flu shot

Here are the key reasons to get a flu shot — now

Fran Kritz

A mild flu season last year means fewer folks are immune to strains starting to circulate now. Scientists predict 100,000 to 400,000 extra U.S. hospitalizations with the deadly flu virus this year.

Vaccine-makers are readying 190 million doses of the flu vaccine for deployment across the U.S. this fall — 20 million more doses than in a typical year. A nasal spray version will be available, as well as shots.

Science & Technology

2020 Flu Shot Strategy: Get Yours Early In The Season

Fran Kritz

With the flu season looming, public health officials urge nearly all Americans over 6 months old to get immunized starting next month. Strategize now to avoid getting the flu while COVID-19 is raging.

Bioscience-Medicine

This Flu Season Is Hitting Children Hardest

Bonnie Petrie

This flu season has turned out to be a tough one for children. There have been twice as many pediatric flu deaths so far this season than at the same time…

It's still pretty early in the flu season, but some states, including Texas and North Carolina, are already reporting the first influenza deaths, including at least 10 children. Most kids each year who die from the flu had not been vaccinated.

Here's Why You Really Need A Flu Shot

Tara Haelle

The Internet abounds with myths about the relative risks of flu and flu shots, maybe partly because it's an annual shot and nobody likes needles. Here's the latest on what you might need — and why.

Being overweight or obese can diminish the effectiveness of a flu shot, researchers say.

Science & Technology

Excess Weight Can Weaken The Flu Shot

Richard Harris

Scientists have come to realize that flu vaccines are less effective for people who are overweight or obese. Now researchers are trying to figure out why and hope to develop better vaccines.

Though complications from the flu can be deadly for people who are especially vulnerable, including pregnant women and their newborns, typically only about half of pregnant women get the needed vaccination, U.S. statistics show.

Science & Technology

Get Your Flu Shot Now, Doctors Advise, Especially If You're Pregnant

Patti Neighmond

Pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease are particularly vulnerable to flu complications yet lag the elderly in getting vaccinated.

Experts say getting the vaccine early each year is the best protection against the flu.

Heart Attacks And Strokes: One More Reason To Get Your Flu Shot

Sam Baker

As if the discomfort from the virus wasn't enough, here's another reason to get your flu shot: New research suggests the vaccine may help avoid heart...

Bioscience-Medicine

Guatemalan Boy Who Died In Custody Tested Positive For Flu

Bonnie Petrie

The Guatemalan boy who died in U.S. custody on Christmas Eve had the flu. The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator has confirmed 8-year-old…

Bioscience-Medicine

Spanish Flu In San Antonio, A Century Later

Bonnie Petrie

It’s been called the mother of all pandemics: Spanish flu. It roared around the globe in late 1918, infecting a third of the world's population, while…

Colorized transmission electron micrograph showing H1N1 influenza virus particles.

Bioscience-Medicine

The Latest Flu Drug Is The Product Of A 40-Year-Old Discovery

Laura Rice

From Texas Standard: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over the age of six months gets the flu vaccine before the...