About 57 percent of Americans intend to receive a flu shot this year, compared to 51 percent of adults with the same intentions in 2016, according to a survey from CityMD.
The Harris Poll conducted the survey on behalf of CityMD. The online survey polled 2,023 adults age 18 and older from Aug. 23-27.
Here are five survey findings to know:
1. Adults age 65 and up were more likely to have plans for a flu shot (66 percent) than adults ages 18 to 64 (55 percent).
2. About 54 percent of young adults ages 18 to 34 plan to get a flu shot this year, up from 42 percent in 2016.
3. Fifty-eight percent of adults ages 45 to 54 shared plans to receive a flu shot this year, compared to 47 percent in 2016.
4. Vaccination intentions varied by education level. Americans with a college degree were most likely to plan for a flu shot (67 percent), followed by those with some college education (54 percent) and individuals with a high school education or less (52 percent).
5. Adults with an annual household income of $100,000 or more were most likely to plan for getting a flu shot (63 percent), while individuals reporting an annual household income of $25,000 or less were least likely (45 percent).
"People saw the harshness of last year's flu season, and the data shows that people are not taking chances this year," Frank Illuzzi, MD, CMO of CityMD, said in a press release. "The single, most important preventative measure to avoid the full harshness of influenza is to get a flu shot. It's a simple, fast and affordable shield from a preventable illness."
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