Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

The flu season has arrived early in the U.S., and includes the H3N2 influenza strains which previously have been associated with more serious flu seasons. Especially during the holidays when people gather and travel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wants you to know some important facts, if you have cancer now or if you have had cancer in the past:

• Every person aged 6 months or older should get a flu shot;
• Only 37% of age-eligible Americans had gotten their flu shots as of the latest survey in mid-November;
• Although we don’t know if people with or having survived cancer get infected with influenza viruses more often, people who have cancer now or who are disease-free but have had cancer previously are at higher risk for complications if they get the flu;
• The CDC revised its pneumonia vaccine recommendations in Oct. 2012: Now, adults with specific immunocompromising conditions (included generalized malignancy) should get two different pneumonia vaccinations. Read the rest of this entry »