Flu shot: why you should get the vaccine
Schaffner
Dr. William Schaffner   medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Disease  a nonprofit organization  told Business Insider that it's hard for experts for sure just how intense this flu season will be.
"Amongst ourselves  we say if you've seen one flu season  you've seen one flu season  " Schaffner  said.
Even so  there are a number of reasons why getting a flu shot is an especially good idea this year   Schaffner  said. Here's his five reasons for everyone who still hasn't gotten the vaccine this fall.
Australia  which heads into summer as the northern hemisphere goes into winter  got hit hard the flu this year. That's especially because of the H3N2 strain of the flu virus. While that still doesn't mean it will definitely be a bad flu season this year  the good news is that the particular strain is a good match to be protected against with  this year's vaccine Schaffner  said.
"I'm afraid we still hear that. No  you cannot get flu from the flu vaccine  " Schaffner  said. According to the CDC  flu shots are either made using an inactive virus that aren't infectious or a vaccine that doesn't contain the virus at all.
"We can do an awful lot of good with this pretty good vaccine  because it's the one we have to use today  " Schaffner  said.
There are plenty of ways to get vaccinated for free. Most insurers cover it as a preventive treatment  and Medicare covers the shot entirely. "It's easy  it's quick  it's covered by insurance  " Schaffner  said. Plus  most drugstore clinics  including Walgreens and CVS have the vaccines available  so you don't even have to go to a doctor's office.
[TGT] told Business Insider that it's hard for experts for sure just how intense this flu season will be.
"Amongst ourselves  we say if you've seen one flu season  you've seen one flu season  "  [TGT] said.
Even so  there are a number of reasons why getting a flu shot is an especially good idea this year    [TGT] said. Here's  [TGT]  five reasons for everyone who still hasn't gotten the vaccine this fall.
Australia  which heads into summer as the northern hemisphere goes into winter  got hit hard the flu this year. That's especially because of the H3N2 strain of the flu virus. While that still doesn't mean it will definitely be a bad flu season this year  the good news is that the particular strain is a good match to be protected against with  this year's vaccine  [TGT] said.
"I'm afraid we still hear that. No  you cannot get flu from the flu vaccine   [TGT] said. According to the CDC  flu shots are either made using an inactive virus that aren't infectious or a vaccine that doesn't contain the virus at all.
"We can do an awful lot of good with this pretty good vaccine  because it's the one we have to use today  "  [TGT]   said.
There are plenty of ways to get vaccinated for free. Most insurers cover it as a preventive treatment  and Medicare covers the shot entirely. "It's easy  it's quick  it's covered by insurance   [TGT] said. Plus  most drugstore clinics  including Walgreens and CVS have the vaccines available  so you don't even have to go to a doctor's office.