Flu Shots: How Effective Are They?

It's flu shot season and public health officials urge everyone over 6 months old to get one.

But just how effective are influenza vaccinations in preventing the flu?

According to a report in the New York Times the heavily tauted flu shots that we are encouraged to get each year may not be all that effective.

Last month a report released by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota indicated that the influenza vaccinations "provide only modest protection for healthy young and middle-age adults, and little if any protection for those 65 and older."

Still, CDC officials report that studies indicate that "elderly people who get flu shots are less likely to die of any cause than elderly people who do not get them."

Are you going to heed the well-known advice and error on the side of caution and get a flu shot? Or are you going to take your chances that you won't come down with the flu bug this season?