If you’ve ever had the flu, you know what a nightmare it is and you’re all too familiar with many of the reasons to get a flu shot this year. The flu can sideline you for days (or weeks) leaving you weak, exhausted, unable to function, and clutching your pillow for dear life. If haven’t had the flu, then trust us. It. Is. Bad. You don’t want it. Especially not during the upcoming holiday season when your loved ones need you.
Yes, Ebola is currently the virus that everyone and their mother is freaking out about, and rightfully so. It’s scary. But so is the flu. According to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thousands of people die from the flu each year in this country with numbers ranging from a low of 3,000 to a high of 49,000 depending on the severity of the disease in a given flu season. Which makes the flu vaccine more crucial than ever for anyone over six months old. “People at highest risk are better protected if those around them are also protected,” says David Cennimo, an infectious disease physician and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. The bottom line: the flu vaccine is a lifesaver. Here are 10 reasons to get a flu shot for yourself and your entire family this year.
1. The Many Faces of Influenza
If there were only one form of influenza virus, you’d only need to be vaccinated once. But influenza is always changing and each year the flu vaccine is adjusted to combat the strains that are predicted to be most common in the upcoming season.
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