Never Miss a Flu Vaccine. Here Are the Reasons #WhyIFightFlu

By ADM Brett P Giroir MD, Assistant Secretary for Health 
US Department of Health and Human Services
Twitter: @HHSGov
Twitter: @HHS_ASH

The reason #WhyIFightFlu? It saves lives.

Americans experienced one of the most severe flu seasons in four decades last year with flu activity remaining high well into March 2018. Millions of Americans became sick with the flu, an estimated 900,000 were hospitalized, and 80,000 died from flu and its complications.

Experts agree that the flu vaccine is the single best way to protect you and your loved ones against the flu. If you are vaccinated, you are less likely to get the flu. And, if you do get sick, studies show that when you are vaccinated, your illness will likely be milder, which helps keep you out of the hospital.

By getting vaccinated, we can prevent the spread of flu to those at greatest risk for becoming dangerously ill, including young children, pregnant women, people 65 and older, and those with certain medical conditions.

To me, this means protecting my mother, my granddaughter and people in my life who have conditions like sickle cell disease or diabetes. But it also means protecting the people I cross paths with every day. The simple act of getting vaccinated helps protect all of these people.

There are so many reasons why everyone should get their annual flu vaccine. Please join me this flu season in sharing the reasons you fight flu each year. Post your reason to your social media with the hashtag #WhyIFightFlu and encourage your family, friends and colleagues to do the same. To help, you can download a #WhyIFightFlu card – PDF. To learn more about the flu and find a flu vaccine location near you, use the flu vaccine finder and visit Vaccines.gov.

This post was originally published on the HHS Blog and is syndicated here with permission.