Pharmacists will heavily encourage Americans to get their flu shots this fall, hoping to mitigate flooding healthcare centers with patients and draining them of the resources they need to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which will likely experience a second wave during flu season.
In the past 10 years, flu vaccination rates have fluctuated between 40 and 45 percent. Polling shows that hesitation stems from concerns about efficacy, side effects or getting the flu from the vaccine, according to The Hill.
Pharmacists and public health officials are preparing to launch a large-scale flu shot campaign later this summer, focusing on how taking the preventive measure can help the country better handle the pandemic.
"We are going to try to encourage people, urge them, implore them even, to come out and roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated so we can mitigate the impact of this season of viral attack," said William Schaffner, MD, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases' medical director, told The Hill.