SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday signed a bill by Assemblywoman Patty Berg that will ensure that older adults are offered a flu vaccine before being discharged from a hospital.

Assembly Bill 106, by Berg, D-Eureka, requires that every elderly patient be offered the chance to receive flu and pneumonia immunization before they are discharged from a hospital.

“Vaccinations save lives,” said Berg. “And while we’re not forcing anyone to get a shot, we are saying that everyone needs to have the option.”

Berg’s bill closes an unusual loophole in existing law that requires nursing facilities to offer vaccines, even though hospitals face no such requirement.

“These shots save lives, and hospitals are in the life-saving business,” said Berg.

The bill incorporates recommendations by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases reports, that flu together with pneumonia, is the fifth leading cause of death among the elderly. A pneumonia complication is a leading cause of illness and death among the elderly.

AB 106 becomes law in January.

Visit Berg's Web site at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a01/.

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