September 28, 2012 (USA TODAY) -- There are plenty of flu shots
available this year, and health officials urged Americans on
Thursday to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated if not for
their own sakes, then for the health of their communities. About
85 million doses of flu vaccine have been distributed, part of a
total of 135 million doses for this year, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Influenza is
predictably unpredictable," said Howard Koh, assistant secretary
for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, who
spoke at a news conference in Washington organized by the
National Foundation for Infectious Disease. While 2009-10 saw a
pandemic, last year's flu season was the mildest on record, Koh
says. Still, 34 children died of the disease last year. The CDC
recommends flu vaccines for everyone over age 6 months. Yet most
Americans choose to skip the flu shot. Forty-two percent of
Americans got a flu shot last year, about the same rate as the
year before, acc