Flu season is here. Here’s what you can do about it.

Flu season is here. Here’s what you can do about it. 
USA Today; by Eduardo Cuevas; 12/26/24 
Holidays are upon us — and so is the flu. More Americans are getting infected with seasonal influenza and seeking care, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. “It is clearly the season,” Dr. Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, a medical epidemiologist in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Influenza Division, told USA TODAY. One important step, if people haven’t done so, is to get vaccinated, he said. Full protection takes a couple weeks to kick in, but it has benefits in preventing serious illness. “The flu season still has weeks to go, so they will still get protection from the flu shot if they get it soon,” he said. Last year, the flu led to 470,000 hospitalizations and 28,000 deaths.

• Who is at risk for severe infection ...
• Is it the flu, cold or something else? ...
• What can I do to protect myself? ...
• How long am I contagious? ...