[Posted Nov. 16, 2007]

Risks Increase During
Flu Season For Diabetics

     Only about 50 percent of people with diabetes get a flu shot every year even though they are more likely than others to die from the flu.
      Diabetes can make your immune system more vulnerable to the flu and can lead to severe health complications including diabetic coma. For people with diabetes, that can mean longer illness, hospitalization and even death.
       People with diabetes are also at greatest risk of getting pneumococcal disease, which kills more people in the U.S. each year than all other vaccine-preventable diseases combined. Pneumococcal disease can cause pneumonia, meningitis and a blood-borne infection called bacterernia.
      "People with diabetes are about three times more likely to die from flu and pneumonia," said State Health Commissioner Robert B. Stroube, M.D., M.P.H. "These vaccines can save your life."
       It is safe to get both vaccines at the same time. Neither can cause illness because they don't contain active, or live, viruses. People need a flu shot every year, but for most people one shot of the pneumonia vaccine provides lasting protection against pneumococcal disease.
       If you are under 65 years of age and have a chronic illness or weakened immune system, you should ask your doctor about getting another pneumonia shot 5 to 10 years after the first one.
      "The pneumonia vaccine may be given at any time of the year, but respiratory illnesses often increase during the winter months, so people recommended for the vaccination should consider getting their dose now," explained James Farrell, VDH immunization director. "This ensures that people at high risk are as protected as they can be from two potentially devastating
respiratory illnesses."
       Medicare Part B pays for the flu and pneumonia shots for people who have diabetes.
       Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. Diabetes can cause heart disease, stroke, vision loss, kidney disease, nerve damage and lower limb amputations.
       For more information about seasonal flu and diabetes in Virginia visit www.vdh.virginia.gov.

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