Reasons include children returning to school, and then exposure to family members. Additionally, the cooler months bring people indoors and in closer proximity. No one is too young to receive the vaccine. There are no studies that I'm aware of that have demonstrated the effectiveness of Echinacea. Although, it probably wouldn't harm you either.
Influenza shears off the delicate hair cells that line the respiratory tract.
These cells normally act as an escalator to carry up bacteria, mucus, and pollutants from deep in the lungs to a point where they can be coughed out or swallowed. When the flu strips this layer away, bacteria is not cleared from deep in the lungs, and pneumonia begins. Most of the mortality associated with the flu comes from the secondary effects of the post-flu pneumonia. One drug, called zanamivir, is taken as an inhaled form, twice daily. The other drug, tamiflu, is a once-daily tablet that shows similar benefits.