As winter is just two months away, US health authorities are more alert than ever and urge Americans to take their health very seriously and get their flu shots as soon as possible. Now it’s the perfect time to get immunized against the flu, thus protecting yourself, your family and friends, colleagues and anyone you might come across and spread the virus to. And with the number of doses already on the market (143 million), there should be no problem for anyone to find the vaccine. One thing is new this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the shots for children as young as 6 months, a measure meant to decrease the number of infections. There is no secret that most cases occur and are spread through children. The previous recommendation was that children 5 and under be vaccinated.

Besides children, people who are at a high risk of having serious complications from the flu or people who live with or care for those at high risk for serious complications should get vaccinated right away. They include pregnant women, people 50 years of age and older, people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions, people who live in nursing homes and other long term care facilities, home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age and healthcare workers.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness, which might pose serious threats to people developing it. Annually in the United States, between 5 and 20 percent of the population is infected with the flu. About 36,000 people die and more than 200,000 people need hospitalization because of flu complications. The flu shot offers protection against the illness for about nine months, long after the season has ended.