By: Carole Yamaguchi, mother of Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi
The flu is a serious and potentially deadly disease that hospitalizes hundreds of thousands of Americans and kills thousands more every year. I want to do everything I can to help protect myself and my family from influenza and its related complications, which is why I make sure we all get our flu shots each and every year.
When my daughter Kristi was younger, I knew that getting the flu could ruin her dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal. In fact, during the 1988 Olympics, we saw another figure skater who was unable to compete due to a severe case of the flu. That really helped emphasize the importance of a flu shot even more for our family.
Influenza vaccination isn’t just important for athletes. Everyone 6 months of age and older is recommended for annual vaccination, and it is especially important that older adults like me get vaccinated. As we age, our immune systems often get weaker, and we might not be able to fight the flu as well as we used to. I encourage others who are 65 years of age and older to talk to their health care provider to learn more about the seriousness of influenza and the flu vaccine options for our age group.
To help increase vaccination rates, the American Lung Association’s Faces of Influenza campaign has worked for the past six years to show all Americans that they are among the many “faces” of influenza. This year, Kristi and I are spearheading the initiative to boost influenza immunization rates among family members of all generations. Mothers often are the primary health care decision-makers of the family, and it’s important we ensure our entire family, from children, husband and grandparents, get a flu shot every year.
It’s also important to recognize that there is still plenty of time to get vaccinated if you haven’t already done so. Many Americans associate influenza with the fall, but you may be surprised to learn that during many flu seasons, influenza activity doesn’t peak until winter or early spring. In fact, virus activity peaked in February or later in approximately half of the past 35 flu seasons.
Talk to your health care provider about your best options for influenza immunization, and put vaccination on your family’s “to-do” list now to make sure you have a happy and healthy holiday season and a great start to the new year.
