Texas and influenza: Money as the root cause of mortality and morbidity

While cruising through randomly selected Texas newspapers, I found a trend among some readers who complained about "flu shots", the immunizations for influenza, being given to immigrants.  This criticism is dangerously ignorant.

Reporter Bud Kennedy reports how saving money by not giving immunizations to immigrants, or to the poor, are short sighted.

"Sometimes we save money, but look silly doing it. This is one of those times. Everybody should get a flu shot," wrote Kennedy, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In fact, everyone should receive the maximum amount of immunity to influenza, from a flu shot. It's called developing "herd immunity", meaning, the more people who are immunized to an infections disease, increases the likelihood that the public can benefit from the collateral resistance. Herd immunity - the resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results, if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease, especially through vaccination. "the level of vaccination needed to achieve herd immunity varies by disease but ranges from 83 to 94 percent"

Texas health departments have been reporting a high incidence of influenza, all the while some are wrongly complaining about immigrants receiving free immunization.

Immigrants get the flu, too~ a letter to the editor "echo" published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dear Editor- "A letter writer has a real problem with unauthorized immigrants getting free flu shots while he has to pay $25. He seems to miss the point: more flu shots, the less flu bugs that are being spread around." ~ Frank L. Matthews, Fort Worth TX

And in another sadly related story:

Texas teacher dies after opting out of Tamiflu because of costly $116 copay

Heather Holland a second grade teacher in Texas died from complications of influenza, because the cost and copay for the Tamiflu medication was too expensive ~ she died because of pharmaceutical company greed, when the price of the drug was unaffordable

WEATHERFORD, Texas - A Texas woman died from flu complications after deciding not to take flu medication because her copay was too expensive.

Second-grade teacher Heather Holland, 38, was prescribed Tamiflu earlier this month after coming down with the flu. Her husband, Frank, told the Weatherford Democrat that she was going to pick the prescription, but thought the $116 copay was too expensive.

"She thought it cost too much, so she didn't get it," said Frank. "I ended up getting it for her Thursday."

Frank told WFAA last Monday that his wife became septic after being rushed to the emergency room on Feb. 2. Dialysis treatment didn't work.

"I was with her for more than half of my life," Frank said in a brief interview.

Pastor Clark Bosher described a teacher, mother of two and wife that was heavily involved in Willow Park Baptist Church.

"She was beloved," said Bosher. "Frank sent me a text saying 'Man, she's gone.' I couldn't believe it."

Counselors were at the school Monday to assist students, staff and parents.

Heather's own two children, 7 and 10, attend Ikard, as well.

Frank said his wife was an otherwise healthy woman.

Flu activity has been widespread in Texas for more than a month. This season, more than 2,300 flu-related deaths have been reported in the state.

The flu outbreak has caused several North Texas school districts to shut down for several days, including Sunnyvale, Bonham and Gunter, as workers there cleaned campuses.

And even more BREAKING News reported in the Houston Chronicle 

Harris County (Texas), a child dies of flu; first local pediatric case this season.

A girl in Harris County has died of flu-related causes, the area's first such death this season, public health officials said Monday.

County health officials said she died this month, but provided no other details, citing confidentiality laws and respect for the privacy of the family.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Privacy reported Friday there have been 84 pediatric flu-related deaths thus far this season, considered the worst in a decade. Seven of those deaths had occurred in Texas.

MaineWriter- It's a totally ignorant point of view for anybody to object to the public receiving influenza immunizations; and it's especially important for vulnerable and under served populations to receive free access to this important prevention.  The cost of preventing influenza is recovered in the protection of the public from hospitalizations, impaired worker productivity and the unnecessary deaths caused by the virus.

Texas has enough money to give everybody a flu shot.