A.) No, flu immunity is not a given. It must be earned by winning the Flu Immunity Challenge. Then you are exempt from the flu for the next three days.

A.) Private physicians, city and county health departments and healthcare professionals at an onsite wellness center near you can provide the shots. Often, the local Senior Center will offer flu shots for their participants.

A.) Get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. One of those fluids can be OJ, diced and squeezed but not sliced, with additives with an octane rating of 80 proof and above. The flu symptoms won't subside but for a few hours you won't care if you have the flu or not. Have plenty of tissues handy in case your nose turns into Farrah Fawcett and drips constantly. Monitor your temperature every few hours. Be sure you use an oral thermometer. You know where the other kind has been. Enough said.

In the U.S., the flu season usually lasts from December through March. Occasionally the season may begin a month or two earlier, or last a month or two longer.

No. There is currently no vaccine to protect people against AI infection or disease, though one is being developed. There is however good evidence that avian flu viruses respond to antiviral drugs.

A.) There is no live virus in the vaccine so you can't get the flu from the vaccine. The live virus has been extracted and taken to the wood shed for a whooping. It is only possible to catch the flu from flu shot if the flu-shotologist breathes on you, licks your face or offers to exchange bodily fluids while administering the shot.

A.) Anyone who wants to minimize his or her chances of getting the flu may want to get a shot. If in doubt, a physician should be consulted. But before you consult a physician, check his/her stock profile and make sure they are not invested in things like flu drugs, syringes, cotton swabs and Band-Aids. A heavily invested Doctor is going to push the flu shot like nobody's business. There is no such thing as a series of flu shots, as a Doctor may suggest.

A.) There is one other way to help avoid the flu. Wear a necklace of garlic for the duration of the flu season. No One will come near enough to breathe or sneeze all over you. However, be careful walking by a pizza place. The aromatic garlic smell may be overwhelming for the cook. You may find yourself tossed to the ground and covered in pizza sauce, cheese and anchovies. For some of you, that could be a dream come true. For others it may be just another pizza-related assault.

A.) Flu symptoms may include, but are not necessarily limited to: fever, chills, loss of appetite, assorted body aches, sore throat, dry cough, pukiness (dry, imagined or real), fever, runny nose and loss of interest in Jerry Springer, Rickie Lake, Sally Jesse Raphael and Jenny Jones.

In general, a person who is infected with an influenza virus one year will have some immunity to closely related viruses that may persist for one or more years. For example, if someone was infected with the Fujian strain of H3N2 that predominated last season, they are likely to have some natural immunity that will give them protection if they are exposed to that strain or a closely related strain again this season. The degree of protection depends on the health of the person involved.

Some people appear to be immune, others become immune. HOWEVER, you can gain or lose immunity, so to assume you can't get it if you never have before is foolish. People change as they age. I would never assume that I was immune at any time no matter what my past experience was.

Although bird flu viruses do not usually infect people, the H5N1 form has caused illness in some people who have had close and direct contact with diseased birds. The spread of the disease from one person to another has been very rare, and has never gone beyond one person.

Information on Avian Flu can be found on the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization’s website, the Division of Public Health website. The CDCs website also contains information in Spanish. Individuals are also encouraged to contract their primary care physician for information or concerns.

Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO as of February 20, 2008 These deaths are tragic. But many millions of birds have been infected with the virus in some of the most populous regions of the world. Even though confirmed infections may represent a fraction of the total infections, people still run a very low risk of catching the virus from poultry.

Diabetes can make the immune system more vulnerable to severe cases of the flu. People with diabetes who come down with the flu may become very sick and may die. You can help keep yourself from getting the flu by getting a flu shot every year. Everyone with diabetes-even pregnant women-should get a yearly flu shot. The best time to get one is between October and mid-November, before the flu season begins. Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users.

There is a home remedy you can try but this has not been sanctioned by the AMA, Martha Stewart or Emeril Lagasse. Cut up half-a-dozen cloves of garlic and sauté' in oil, being careful not to let them burn. Add a quart of stock (such as beef), and let it come to a boil for just a few moments. Then lower the heat. Separate two eggs, put one in the living room and one in the dinning room, and then add the whites to the hot liquid, stirring rapidly.

Influenza vaccines are designed to protect against a specific virus, so a pandemic vaccine cannot be produced until a new pandemic influenza virus emerges and is identified. Even after a pandemic influenza virus has been identified, it could take at least 6 months to develop, test and produce vaccine.

Yes. People who have asthma or allergies may already have inflamed and irritated lungs. If their bodies are already fighting one irritant or illness, it is more difficult for them to fight of a virus. Smokers are also more likely to have irritated lungs and are more susceptible to a Cold or the Flu - defend yourself and your immune system with FluShoc.*

To date, transmission from domestic poultry, through contact with infected birds, contaminated surfaces or feces, is the most prevalent way this H5N1 strain of avian flu virus has caused human infection. One single incident of wild bird to human transmission has been recorded as described above.

People of any age can get influenza. Healthy people should get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families from influenza to avoid spreading the virus to others, to avoid missing quality time with their families and to avoid lost time from work and to avoid spreading the virus to others, particularly those who can become very ill from the flu. Influenza is much worse than a cold. Even healthy, young people can become quite ill.

Of course, you should consult carefully with your own doctor, but most persons with EMS can safely get flu and pneumonia shots, and most probably should consider getting them unless there is a good reason not to get the shots - one would be allergy to eggs for the flu shot. However, many persons with EMS do not get the shots out of fear of side effects; others report getting the shots and having no problems other than the usual expected ones of soreness, etc.

The symptoms of avian influenza in people range from typical flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, muscle aches, sore throat) to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, diarrhea, secondary bacterial infections and other severe life-threatening complications.

A new bird influenza virus has now spread across Asia, Africa, and Europe. This “bird flu” is called Avian H5N1 influenza. Experts are worried about this virus, which has caused millions of bird and poultry deaths. It has also caused serious illness and death in people who have had very close contact with sick birds or poultry. No one knows for sure that the H5N1 virus will cause a pandemic. But experts are worried because this new bird flu virus is widespread.

In the instances where people were infected with the bird flu, they caught the virus through close contact with infected chickens. For example, you would need for the infected chicken to sneeze or cough directly in your face, before the virus can be transmitted to you.

The flu can lead to pneumonia and has been reported to have hospitalized 200,000 and killed 36,000 people each year.

The State of Georgia is solely liable for any injury or damage suffered by a patient receiving health care under the provider’s Department of Community Health (DCH) Agreement, as long as the provider works within the scope of his/her professional license.

Next we have acquired immunity, which is when you acquire (thus the name) the immunity either from being given the antibodies from another person or a vaccine to prevent or treat your disease. This is also when you have previously had an infection and you have fought it off. You see, B cells and T cells in the body remember and recognize the returning infection and have the ability to defeat it before you take ill with it again.