While most people who suffer from the flu will recover in a week or two, for some people the flu is not only an inconvenience, but it can be deadly. This is especially true for more vulnerable members of the population such as children and the elderly, or individuals whose immune system is otherwise compromised. Making sure you receive a flu vaccination if you can not only protects you from the virus but helps keep it from spreading to other individuals who may not be healthy enough to receive the vaccine themselves. This is a phenomenon called “herd immunity.”