You can reduce your risk of being infected with influenza by getting an annual influenza vaccination. By getting an annual influenza vaccination you'll be helping to protect yourself — and the many people you come into contact with every day.

Why Vaccinate?

The single best way to help prevent influenza is to get vaccinated each year. Prior years' vaccinations are unlikely to give good protection against influenza this year. One reason for this is that a person's immunity after an influenza vaccination declines over the year following the vaccination. A second reason is because influenza viruses change over time. So, each year the influenza vaccine is formulated to include influenza virus strains that are likely to be circulating now.

When to Get Vaccinated

Influenza season can start as early as October or November and usually reaches its peak from late December through early March. Although October and November are the recommended months for vaccination (because that is when influenza viruses begin to circulate), getting vaccinated later in the season (December through March) can still help protect you and your loved ones from influenza.

Who should be vaccinated?

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that vaccination is recommended for people, including school-age children, who want to reduce the likelihood of becoming ill with influenza or transmitting influenza to others should they become infected. Vaccination is also recommended for those in higher-risk groups. See if you or your loved ones fall into any of these groups:

Children and Adolescents

• All those aged 6 months to 59 months*
• Those aged 6 months* to 18 years, who take long-term aspirin therapy. (If children are given aspirin while they have the flu, they are at risk of a serious disease, called Reye Syndrome, which attacks the liver and brain)

Adults and Children with certain medical conditions

• Those with chronic heart or lung problems or asthma
• Those who need regular medical care or were in the hospital within the last year for metabolic problems (like diabetes), kidney disease or immune system problems. (This means diseases that can attack the body's defense mechanism. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or Crohn's disease are examples.)
• People with any condition that makes it hard to breathe or swallow, or to handle respiratory secretions (such as brain injury or disease, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other nerve muscle disorders)

Healthy adults

• Women who will be pregnant during flu season
• People aged > 50 years

Seniors

• Residents of nursing homes or other long-term care facilities

Caregivers and health workers

• People who live with or look after someone else in a high-risk group
• Families and caregivers of children aged 0 to 59 months
• Healthcare workers

* Influenza vaccines are not currently indicated for children less than 6 months of age.

What else to do to protect yourself and others

The CDC advises that you:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• If you are sick, avoid contact with others. Stay home from work or school, and avoid running errands if possible
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (and teach children to do the same)
• Wash your hands often to remove viruses and germs. You can pick up the influenza virus by touching something that someone with the flu has already touched. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth before washing your hands