The state of Georgia is showing a worrisome trend in leading the nation with recent hospitalizations for H1N1 influenza, particularly among unvaccinated adults who have underlying health conditions. It is also one of the states with one of the lowest rates for H1N1.
That was the word today from Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin and Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease control, who urge anyone who has put it off to go ahead and get the vaccine, which is now available to everyone.
“Vaccine is the single best protection against H1N1,” Benjamin told reporters today by teleconference.
“Minority groups are not participating in vaccination programs” as other groups, Benjamin added. She said minorities are at higher risk for the pandemic flu due to the prevalence of underlying health conditions, such as asthma, lung disease, diabetes, and heart disease.
The risk of getting H1N1 pandemic flu is still among us. They are seeing virtually no seasonal flu at all this season.
Schuchat, who is the director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, said data is too preliminary to suggest a but many of the hospitalizations in Georgia were preventable through H1N1 vaccination.
“They have had more than 40 hospitalizations this past week and for the third week, Georgia has had more hospitalizations than any state in the country,” Schuchat said.
States reporting regional or local activity include Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Hawaii and New Mexico.