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Show i Vaccinate Now Against Flu, Public Health Officials Urge Sixty thousand people who, under normal expectations may have lived, were victims of the October-March "Asian" flu in 1947-58, according to a fact sheet by the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. A large proportion of the deaths were among those already afflicted af-flicted with chest and heart diseases; dis-eases; pregnant women and persons per-sons over 65 of age were quite susceptible. Vaccination could have saved many of those lives. State and local medical associations, asso-ciations, health officers, public health nurses have been warned by Dr. Alton A. Jenkins, chief of Communicable and Chrronic Disease Section of the Utah State Health Department of seasonal danger of influenza to unvacci- nated persons. Dr. Jenkins has pointed out that immunization ity rates. Among the diseases referred to are rheumatic heart disease, arteriosclerotic or hypersensitive hy-persensitive heart disease, bronchitis, bron-chitis, pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema em-physema or tuberculosis, and Addison's disease. Dr. Wharton said, "vaccination is desirable for all, as influenza is no more likely to attack people peo-ple in groups and with the diseases dis-eases mentioned, than others; but it is much more likely to kill them. For this reason we urge vaccination, as a minimum for those patients in selected groups known to have an increased in-creased risk of death from influenza. in-fluenza. I repeat, for emphasis, those groups are the aged, pregnant preg-nant women and persons already suffering from the chronic re-bilitating re-bilitating diseases of circulatory and pulmonary systems." is effective protection for 60 to 75 per cent of those vaccinated. Except for persons with certain ' special allergies, and these must consult their physicians before being vaccinated, the vaccine rarely has any side effects and penicillin sensitivity is not a factor. Vaccination against flu is given by private physicians. In urging Utah cooperation in the federal program Dr. James D. Wharton, interim director of the State Department of Health has advised that routine, annual vaccinations are recommended for pregnant women, all persons 65 years and over; and all persons per-sons of any age who have heart, chest and kidney diseases, since patients in these categories have experienced the highest mortal- According to the Influenza fact sheet of the U.S. Department Depart-ment of Health, Education and Welfare, the U! S. has recently experienced three epidemics of Asian influenza. The first two appeared in the last quarter of 1957 and the first quarter of 1958 as part of the world wide epidemic; the third arose in the early winter months of 1960. Such epidemics tend to recur in cycles of unpredictable frequency fre-quency but the disease is usually present in some degree. Vacci-natoin, Vacci-natoin, particularly for the high risk group, should therefore be repeated annually, regardless of whether influenza is present in' a particular locality at a particular particu-lar time. |