Nearly three-fourths of Americans plan to get a flu shot earlier this year to be better protected against the illness, according to a recent survey from Walgreens.
For the survey, Walgreens polled a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adults on their attitudes and perceptions of the flu vaccine between Aug. 20-21, a company spokesperson told Becker's.
Here are five survey findings:
1. Forty percent of respondents said they believe this flu season will be as severe as the 2017-18 flu season, and 12 percent said this season will be worse.
2. Seventy-three percent of respondents shared plans to get a flu shot earlier this year to be better protected sooner.
3. Nearly one-third of respondents (32 percent) have not received a flu shot in the last three years. Thirty-nine percent avoided the vaccine because they thought it was ineffective.
4. Nearly 80 percent of respondents had the flu or had a family member contract the illness within the last three years.
5. Thirty-seven percent of respondents went to work while sick with the flu.
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