Short Message: get your flu shot today – especially if you are over 50 years old, younger than 2 years old, or have a chronic illness – like lung disease, heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, diabetes – to name a few. If you are not in any of these categories, have you been reluctant to get your flu shot?  Do you think you really don’t need it or there may be some danger to getting the shot?  Do you think it probably won’t work anyway?  Do you think that the flu isn’t really all that dangerous – it’s just a scare tactic for companies and doctors to make more money?

Fact – The flu virus is endemic (resides in the wild) in birds and animals.  Even if there is no large outbreak among people, the flu virus is living and multiplying around the world, on islands of the Pacific, the jungles of Africa and South America, the plains of North America and Middle Europe in the animals and birds who live in these regions.

(The following is a fictitious story based on a real-life incident.)

Nurse Koszin spotted a young mother at the coffee machine in the far corner of the cafeteria. This late at night the serving line was closed, the tables and chairs were neatly arranged – and empty. By the overhead spotlight, she could see the dark circles and smeared mascara of a parent in pain.

“Mrs. Thompson? Mrs. Thompson. There you are,” she said lightly.

“Yes?!” The mother’s voice echoed through the empty room. “Is anything wrong?”

“No, no.” She tried to be as reassuring as possible. “Janie is actually improving. The doctor wants to talk with you. He’s ready to remove the breathing tube and needs to talk to you about the procedure so that you know what to expect.”