at Law
Legacy Devers Eye Institute-Emanuel*
503-413-3030
1549 SE Ladd
Portland, O regon
Our legacy is yours.
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
Facsimile:
Email:
(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney @ PDXLawyer.com
*A departm ent o f Legacy Emanuel Medical Center
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