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CNN Live Today
'Daily Dose'
Aired September 24, 2003 - 11:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for our daily dose of health news today. Taking a shot and avoiding the flu is the topic today. The CDC is urging people to get their flu vaccinations, especially those in high-risk groups. And our medical news correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with details.
It looks like the kind of people who should be getting the shot. Is that changing now, or what?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's not changing. What is changing this year is two things. One, there's been a particularly virulent form of the flu in Australia this year. Of course, their seasons are flip-flopped from ours. So the CDC is watching what's happening in Australia. They saw that it's a strong bug, and so it may be coming our way. They're not saying we're necessarily going to have a bad season, but that is not good news that it was particularly bad in Australia.
Also, the CDC says that many, many people, as a matter of fact, most people who should be getting their shots, don't.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. NANCY COX, CDC: We now have the lowest vaccination rates among high-risk children and young adults. It has been estimated that only 9 to 25 percent of children with moderate to severe asthma receive influenza vaccine annually. This is in spite of our longstanding recommendations for this group.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: So let's go over who should get shots. First of all, anyone with chronic illness, such as diabetes or asthma. That's what that doctor was talking about there. Anyone who is over the age of 50, used to be 65. But it's 50. And children, ages 6 to 23 months. That was mew last year, because they also can get very, very sick or even die from the flu. And also pregnant women. That surprise many people. But if you're going to be in your second or third trimester during the flu season, then you ought to get a shot.
But there are very low vaccination rates, which really puzzles public health people, because here, there's a disease that kills 36,000 people a year, yet most people don't get vaccinated, even though they should. Only 34 percent of people between the ages of 50 and 64 get shots. Children with asthma all should get shots. Only 10 percent do. And health care workers, even though the CDC doesn't say they have to, it's probably a good idea since they come into contact with so many people the flu, only 36 percent get shots.
So again, the emphasis from the CDC, as always, get those flu shots. Some people say, oh, but it might give you the flu. That's not going to happen; it's not that kind of shot.
HARRIS: Oh, OK. What about spray? I've also heard about this flu spray. Is there a difference between that and the shot, or is that the same thing, or what?
COHEN: Well, there's much less of an ouch factor with the spray.
HARRIS: And we like that.
COHEN: And that's a good thing. But there are some other things that aren't so great about the spray. This is a nasal spray that you get, a nurse administers it to you instead of the shot. There's are two catches. One, it is very, very expensive. A flu shot will cost you $10, $15, $20. Insurance usually pays for it. Medicare pays for it. This insurance does not pay for this, and it's going to cost you at least $50 more than the shot's going to cost you. So really you have to hate getting a needle to want to pay that much extra.
Also, all the people who should get it, the groups we just went over, older people, very small children, people with chronic diseases, they can't get it. They're medically contraindicated, which means they're not allowed to get it. So it's kind of ironic. So you have to be a healthy adult, and you have to really hate needles to want to pay that kind of extra money.
HARRIS: By the way, how many folks in the medical have gotten their flu shots?
COHEN: You know what, pretty much, we all do. We go as a group. They give them here at CNN, and we go as a group.
HARRIS: Peer pressure, it always works.
COHEN: That's right. That's true.
HARRIS: OK. All right, folks, you can always get your daily dose of health news online if you don't want to get it here from Elizabeth Cohen directly. Go to the Web site, CNN.com/health and find the latest medical news and the health library and plenty of other resources.
Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 24, 2003 - 11:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for our daily dose of health news today. Taking a shot and avoiding the flu is the topic today. The CDC is urging people to get their flu vaccinations, especially those in high-risk groups. And our medical news correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with details.
It looks like the kind of people who should be getting the shot. Is that changing now, or what?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's not changing. What is changing this year is two things. One, there's been a particularly virulent form of the flu in Australia this year. Of course, their seasons are flip-flopped from ours. So the CDC is watching what's happening in Australia. They saw that it's a strong bug, and so it may be coming our way. They're not saying we're necessarily going to have a bad season, but that is not good news that it was particularly bad in Australia.
Also, the CDC says that many, many people, as a matter of fact, most people who should be getting their shots, don't.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. NANCY COX, CDC: We now have the lowest vaccination rates among high-risk children and young adults. It has been estimated that only 9 to 25 percent of children with moderate to severe asthma receive influenza vaccine annually. This is in spite of our longstanding recommendations for this group.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: So let's go over who should get shots. First of all, anyone with chronic illness, such as diabetes or asthma. That's what that doctor was talking about there. Anyone who is over the age of 50, used to be 65. But it's 50. And children, ages 6 to 23 months. That was mew last year, because they also can get very, very sick or even die from the flu. And also pregnant women. That surprise many people. But if you're going to be in your second or third trimester during the flu season, then you ought to get a shot.
But there are very low vaccination rates, which really puzzles public health people, because here, there's a disease that kills 36,000 people a year, yet most people don't get vaccinated, even though they should. Only 34 percent of people between the ages of 50 and 64 get shots. Children with asthma all should get shots. Only 10 percent do. And health care workers, even though the CDC doesn't say they have to, it's probably a good idea since they come into contact with so many people the flu, only 36 percent get shots.
So again, the emphasis from the CDC, as always, get those flu shots. Some people say, oh, but it might give you the flu. That's not going to happen; it's not that kind of shot.
HARRIS: Oh, OK. What about spray? I've also heard about this flu spray. Is there a difference between that and the shot, or is that the same thing, or what?
COHEN: Well, there's much less of an ouch factor with the spray.
HARRIS: And we like that.
COHEN: And that's a good thing. But there are some other things that aren't so great about the spray. This is a nasal spray that you get, a nurse administers it to you instead of the shot. There's are two catches. One, it is very, very expensive. A flu shot will cost you $10, $15, $20. Insurance usually pays for it. Medicare pays for it. This insurance does not pay for this, and it's going to cost you at least $50 more than the shot's going to cost you. So really you have to hate getting a needle to want to pay that much extra.
Also, all the people who should get it, the groups we just went over, older people, very small children, people with chronic diseases, they can't get it. They're medically contraindicated, which means they're not allowed to get it. So it's kind of ironic. So you have to be a healthy adult, and you have to really hate needles to want to pay that kind of extra money.
HARRIS: By the way, how many folks in the medical have gotten their flu shots?
COHEN: You know what, pretty much, we all do. We go as a group. They give them here at CNN, and we go as a group.
HARRIS: Peer pressure, it always works.
COHEN: That's right. That's true.
HARRIS: OK. All right, folks, you can always get your daily dose of health news online if you don't want to get it here from Elizabeth Cohen directly. Go to the Web site, CNN.com/health and find the latest medical news and the health library and plenty of other resources.
Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
