The flu is anything but a bad cold. In reality, it’s a highly contagious respiratory illness that affects the nose, throat, and lungs. By getting the flu vaccine, you reduce your risk of catching the disease by 40 – 60 percent. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that during the 2017 – 2018 flu season, the flu vaccine prevented more than six million influenza illnesses.

Unlike other vaccines that you get once as a child, such as polio, measles, and chickenpox, you need to get a new flu shot each year. The reason is that while we call it “the flu shot” year after year, you’re receiving a different vaccination each time.

Like many diseases, the influenza virus mutates each year, meaning the vaccine you received last year no longer targets the current strain.

Though everyone should get a flu shot in the fall or winter, it’s especially important for children under five, the elderly, and pregnant women. Because children and the elderly have weaker immune systems, the flu can severely compromise their health and can lead to hospitalization.

One study from 2017 even found that the flu vaccine can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from the flu.

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