Give free flue shots in storm-ravaged neighborhoods, pol asks
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Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and the New York State Nurses Association are calling on the Department of Health to give free flu shots in areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy.
In a letter to Thomas A. Farley, the city’s Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene, de Blasio pointed out that the storm has prevented thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers, especially seniors, from receiving their annual influenza vaccinations.
According to Medical News Today, the flu season started early in the U.S. this year, and hospitalizations of patients with flu are rising earlier than they usually do. Two children have died so far from flu-related illnesses.