With flu season hitting its peak, health professionals are still urging you to get the shot, if you haven't already. Fourteen thousand new cases are being diagnosed every week in the U.S.
Houston Health Department spokesperson Kathy Barton says more people are getting vaccinated, but we could do better.
“Now, we have much better production processes and more availability of vaccine, and people do utilize it,” Barton says, “though we would love to see more children vaccinated.”
There have been no confirmed deaths from influenza in Texas yet. The most common strain is influenza-A, H3N2, which is directly addressed by the vaccine.
“The biggest bang for our buck,” she says, “is actually vaccinating school age children, particularly elementary school age children and younger, because they are just little engines of infection.”