UH Warriors Coaches "Fight the Flu"
It's Not Too Late to Get the Flu Shot

HONOLULU – UH Warrior Head Defensive Line Coach Vantz Singletary, and Assistant Defensive Coaches Keith Bhonapha and Rinda Brooks realize that it’s not too late to get a flu shot. Coaching staff are "rolling up their sleeves" for a flu shot. They know that getting a flu shot is the best way to avoid the flu.

Coaches Singletary, Bhonapha, and Brooks received their flu shot today at the UH Practice Field. The flu shot is strongly recommended for UH football players in order to avoid the flu and disruption during football season. The coaching staff knows how important it is to protect their players, especially during flu season.

Flu, or influenza, is a serious disease that is easily transmitted. Over 114,000 people are hospitalized and 36,000 people die each year in the United States from the flu.

After a couple of years of relatively mild flu activity virtually worldwide, influenza season in Canada and mainland United States started early and with a wallop, due to the surfacing of a potentially dangerous player, a strain of influenza known as A/Fujian. The Fujian strain, which originated in Fujian province, China, was a part of a class of flu viruses that caused severe outbreaks in the United States in the 1990s. Recently five children died in Britain from influenza caused by this circulating flu strain. In Colorado there have been four deaths from influenza – three children and one teenager. This year’s flu vaccine formula does not exactly match the A/Fujian flu virus. However, the vaccine is expected to provide some cross-protection against the virus.

The best way to protect yourself is to get a flu shot as soon as possible. Hawaii has seen very few flu cases and no deaths this season so far so it’s definitely not too late to get protected. Although anyone who wishes to avoid influenza should be vaccinated, CDC strongly recommends influenza vaccination as soon as possible for any person at high risk for complications from the flu.

Those at high risk for complications from the flu include:

• People 65 years or older
• People with chronic (on-going) or long-term health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, cancer or HIV/AIDS
• Women who are at least 3 months pregnant during the flu season
• Infants aged 6 to 23 months

If you live with or have contact with anyone in any of these categories, you should also get the flu shot to reduce the possibility of transmitting the flu to those at high risk.

Ask your doctor about the flu shot today. If you do not have a doctor and/or are uninsured, call 2-1-1 for a clinic near you. For more information about the flu shot, visit the Hawaii Immunization Program website at www.vaxhawaii.com. Fight the Flu: Make a Date to Vaccinate.

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For more information, contact:

Judy Strait-Jones
Dept of Health, Immunization Program
Phone: (808) 586-8321
E-mail: Judy.Strait-Jones@mail.health.state.hi.us

Laura M. Lott
Dept of Health, Communications Office
Phone: (808) 586-4418
E-mail: lmlott@health.state.hi.us