The flu shot is recommended for children and adults who run an extra risk of becoming severely ill because of the flu. These are:
- People aged 60 and older
- People with heart disease; mostly these are people who have had a heart attack or who have complaints such as arrhythmia’s or people who underwent heart surgery;
- People with lung disease such as asthma, chronic bronchitis or lung emphysema;
- People with diabetes (sugar); not only those on insulin, but also patients who use tablets to lower the blood sugar or who are only on a sugar free diet;
- Kidney patients: especially if the kidneys do not function as well as they should be due to a disease (so not people with kidney stones);
- People with diminished resistance because of other illnesses or because of the treatment/ medication that they are receiving, e.g. people who have recently had a bone marrow transplant, people infected with HIV, people with leukemia and people with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy;
- Children between 6 months and 18 years of age who take salicylates for a prolonged period (e.g. in case of chronic intestinal disease);
- People with an intellectual disability in an intramural setting;
It is also desirable that home care givers of people running a very high risk of severe illness and death due to the flu receive a flu shot.
It is important that all these people receive their flu shots every year between mid October and mid November. The flu shot reduces the chance of getting the flu. Should you get the flu anyway, it’s course will usually be less severe. Moreover, the flu shot reduces the chance of contracting complications such as pneumonia or that your “own” disease worsens.