FluVote.com

Gaithersburg, MD (PRWEB) August 21, 2008

A new survey of parents of eight-to-17-year olds shows that vaccination ranks next to last among things they believe they can do to help protect against the influenza virus. Although public health guidelines state that getting an annual flu vaccination is the single best way to prevent the flu, the survey showed that parents ranked it nearly equally (56 percent) with practices such as taking vitamins (58 percent) and dressing appropriately for the weather (55 percent).1,2 Despite 82 percent of the parents being aware they can vaccinate their child against the flu, less than half of parents (44 percent) say their child has ever received an influenza vaccine.1 Furthermore, only about half (48 percent) say they were extremely or very likely to have their child vaccinated next flu season even after learning about expanded public health guidelines recommending that all children six months to 18 years of age receive an annual flu vaccine.1,2

In the survey of 952 parents, for those with children not previously vaccinated against the flu, about three in 10 (32 percent) believe that their child does not need to be vaccinated against the flu.1 Additionally, in a parallel survey of 875 school-age children (eight-to-17 years of age), only 40 percent of children say that it is either extremely or very important for them to receive an annual flu vaccine.1 Around half (47 percent) of children also say that it is extremely or very important that their parents receive an annual flu vaccine.1

“Along with all the things that parents know are important for helping keep their kids healthy – like washing hands and getting enough sleep – flu vaccination should be right up there, but this survey shows us that we still have a lot of educating to do,” said Anne Moscona, M.D., professor of pediatrics and of microbiology and immunology, and vice chair of pediatrics for research at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. “As a community, we need to do a better job spreading the word about how important a yearly flu vaccine can be in helping protect kids – and ourselves – from influenza.”

Federal Flu Vaccine Guidelines Expanded to Reach More Children

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that getting an annual flu vaccine is the single best way to prevent the flu.3 In February, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) expanded their annual influenza vaccination recommendations to include all children six months to 18 years of age.2

According to the CDC, each year, up to 60 million Americans get the flu. Resulting complications cause more than 200,000 hospitalizations and about 36,000 deaths in the United States each year.3

New Campaign Launches to Educate Americans about Flu Vaccine Options

“Flu Vaccination: Choose Your Administration” is an election-themed campaign that aims to empower and encourage Americans to make informed decisions about flu vaccination. As part of the campaign, sponsored by MedImmune, visitors to FluVote can learn more about two of the most important health choices they can make this election/flu season: electing to get a flu vaccination and learning more about flu vaccine options.

Overall, about two out of three parents (67 percent) surveyed say they wish their child could get a flu vaccine without having to get a shot, and about three out of four school-age children (77 percent) say the same for themselves.1 Of those parents who have previously had their child vaccinated against the flu, nearly 4 out of 5 (78 percent) say they would be extremely or very willing to try a needle-free flu vaccine for their child if their doctor said it was okay.1

A large majority of parents of eight-to-17-year-olds (80 percent) are reliant on doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals for information about flu vaccines, according to the survey.1 In fact, two-thirds (66 percent) indicate that a healthcare provider’s recommendation impacts their decision a great deal or quite a bit when determining whether or not to have their child vaccinated against the flu.1 Among parents who have ever had their child vaccinated, half (53 percent) say that their child received the flu vaccine because their child’s healthcare provider recommended it.1

About Influenza

Influenza, commonly referred to as “the flu,” is a contagious disease caused by the influenza virus.3 The flu, much like the common cold, is airborne and can be easily transmitted from person to person.3 Cold and flu are often confused for one another because both are respiratory illnesses.4 Flu symptoms are often much worse and can include fever, chills, headache, extreme fatigue, and body aches.4 The most notable difference is that the flu can result in serious complications such as pneumonia and bacterial infections.4 Also, unlike symptoms of the common cold, the fatigue and weakness caused by the flu can last more than two weeks– lingering long after other symptoms subside.4

About the Parent and Child Flu Surveys

These surveys were conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of MedImmune between June 4 and June 19, 2008 among 952 U.S. residents ages 24 and older with an 8-17 year old in the household for whom they are the parent or guardian and among 875 U.S. children and adolescents 8-17 years old. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

Harris Interactive conducts a full range of custom research projects for clients in both commercial and public policy arenas and among children and teens. Harris Interactive’s policies on interviewing children and teens comply with the legal codes of conduct in each country in which research is conducted. With regard to online research in the U.S., Harris Interactive complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

About MedImmune

MedImmune is wholly owned by AstraZeneca plc (LSE: AZN.L, NYSE: AZN) and is the worldwide biologics business for the AstraZeneca Group. The company has approximately 3,000 employees worldwide and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical options for physicians and rewarding careers to employees. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live better lives, the company is focused on infection, oncology, respiratory disease and inflammation, cardiovascular/ gastrointestinal disease and neuroscience. For more information, visit MedImmune’s website.

About Harris Interactive®

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North

American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com.

1 MedImmune. Parent-Child Influenza Survey. Harris Interactive Inc. June 2008.

2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MMWR. 2008;57(Early Release):1-60. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr57e717a1.htm. Accessed August 11, 2008.

3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Key Facts about Influenza and the Influenza Vaccine. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm. Accessed August 11, 2008.

4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Questions & Answers: Cold Versus Flu. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/coldflu.htm. Accessed August 11, 2008.

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More Flu Press Releases

Education.com logo

Redwood City, CA (Vocus) September 12, 2009

A new survey conducted by Education.com, a leading web destination for parents of school-aged children highlights findings about parents’ thoughts about future school closings for H1N1 outbreaks, their feelings about a possible H1N1 flu vaccine, their opinions about how schools handled last year’s H1N1 Flu outbreak, and their understanding of the H1N1 Flu. In evaluating the survey results Education.com found:

There is a strong indication that if schools do not close in the event of an H1N1 flu outbreak, parents may take it upon themselves to keep their healthy kids home. When asked what they would do if there were three confirmed cases of H1N1 flu at their child’s school and it remained open, 29% of parents said it was “highly likely” that they would keep their kids home from school for one or more days with an additional 23% indicating it was “somewhat likely” that they would keep their kids home.

As schools and school districts consider policies around possible H1N1 flu school closings this year, parents have mixed opinions about when and if schools should close. Twenty-four percent of parents indicated a belief that schools should temporarily close if there is even a single confirmed case of H1N1 flu among the student population. Forty-one percent think schools should close if two to ten cases are reported and 19% advocate closing once more than ten cases have been confirmed. Fifteen percent of parents believe schools should not close because of the H1N1 flu regardless of how many confirmed cases are reported.

Many parents are undecided about whether or not they’ll have their children vaccinated when and if an approved H1N1 vaccine becomes available. While 39% of parents indicated they would “definitely” have their children vaccinated, 53% remain undecided. Seven percent of parents say they “probably” or “definitely” will not give their child the H1N1 vaccine.

Safety seems to be top-of-mind for parents who are not definite about giving their children the vaccine with 61% noting “safety of the immunization” as a concern. Almost half (48%) say they’re concerned about how effective the vaccine will be and a third (32%) are concerned their child could get the flu from the immunization. Seventeen percent listed the cost of the vaccination as a concern.

Parents gave schools a passing grade for their management of last year’s H1N1 flu outbreak: More than half of parents interviewed (57%) indicated overall satisfaction with how their children’s schools managed H1N1 flu / Swine flu during the last school year. Seventy percent of parents gave their schools a “satisfactory” or better rating for communication about the H1N1 flu and the same percentage gave a “satisfactory” or better rating on the measures their schools took to help prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu. While most parents indicated overall satisfaction, only16% said their school did an “excellent” job taking measures to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus and only 17% gave that highest rating for how schools communicated with parents about H1N1.

“Parents are appropriately concerned about their children’s and family’s safety as we hear more and more about the possibility of a widespread H1N1 flu outbreak across the country this year,” says Education.com CEO Ronald Fortune. “Most schools are closely following CDC recommendations to be sure they are doing everything they can to minimize the risks of the H1N1 flu to students and staff. The key is for principals and superintendents to make sure that they are keeping parents tightly in the loop about these efforts. Parents need to know through clear and frequent communication exactly what the schools are doing to help prevent the spread of the virus and what parents can do at home to help. There’s no reason every school in our country shouldn’t get an A+ from parents for their management of H1N1 this year.”

Parents are doing the right things to manage H1N1 risks, but need more information: Education.com’s survey showed that parents lack confidence in terms of their understanding of the H1N1 flu. Less than half reported knowing the recommended ways to avoid Swine flu, knowing the signs and symptoms of Swine flu, or knowing the best ways to respond if someone in their family gets Swine flu (45%, 39% and 44% respectively) – an indication that more parent education is in order.    

However, when it comes to families’ behavior around H1N1 flu safety, the news is encouraging. The majority of parents reported engaging in many behaviors the Centers for Disease Control says are most effective in helping prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu. Sixty-nine percent of parents indicated that during last year’s H1N1 flu outbreak their families engaged in frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer. Fifty-six reported covering their noses or mouths when sneezing or coughing and 51% say they avoided contact with sick people. Most parents (67%) said they’ll do the same things this year to try to avoid the flu while almost a third (31%) indicated that they will take more preventive measures this year than last.

The Education.com H1N1 flu (Swine flu) survey was conducted August 14-18, 2009, with online surveys of 411 parents with one or more school-aged children living in the home.

Parents, teachers, and school administrators can visit Education.com’s H1N1 Information Center for the most accurate and up to date information available about Swine flu prevention and treatment, recommended action plans, and state-specific planning and response news.

About Education.com: From kindergarten readiness to college prep, Education.com is the leading destination for involved parents. More than a million parents a month come to Education.com to get the information they need to support their children’s unique educational and developmental needs, and to find ideas for how to make learning more fun. The company has teamed up with leading universities, nonprofits and research organizations to offer highly credible parenting, developmental, and educational information. The site also offers worksheets and activities, community resources, access to best-of-breed educational services and SchoolFinder – a tool that gives parents comprehensive data on the nation’s 125,000 public, private and charter schools. Education.com was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Redwood City, CA. The company is backed by leading venture capital firms: Azure Capital Partners, TeleSoft Partners and California Technology Ventures. For more information, please visit www.education.com.

Media Contact:

Kat Eden            

Education.com                

650.366.3380 X2218                

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Tips for Parents to Know How to Help the Kids With the Cold or Flu

It’s that time again…either the kids or the parents start to feel under the weather.  It isn’t hard to know that an illness is coming on.  You know it’s either the cold or the flu and know full well that the next week is going to be a living nightmare.  But, how can you tell the difference between the cold and flu?  And, what do you do when you figure it out?

Both the cold and the flu are respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses.  The cold lasts a little bit longer, usually one week.  The flu is much more intense, but only lasts about 4 – 5 days.  Yet, the flu is more serious.

The cold always begins with the inhalation through the nostrils of a tiny strand of the cold virus floating around somewhere, or an object.  The virus starts in the nostrils.  Your body then tries fighting it off by sending out mucous and making you sneeze and cough a lot.  The symptoms get worse in the next 48 hours, then finally start to mellow out.  However, it is contagious about 2 days before you get the common symptoms up to a few days after the symptoms go away.  So, it is contagious for almost 2 weeks.

The flu, on the other hand, comes on much more sudden.  The flu contains more body aches, fever, tiredness, dry cough (verses a wet and mucous cough), headaches and chills.  It is contagious for about 5 days to a week, depending on the health of the infected person.  The flu is often times confused with the stomach flu, which is totally different.  The stomach flu has symptoms of stomach problems and is quick and goes away swiftly, whereas the actual flu (influenza) is more serious.

To help your cold, the best thing you can do is get plenty of water and rest.  If your body is telling you it is tired or thirsty, you cannot ignore it.  When you cough and sneeze, your body releases fluids and your body becomes dry.  Drinking plenty of fluids rebuilds your body and helps thin down the mucous.  Taking too much medicine can actually do the opposite effect you want.  Your body can actually get used to the medicine and build up a tolerance.  But, even if you have a tolerance to the medicine, taking more than the recommended dosage can have serious side effects.  The best thing you can do is just to drink plenty of water, get sleep, and eat some chicken noodle soup.

For the flu, you should always just be prepared and take the flu shot about every October.  But, if you still do come down with the flu, taking antiviral medicine is best.  And, just like the cold, getting plenty of rest and fluids are a necessity.  Make sure when you have the flu to NOT take aspirin.  Taking aspirin with the flu can cause Reye syndrome, and in some cases, can be fatal.  Instead, take Tylenol.  Tylenol contains no aspirin and instead uses a more safe form of pain relief.  If problems persist for more than a week or a fever reaches above 103 degrees, see your doctor.  And, when in doubt, see a doctor anyways!

So, the old traditions your Grandma tells you when you are sick still work the best.  Modern medicine only temporarily relieves the pain, and eventually may cause more harm than good, aside from some special flu medication.  Just make sure you get all the sleep your body tells you to, drink water, and get chicken noodle soup made for you. If you can, let your loved ones spoil you!  You will need it and deserve it!

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