Check with your primary care physician about getting immunized. If you are not a Medicare beneficiary, check with your state health department . In many states, immunizations are available free from the health department. Influenza can be prevented with a safe, effective vaccine. The influenza vaccine is paid for by Medicare.
Influenza can lead to pneumonia or death, especially in the elderly.
On average, more than 20,000 Americans die each year from influenza-related illness. Since the influenza virus changes from year to year, an annual influenza vaccination is recommended, usually in the fall. Influenza vaccine will not protect you from other respiratory infections, such as colds and bronchitis. In 1968-69, the Hong Kong flu killed 34,000 people in the United States. The 1918 Spanish flu outbreak killed 500,000 people in the United States and over 20 million lives worldwide.