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Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • H2
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Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • H2

Publication:
Tampa Bay Timesi
Location:
St. Petersburg, Florida
Issue Date:
Page:
H2
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

2 ednesday Febr ua ry 6 20 13 ampa ay imes HER ta mpab ay om pinion accines protect you and those around you Gues column r. Rao usun uru A couple of winters ago, I went to the hospital to make patient rounds and was frightened, literally as I walked to a the station. I thought I had become a passive participant in a science- fic tion movie. Fa ce masks and computers on wheels were ver ywhere. What happened? Did we ge a patient infected with a monster virus? Tu ns out the hospital parent compan decided to require all the healthcare workers who refused to receive a flu vaccine to wear face asks during the lu season, which runs until Ma y.

I wasn oing to debate the scientific wisdom of the decision or the true ef fectiveness of the polic y. I was a desperate at tempt to convince health care workers to get the flu vaccine to protect the large number of xposed vulnerable patients and their unvaccinated visitors. eople carr th virus and are contagious for a day before they actually develop symptoms. If the scener scared me, wouldn it frighten the public and our ill patients? I was uri- ous why such a large percentag of health-care workers resisted the accination. They freely shared with me their personal, philosophical, moral and medical ncerns, beliefs, fears, and bjections.

Some said they had never caught the flu and were not about to ge a shot. Some said they developed the flu after ge tt ing a vaccination in the past. Some said they thought the flu was such a minor thing and the vaccine was dang erous. ome ere concerned that they may become pregnant and worried about fetal death and autism. Some just did not like things being imposed on them by the authorities and some even thought that the government and the industr were all in it together just to mak mone y.

All these concerns, ven though often repeated, ha ve no scientific validit to my knowledge. Pe ple cannot get the flu from the accination (dead virus). Ho wever they can get the flu in spite of the vaccination for several reasons. Not ever ybody who receives the vaccination develops immunit y. I takes about two weeks for the immunity to build up after the vaccine.

One may be infec ted with a di ff erent strain of the virus that is not par of that year accine. One may ge infected with a comple tely dif ferent virus or ven bacteria causing similar symptoms, but not the flu. he symptoms can be because of seasonal allergies, which started much earlier this year because of arm eather allmark of ypical flu symptoms is the early and sudden onset of high fever muscle aches, and xhaustion. The Centers for Disease Con- trol and Pr evention declared we ha ve a flu epidemic this year meaning at least 7 .2 percent of the people infec ted with the flu ie because of its complications. Th at should say something about the need for prevention and protection.

Va ccination is the most beneficial, imple and practical preventive measure against pathogens causing disease. Small-pox is eradicated from the globe a nd polio is almost eradicated because of accination programs. Like any other medicine, ac- cines can ha ve side ef fects. Th benefits are estimated to far outweigh the potential risks. accination is now proven to prevent cancers caused by infections like liver cancer from hepatitis and cer vical cancer from human papilloma virus.

acci- nation against some ypes of cancer are being pursued. accina- tion is being tried to prevent diseases caused by intrinsic inflammation like atherosclerosis that causes heart at tacks and accines also are being developed for noninfectious conditions like high blood pressure, aortic aneur ysm, Alzheimer and ype I diabetes. It is high time to ge of th anti-vaccine band-wagon, especially among health care providers who took the pledge do no harm. The purpose of vaccination is not only to protect yourself, but to protect others from you. Dr Rao usunuru is a cardiologist in Bayonet oint.

Musunuru Yo ur etters Share our opinions go to tampabay ters Al th best to an li de we ll Since irst coming to er- nando County to visit my mother in 1978, I ha ve enjoyed an Glidewell columns and comments. I really was saddened to hear of his cancer diagnosis. I ha ve missed his insights on this oofy county and its residents. He re wishing him the best in the future and his desire to keep on ighting Fr an utchinson, Spring Hill Du al nr ol lm ent? Sh ar th bu rden I applaud Dr Rao Ma un- uru commonsense approach to addressing the issues related to dual enrollment. I also applaud superintendent Ku rt Browning for realizing that parents do need to take some participation in the solution by paying a potential fee.

owever a tt orne Dennis Alfonso does not seem to realize the dif ference between K- 12 education and college courses. In this economy we need to realize that the old way of doing things doesn work anymore. I am lad to see that the lines of communication are open between the K- 12 system and the college system I ha ve faith that a solution can be found with shared responsi- bilit y. Regina Mirabella udson Le tt er for pu bl icatio sh ould ad dr esse to Let te rs to Edit or He nando Times, 15365 Cortez Blvd Brooksville, FL 34613. Th ey can sent fa to (352) 7 54- 6133 throug ou websit at tampaba y.

te rs. Th ey houl be ri ef a nd us in cl ud th writer ame, a dd re ss a nd tele ph on numbe r. Shar yo ur op in io ns He rn an do im es tampabay or more news Ve dors and crafters a re neede fo the ollowing nonprofit events: eritage ay Fe tiv al, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb.

16, Hernando Heritage Museum, 601 Museum Court, Brooksville. endors, entertainers and demonstrators a re welcome to participate. endor spaces are $30. The event theme is County, 1800- 1860. Americans (native, African and white) who lived here during the pre-Civil Wa era will be commemorated fo their contributions to the history of Hernando County.

Contact Linda elker at (352) 799-5811 or A A Ev ent 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. eb. 17, etluv, 73 48 Broad Brooksville. Abou 10 rescue groups will articipate.

Indoor and outdoor vendo spaces are available fo $25. Call Susanne, (352) 684-9050, or Laurie, (352) 428-5221, or send email to inf fn.org. Spring Hill Ar 39th annual es tiv al of A rt 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Feb.

2 3 and 24, eeki Wa hee Springs State ark, 6131 Commercial ay, eeki Wa hee. endors and exhibitors are invited to participate. The event will feature fine art, otog- art and fine crafts. The cost is $100 or members, $125 or nonmembers. The application deadline is Saturday; thereafter, the cost is an additional $25.

Food vendors are also welcome. For details, contact Kathleen at (352)346- 7 428 or visit springhillartleague.com. Her nando Count Fine Ar ts 29th annual Ar in the ark, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Marc 9 and 10 a.m.

to 4 p.m. March 10, To arn ark, 306 Darby Lane, Brooksville. The event feature more than 115 fine art and craf exhibitors, as well as an exhibit of local student art. There will be a kids art zone with painting, a well as other hands-on arts and crafts. There will be entertainment and ood, and refreshments will be available.

Exhibitor space is $7 ood vendor space is $165. Application deadline is Feb. 25. Call Jan Knowles at (352) 279-5 182. ri Count Communit A sso- cia tion ard ale, 8 a.m.

to 5 p.m. March 15 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 16, 28444 Forbes Nobleton. Crafter tables are $10 fo one day or $15 or two.

Call Diane Fintel at (352) 232-0859. ethodis Men and omen Flea ark et 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 16, First United Methodist Church, 9344 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill. endor spaces are $15, with proceeds benefiting various charities.

For vendor spaces, call Hal, (352) 683- 246 7. American Legion Auxiliar Unit 186 ya rd a le, 8 a.m. March 16, 12091 Cortez Spring Hill. Ve dor spaces are $10. Call Betty Corbin at (352) 79 7- 0 099.

Ve ndors and cr af ters ELIVER Call to subscribe, report delivery problems, or billing inquiries, vacation hold or other customer service. For redelivery of paper al 6 a.m.- 10 a.m. and Sun. 7 a.m.- 11 a.m. Her nando 3 52) 7 54-6100 AD VER TISIN Obituaries 1 800-333- 75 05 t.

85 1 8 Classified (352) 7 54-611 1 Retail (352) 848- 1444 Inter net 7 27) 893-8665 WITCHBO ARD Her nando 3 52) 7 54-6100 elecommunications Device or the hearing impaired 3 52) 7 54-6102 ST AFF Mike Konrad Editor C.T Bowen Editor of editorials Ray Mooney Advertising sales manager Linda Raab North Suncoast a rketing manager Danny Shrewsbury Regional home delivery a nager NE WS Local News (352) 7 54-6101 Hometo wn Her nando 3 52) 848- 1438 Ev ents (352) 7 54-6101 Spor ts (352) 848- 1407 edding (352) 7 54-6101 tampaba y. co ernando imes 15365 Cortez Brooksville, FL 3461 3.

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Pages Available:
5,180,598
Years Available:
1886-2024