Feb 1, 2007 7:18 pm US/Central
Boy's Flu Death Reminds Parents To Vaccinate
by Heather Brown
(WCCO)
An 8-year-old St. Paul boy died from complications of the flu, making him the first Minnesota child in two years to die from the virus.
On their
CaringBridge Web site, Lucio Satar's parents said he enjoyed every single day of his life. They called him one of the greatest children in the world.
Lucio's strain of the virus was covered by this year's vaccine. Unfortunately, he had not been vaccinated. Many kids aren't.
This year, the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency vaccinated 142,000 Minnesotans -- fewer than they had expected.
"We thought that everybody thought, 'it was warm and it's feeling good and we don't need to get our flu shot,'" said Mary Ann Blade of the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency.
Early this morning, parents swamped Blade's office with phone calls. One of them, Susan Christian, brought her daughter in for a booster after two of her friends' children got sick.
"I thought, man, we had better get in," she said.
Nurse Mary Carroll said it's not too late to get your flu shot. It takes about two weeks to become full vaccinated. Flu season usually peaks in February and March.
Some fear this season could be especially bad.
"The more people that get immunized, the better it is for the community because the less chance of somebody getting the flu and giving it to the next person," said Blade.
The MVNA has opened up extra clinics. They will be open every weekday from 2 to 6 p.m. until Thursday, Feb. 8. Call (612) 331-5338 for an appointment.
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