Getting a flu vaccine this year is critical, top health officials say.
With flu season around the corner, top health officials doubled down on the importance of getting a flu vaccine.
While many Americans brush off the disease because it's so common, contracting the flu can be serious. Nearly 80,000 Americans died and 960,000 were hospitalized due to the flu during the 2017-2018 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schaffner cited a survey the NFID conducted this summer on Americans' attitudes about the flu vaccine, which found that while 60% of adults believe that getting a flu vaccine is the best defense against flu-related hospitalization or death, only half of Americans plan to get the vaccine this year.
"Sixty-three percent is not acceptable," said Whitley-Williams, who is a pediatrician."We can do better."
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