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August 9, 2013

Fit Facts: Mark Your Calendar

With back-to-school season kicking into gear, it’s also time to schedule your annual flu vaccination. If you get sick with the flu, there’s a chance you could develop pneumonia. Pneumonia is a serious lung infection. It makes the heart and lungs work harder to move oxygen around the body. Getting pneumonia could land you in the hospital.

To stay healthy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend these steps:

  • Don’t skip your flu shot this fall. The best time is early fall, before flu season starts. But it still helps to get a shot even in December, January or later. Flu season typically starts in the fall and peaks in January or February. The shot is safe and the cost is covered by Medicare and many health plans. Check with your health plan benefits about coverage.
  • Adults over 65 and those with certain chronic diseases may need a pneumonia  shot.  Ask your doctor if you need one.  You can get one at any time of the year.

Under the new health care law, you may be able to get immunizations and other preventive care services without having to pay deductibles, copayments or coinsurance.

Sources: Flu.gov, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 


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