From the NC Department of Health and Human Services:
“The best defense against serious illness from flu is the annual vaccine, available for everyone six months and older. Studies have shown that vaccines reduce the risk of flu-associated deaths by half in children with high-risk medical conditions and by two-thirds in healthy children. Vaccination can also make illness milder for those who do get the flu. Yet, the national flu vaccination rate is lower than the last two years for children and adults.
Certain groups are at higher risk for serious illness from flu, including children younger than five, pregnant women, people over 65 and those with certain chronic medical conditions, such as heart or lung disease. More than half of the children who die from flu have no known medical condition that would put them at higher risk.
Get your flu vaccines, especially parents of children younger than five. We have a social media toolkit, a new PSA, as as well as three news releases (vaccines, adult death, pediatric death) with valuable information. You can find a vaccine location at myspot.nc.gov/flu. ”