It’s hard to believe that flu season is almost here! August is National Immunization Awareness Month and in addition to your annual flu shot, we want to recommend these three additional immunizations to protect your lung health this fall and winter.
RSV
RSV is highly contagious and can be severe or even life-threatening. Adults 75+ and those 60-74 with certain risk factors like chronic lung disease are eligible for vaccination. Newborns can also be protected against severe RSV by either: vaccination during weeks 32-36 of pregnancy (Sept. – Jan.) OR an RSV antibody for infants under 8 months old (Oct. - Mar.)
COVID-19
An updated COVID-19 vaccine will be available this fall and is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. You can choose to get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same visit.
What’s Your Personal Risk for Pneumococcal Pneumonia?
Each year, pneumococcal pneumonia causes over 150,000 hospitalizations. Pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for adults aged 65+ and adults aged 19-64 with certain underlying medical conditions like asthma and COPD. Visit Lung.org/pneumococcal to complete your personal risk assessment and hear from Catherine, an individual with asthma who thought she was too young to get pneumococcal pneumonia.
The American Lung Association and Pfizer are partnering to share important facts about pneumococcal pneumonia.
Each year, 54 million people in the U.S. are infected with influenza (the flu). Dr. Luis Martinez-Sobrido, a researcher at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, is working to reduce those numbers by working on a universal vaccine that targets all the strains of the flu. His work hopes to eliminate the need for a seasonal flu vaccine and lead to longer lasting protection.
