Bridal Shower Invitations: Flu Vaccine

Flu Vaccine

When you see “Get Your Flu Vaccine Here” signs and banners outside pharmacies and in doctor’s offices, you might think, “isn’t it too late for that?”

The answer is no.

“Flu season typically peaks in January or February and can last as late as April or May,” says Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service and Director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “We are encouraging people who have not yet been vaccinated to get vaccinated now.”

For millions of people each year, the flu can bring a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, fatigue, and miserable days spent in bed instead of at work or school. However, you may not realize that more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications each year. The flu can also be deadly. Between 1976 and 2007, CDC estimates that annual flu-associated deaths in the United States have ranged from a low of about 3,000 people to a high of about 49,000 people.