Families Fighting Flu and the CDC Urge Families to Protect Themselves From the Flu

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the season turns from fall to winter, holiday displays replace flu vaccine signs.  Yet flu season is not over — it has barely begun.  In the 35 years that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has monitored influenza, February has been the most common month for peak flu activity.  Families Fighting Flu is joining the CDC to encourage flu vaccination during National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) — an observance to promote the importance of vaccination as the single best preventative measure against this disease.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/52236-families-fighting-flu-psa-flu-survivor-luke-duvall-flu-prevention

"With the holidays approaching, you may feel like you don't have time to get vaccinated, but taking a little time to get the flu vaccine now can save you days, even weeks, recovering from the flu later," says Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service Director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Flu, or influenza, is of particular concern for children.  Each year approximately 20,000 children are hospitalized with the flu, and more than 100 children die from this disease most years.  According to the CDC, everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated for the flu each and every year.

Members of the national nonprofit organization Families Fighting Flu understand the serious nature of the flu all too well.  Each member has had a child either suffer serious medical complications or die due to the flu.  Families Fighting Flu recently released a public service announcement to share the story of Luke Duvall, who, at the age of 15 was hospitalized for 34 days, including nearly two weeks in a medically-induced coma, after contracting the flu. 

"As a father, I never thought I'd have to worry about the flu threatening my child's life.  Now, we are sure to get the entire family vaccinated every year," said Chad Duvall, Luke's father and Families Fighting Flu member.

To watch the PSA and learn more about Luke's story, visit www.multivu.com/mnr/52236-families-fighting-flu-psa-flu-survivor-luke-duvall-flu-prevention.  For more information about the flu and flu prevention, to find a vaccination clinic in your area or to support flu prevention education, visit www.familiesfightingflu.org.

Families Fighting Flu activities during NIVW are supported by a grant from Sanofi Pasteur U.S.

SOURCE Families Fighting Flu, Inc.