People getting the flu shot this year will be vaccinated against three commonly circulating strains instead of four, after one went extinct during the pandemic. Mark J. Terrill/AP hide caption
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A booster vaccine is administered on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Health officials are predicting this winter could see an active flu season on top of potential COVID surges. In short, it's a good year to be a respiratory virus. Left: Image of SARS-CoV-2 omicron virus particles (pink) replicating within an infected cell (teal). Right: Image of an inactive H3N2 influenza virus. NIAID/Science Source hide caption
Flu is expected to flare up in U.S. this winter, raising fears of a 'twindemic'
Being overweight or obese can diminish the effectiveness of a flu shot, researchers say. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images hide caption
Flu patient Donnie Cardenas waits in an emergency room hallway with roommate Torrey Jewett at the Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, Calif., this past week. Gregory Bull/AP hide caption
The microneedle patches developed at Georgia Institute of Technology's Laboratory for Drug Delivery each contain an array of needles less than a millimeter long. Courtesy of Georgia Institute of Technology hide caption
Bruno Mbango Enyaka gets his flu shot at a community health center in Portland, Maine, on Jan. 7. Gabe Souza/Press Herald via Getty Images hide caption
This Year's Flu Vaccine Is Pretty Wimpy, But Can Still Help
A little nudge via text can help parents get the kids in for a second flu immunization, a study finds. Arman Zhenikeyev/Corbis hide caption
A flu shot would have helped protect young adults, but most didn't get it. iStockphoto hide caption