Two New Strains Of Flu For This Season

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The country's flu experts say now is the time to start getting a flu shot to cover you through the winter.

Dr. Daniel Jernigan of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells WBBM Newsradio that there are two new, different strains of flu this year and that the vaccine formulated this fall should be able to keep you from getting them.

Jernigan says there are 85 million doses already distributed throughout the United States with another 50 million doses more expected, WBBM's Bernie Tafoya reports.

Dr. Jernigan says even healthy people should get flu shots. He says not only will it help keep them from getting the flu, but it'll help prevent the spread of it from normally healthy people to others who might be more susceptible to it.

Chicago is also offering free flu shots at clinics across the city, click here for a list.

Flu vaccination is recommended for virtually everyone older than 6 months of age. But the government says just 42 percent of Americans were immunized last year.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsadio's Bernie Tafoya Reports