Didn’t get a flu shot this season? Believe it or not, doctors say it’s not too late.
Dec. 2-8 is National Influenza Vaccination Week. Health experts say the flu can be a serious illness, even for otherwise healthy people. The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 185 pediatric flu deaths were reported in the United States during the 2017-18 flu season, and about 80 percent of those children were not vaccinated. Here in Minnesota, about 62 percent of Minnesota children between the ages of 6 months and 17 years got their flu vaccine during the 2017-18 flu season.
Experts say that means a large number of children were left unprotected from flu.
Kris Ehresmann is the Infectious Disease Division director at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Ehresmann says the flu vaccine helps prevent and protect against severe outcomes like hospitalization and death. For more information, go to the MDH Vaccine Clinic Look-Up site, for links to search for vaccination clinics near you, including clinics that offer free or low-cost vaccines!