Flu season is here, and while flu activity remains low around the country, it's increasing and typically spikes after holiday gatherings.
Thakur Jilleni visited his local Walgreens to get his annual flu shot, understanding the importance of protection.
"It's important for myself, for my home health, my family and my coworkers," Jilleni said.
There are signs this flu season could be particularly severe as a mutated strain of the H3N2 flu virus is raising alarms in other parts of the world. That strain tends to cause more severe cases.
"Over in Japan it was early, and it looks like a little bit of a harsh flu season. And there is a mutated form of the flu virus, of course flu viruses always mutate. Right now we are not seeing this in big numbers here but the fear is that it could also be here and whether it causes more severe illness here is to be seen," said Dr. Jon LaPook, CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent.
LaPook says the question is whether there will be a vaccine mismatch as a result of the mutation.
"There is hope with this current batch that we have that it's still good enough. In England the study out there showed that there was still good protection against hospitalization," LaPook said.
It's recommended everyone 6 months and older get the flu vaccine. Pharmacist Amanda Navarro says if you haven't gotten yours, now is the time.
"You want to protect your family, especially with the holiday season coming up, we're gonna be having large gatherings. And it's really important to prevent serious illness and hospitalization," Navarro said.
Jilleni says after having the flu a few years ago, he will do whatever he can to prevent it.
"I felt very weak, and I was very scared of sharing the germs with my family. And since then, I've religiously taken the shot," Jilleni said.
He hopes more people roll up their sleeves to keep everyone healthy this winter.
Last year, CDC numbers show that 280 children died from the flu — the highest number in the US since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. 90% of those cases involved children who were not fully vaccinated against the flu.
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