Flu Vaccine

I received this email the other day asking me to take a look at a video on YouTube. I highly recommend it.




Here was the actual letter.
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Dear Sir or Madam -

As a blogger who writes about parenting and/or health topics, I wanted to let you know that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), together with Families Fighting Flu, Inc. (FFF) has launched a compelling video documentary via YouTube, featuring parents of children who have tragically died as a result of the flu. The documentary is available online at http://www.youtube.com/cdcflu.

We think your readers might be interested to know how bit a toll the flu takes on young children. Each year in the United States, an average of 20,000 children younger than 5 are hospitalized because of flu-related complications. Tragically, around 100 children die from this serious disease each year. Last year 86 children died of flu-related complications, half of whom were age 15-18. During the 2006-2007 flu season, of the patients for whom flu vaccination status is known, 94 percent of the children who died had not been vaccinated against the flu.

Directed by Emmy award-winning Mustapha Khan, creator of “House on Fire,” and Tommy Walker, award-winning co-director of “God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of Lost Boys of Sudan,” the video will be shown nationwide at events hosted by public health departments and CDC and FFF partners. It will also be posted on CDC’s and partners’ websites.

For more information about the flu and the influenza vaccine, please visit www.cdc.gov/flu. For more information Families Fighting Flu, please visit www.familiesfightingflu.org.

Let me know if you have any questions about the film or are interested in sharing it with your readers.

Very best,

Allison

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Allison Bozniak

Public Relations/Marketing Specialist

Center for Health Communications

Academy for Educational Development (AED)