Prevention Beat

August 4, 2008

Did you know...?

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

The goal of National Immunization Awareness Month is to increase awareness about immunizations across the life span, from infants to the elderly. August is the perfect time to remind family, friends, co-workers, and those in the community to catch up on their vaccinations while parents are enrolling their children in school, students are entering college, and healthcare workers are preparing for the upcoming flu season.

Why are immunizations important?

Immunization is one of the most significant public health achievements of the 20th century. Vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the United States and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles, diphtheria, rubella, pertussis and other diseases. But despite these efforts, today tens of thousands of people in the U.S. still die from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines offer safe and effective protection from infectious diseases. By staying up-to-date on the recommended vaccines, individuals can protect themselves, their families and friends and their communities from serious, life-threatening infections.

Who should be immunized?

Getting immunized is a lifelong, life-protecting community effort regardless of age, sex, race, ethnic background or country of origin. Recommended vaccinations begin soon after birth and continue throughout life. Being aware of the vaccines that are recommended for infants, children, adolescents, adults of all ages and seniors, and making sure that we receive these immunizations, is critical to protecting ourselves and our communities from disease.

When are immunizations given?

Because children are particularly vulnerable to infection, most vaccines are given during the first five to six years of life. Other immunizations are recommended during adolescent or adult years and, for certain vaccines, booster immunization are recommended throughout life. Vaccines against certain diseases that may be encountered when traveling outside of the U.S. are recommended for travelers to specific regions of the world. It is recommended that if you will be traveling that you visit with your 4-6 weeks prior to your trip to allow adequate time for the vaccinations to become effective in your body. For more information on vaccinations and travel visit the CDC web site at: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentVaccinations.aspx.

Why might some adults need vaccines?

Some adults incorrectly assume that the vaccines they received as children will protect them for the rest of their lives. Generally this is true, except that:

· Some adults were never vaccinated as children

· Newer vaccines were not available when some adults were children

· Immunity can begin to fade over time

· As we age, we become more susceptible to serious disease caused by common infections (e.g., flu, pneumococcus)

If you are having difficulty understanding or keeping track of exactly which vaccines you need visit the CDC's web page at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/adult-schedule.htm#chart for a form to help you determine what vaccines might be important to you.

Influenza season is just around the corner. Each year in the United States, on average: 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and; about 36,000 people die from flu. The 2008--09 trivalent vaccine virus strains are A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like, A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like, and B/Florida/4/2006-like antigens. Annual vaccination should begin in September or as soon as vaccine is available for the 2008-09 influenza season.

To learn more about OHS-COMPCARE's influenza campaign for the 2008-09 influenza season please contact Client Services at 816-561-2105 or by email at customerservice@ohscompcare.com. Flu clinics will begin in late September/early October or as soon as vaccine is available.

*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*

To view the Tip of the Week in Spanish please visit our Tip of the Week library at http://www.ohscompcare.com/totw/. Please allow a few days for the current Tip of the Week to be translated and placed in to the library.

To learn more about services OHS-COMPCARE has to offer, contact our Client Services Team at (816) 561-2105 (option 1) or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com. You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.

Why choose us? Because OHS-COMPCARE gets your employee in and out quickly. Throughput standards average 60 minutes for physician visits and average 20 minutes for a nursing or drug screen visit.

OHS-COMPCARE has eight (8) area clinical facilities:

Blue Springs Clinical Facility	Independence Clinical Facility	Johnson County Clinical Facility	St. Joseph Clinical Facility
801 NW St. Mary’s Drive	19000 E. Eastland Center Crt, St. 200	10415 Lackman Road	904 Edmond Street
Blue Springs, MO 64104	Independence, MO 64055	Lenexa, KS 66219	St. Joseph, MO 64501
816-224-9121	816-478-9299	913-495-9905	816-233-7702
	After Hours Available

KCMO/Broadway Clinical Facility	KCMO/Front Street Clinical Facility	Wyandotte County Clinical Facility	Grandview Clinical Facility
1650 Broadway	6501 East Commerce, Suite 110	1333 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 200	13830 S Us Highway 71
Kansas City, MO 64108	Kansas City, MO 64120	Kansas City, KS 66102	Grandview, MO 64030
816-842-2020	816-483-5550	913-596-2774	816-761-4664