Elderly May Be Dodging H1N1 Bullet

It’s really hard to find any advantages to being a codger or codgerette except for the freedom to say anything you want and pretty much get away with it. Everything else is a pain…literally.

One exception might be an alleged built-in immunity to the swine flu. According to the Los Angeles Daily News:

“Los Angeles County has seen at least 57 people die from H1N1 virus this year, according to county public health director Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding. Outbreaks of the swine flu have been reported in 34 schools and one nursing home throughout the county as of the week ending on Oct. 10,” Fielding said.”

The article continued: "It's quite severe for this time of year," Fielding said. "I think what distinguishes this (flu season) ... is that there is a small group that is getting severely infected, including some young and healthy children, pregnant women and young adults."

The breakthrough news is that the HINI virus has similar markers to flu viruses that have been around for years, therefore seniors may have dodged the bullet on this flu by building up immunity to the current virus. "So the older you are, the more likely you are to have been exposed to the similar marker and that builds some resistance and immunity to H1N1," said Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Hospital Association of Southern California.