Key points
- The best way to reduce your risk from seasonal flu is a flu vaccine.
- A special program this year is making free seasonal flu vaccines available to farm workers in some states.
About the program
CDC has provided more than 100,000 doses of seasonal influenza vaccine to 12 states affected by H5 bird flu outbreaks in animals. The goal of this program is to prevent the spread of seasonal flu in these communities and safeguard public health.
Seasonal flu vaccination is important
While a seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against H5 bird flu, increasing seasonal flu vaccination among farm workers can prevent severe illness and help reduce the strain of the flu season on health care systems. It also can make it easier for public health agencies to better detect cases of H5 bird flu, should they occur. And fewer people infected with seasonal flu means fewer opportunities for the very rare possibility of co-infection with both a human seasonal virus and an avian virus.
