A child dies from flu complications; shots take weeks to build protection

[Guest guest]

In Minnesota this week, a 12-year-old girl died of complications from influenza. The poor girl had asthma already, and had a staph infection. The local media pointed a finger saying that she hadn't had a flu shot -- even though some reports rate this year's effectiveness at 50% or less.

Right now a rather nasty strain of flu is going around the Minneapolis/St. area. Consequently the media is re-issuing the call for citizens to get a flu shot, even though it's late in the season.

One person, a nurse, sent me this observation:

"Even if the vaccine is a good match, it could take up to 2 weeks to provide any protection. And for children less then 9 years of age receiving their first flu shot, two doses are needed a month apart. So for these children it could take up to 6 weeks for the flu shots to produce any protection, sometime in the middle of April (?)."

It would be nice if the media would tell sick people to just stay home and wash their hands. Some moron showed up at my workplace last night -- a nursing home -- and said she had the flu. That's a hell of a lot more irresponsible than an unvaccinated child at school.

- Hokkanen