Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Ruth Barnes, 77, of Everett smiles after getting her flu shot from Rosemary O'Connell in 2005. A study suggests flu shots might not be as effective as previously thought at preventing pneumonia.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, August 1, 2008 Flu shot's help against pneumonia overrated Despite the results of the study, doctors still say it's important to get the flu shots. By Sharon Salyer Herald Writer For the last 20 years, seniors have been told that getting a flu shot reduces their risk of getting pneumonia. While getting the immunization is still recommended by physicians for helping ward off the high fever and severe aches and pains caused by influenza, its ability to reduce the risk of getting pneumonia has been overrated, Group Health researchers say. Previous studies have suggested that the shot reduces the risk of pneumonia in seniors by 20 percent to 30 percent, said Michael Jackson, the lead author of the study. "We've been overestimating how well the vaccine works" for preventing pneumonia, he said. Pneumonia is one of the most common health problems that can be triggered by influenza. The study by researchers at Group Health's Center for Health Studies in Seattle is scheduled to be published Saturday in the British medical journal The Lancet. Researchers decided to take a closer look at the assumption that the flu shot reduced the risk of pneumonia by studying the medical records of 3,500 Group Health patients aged 65 and up from 2000 to 2003. They chose those years because the flu shot had good odds of preventing the virus. There was a good match between the three types of anti-flu agents in the shots and the types of flu that were making people sick, Jackson said. Even so, researchers did not find strong evidence that the vaccine helped prevent pneumonia, Jackson said. Several local physicians said the study shouldn't discourage seniors or anyone else from getting the flu shot for its basic job, to help prevent influenza. "Absolutely they should get the flu vaccine," said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District, the countywide public health agency. However, preventing influenza in seniors isn't just a matter of those 65 and up getting the shot, he said. "The best way, if we really want to protect seniors, is to vaccinate the rest of the population," Goldbaum said. Of the 975 positive tests for flu conducted by the state Department of Health lab during the last two years, 65 percent were from people under the age of 30, he said. Dr. Yuan-Po Tu, who monitors flu issues for The Everett Clinic, said that making sure preschoolers get flu shots is key to helping stop spread of the virus among seniors. In a typical year, up to half of the children in day care come down with influenza, he said. Among adults, it's much lower, about 5 percent to 20 percent. So if toddlers get the flu, they often bring it home and spread it to their mom, dad, brothers and sisters, Tu said. "Then if grandpa and grandma come over, they're sitting ducks." Japan saw deaths due to influenza or its complications drop while its school-aged children were required to get a flu shot, Tu said. That requirement, however, was ended in 1988. Earlier this year, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded its recommendation of what ages of children should get the shot -- healthy kids between the ages of 6 months and 18 years of age. Until now, the agency recommended the shot for children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years. "The big push this year is to get all kids vaccinated," Tu said. "That's a big change." Dr. John Dunn, who heads Group Health's immunization team, said that information will be sent to doctors on questions expected from seniors about the study. Pneumonia is the most common complication from influenza, he said. But it's just one of the health problems that can be caused by the virus. "Influenza itself, even without pneumonia, can cause significant problems for the elderly and other people," Dunn said. "At this point … it's still important to be getting the vaccine." Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

1. Tulalip man, 20, charged with baby boy's murder 2. Donated safe gives Marysville museum a mystery 3. Fears over commercial air service at Paine Field dismissed 4. Everett officer charged with manslaughter reveals plan for defense 5. Merchants reject security for downtown Snohomish 6. Holmgren interested in returning to Seahawks 7. Friends open account for orphaned daughters of Highway 9 crash victims 8. Crack That Safe 9. Country singing contestant Chance McKinney amazed by his fans 10. Have M’s, Figgins reached a deal? 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Wildcats fall to familar foe in semis • ‘Nutcracker' times three • Road warrior • Mavericks reloading • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Cities prepare for winter blast repeat • Wolfpack duo takes last shot at state tourney • This Weekend in Your Town • Tips for the stormy season • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million