By Staff Reports
(Hawaii)– From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Does flu vaccination work? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says vaccination prevented 6.6 million cases of the flu in the last flu season. The analysis says this includes 79,000 prevented hospitalizations. And that’s with only about 45 percent of the population getting vaccinated.
CDC flu expert Anne Schuchat says everyone 6 months of age and older should be vaccinated. She also says the usual peak of flu season is between January and March, so there’s still time – and vaccination takes only a little time.
“The last thing you want added to your holidays is influenza. Make sure you and your loved ones are vaccinated.”
The study is in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Learn more at flu.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.