This flu season, most Americans prefer to not get their flu shot for defense against the virus. 

A survey by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) found that only 49% of the U.S. population is willing to get the flu vaccine. 

“We all know flu vaccination stays the very best strategy to protect yourself and your loved ones from flu,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said at Tuesday’s NFID conference, as per CNBC.

Based on the annual survey, most don’t plan to get vaccinated against the flu despite the fact that they imagine vaccination is the very best protection against it. 

About 69% said they agree that the flu shot is the very best safety measure against flu-related hospitalizations and deaths. Nonetheless, only 49% of the respondents plan to get vaccinated through the 2022-23 flu season. 

The NFID reported that 41% are either unsure or don’t plan to get jabbed against the flu. The highest reasons for doing so include not having enough trust in the brand new flu vaccines and concerns about potential unwanted side effects. Some said they never get the flu. Others were concerned about getting sick from the vaccine, while some believed the flu just isn’t a serious illness. 

The CDC said that despite the fact that the influenza virus could cause mild illness, there may be also the chance of getting a severe illness that might even result in death in some cases. 

People prone to suffering severe illness from the virus include those over the age of 65, pregnant women, children below 5 years old and other people with underlying conditions, added the CDC.

For NFID medical director William Schaffner, many may need also disregarded the necessity to get flu shots as a result of the continued COVID-19 pandemic. 

“With COVID, people have forgotten about influenza. That is one other serious winter respiratory virus, it might do bad damage to you. The important thing to prevention is vaccination,” Schaffner said on the conference. 

As an alternative of the flu shots, around 58% of Americans plan to wear masks to forestall the transmission of the virus. 

Essentially the most common symptoms of the flu include fever or feeling feverish, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches and fatigue. Children may have vomiting and diarrhea on top of the symptoms.