The government is warning that not nearly
enough Americans get their annual flu shots. And it's calling for a
record number of people to line up for inoculations this year,
including 30 million more school-age children.
There's plenty more vaccine to go around this year. A record
number of up to 146 million doses are being manufactured.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 261
million Americans get flu shots. But last year, only 113 million of
the 140 million doses produced were used.
The head of the CDC says "it's a fact that the influenza
vaccine saves lives." But the organization's data shows just a
fraction of those in the highest risk group get protected.
Flu kills about 36,000 Americans a year and leads to about
200,000 hospitalizations.