More Effective Flu Vaccine

DHS director Doctor Cara Christ said flu kills anywhere between 3,000 and 20,000 people each year. Experts say millions of Americans will get the flu, hundreds of thousands will be hospitalized and thousands will die from the illness this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says now is the time to prepare for the flu season, which normally begins around the end of September.

Christ said this year’s vaccine is looking like a “great” match to the strains now circulating.

The flu season starts in October, before it reaches to its peak in the winter.

Public health officials said Thursday that right now it is the best time to get a flu shot, because the vaccine takes about two weeks to become fully protective.

Additionally, anyone in a healthcare setting should be vaccinated to reduce the risk of spreading the flu to those susceptible in a high-risk setting like a hospital.

The virus, which infects the cell of the nose, throat and lings, ether the body by the inhaling of infected droplets or by the touching of one’s face after touching the contaminated surfaces.