--- title: 40% of Americans Don’t Plan to Get a Flu Shot, Poll Says description: A new poll says 43% of Americans have gotten the flu shot, but another 41% do not plan to get vaccinated for the 2018-2019 flu season. canonical: https://time.com/5472530/flu-shot-2018-survey/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-06T16:03:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:16:49.795Z article:section: Health og:title: 40% of Americans Don’t Plan to Get a Flu Shot. They’re Putting Others at Risk og:description: The flu vaccine is recommended for almost everyone og:url: https://time.com/5472530/flu-shot-2018-survey/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d574357b555cac/6987789b3c1639079745105c/health-syringe-needle-6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Health Syringe Needle og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 40% of Americans Don’t Plan to Get a Flu Shot. They’re Putting Others at Risk twitter:description: The flu vaccine is recommended for almost everyone twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d574357b555cac/6987789b3c1639079745105c/health-syringe-needle-6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 40% of Americans Don’t Plan to Get a Flu Shot. They’re Putting Others at Risk > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=689863ed-6838-4b2b-8c55-d11c8cc0b517&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why Do I Need a Flu Shot? TIME Explains [Watch (HLS stream): Why Do I Need a Flu Shot? TIME Explains](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jxdi6F8H.m3u8) (2:20)  _Published 2013-11-04. If you think it's one and done like a measles vaccine, think again. The flu virus is ever-changing and mutating. So this year health experts created new vaccines that can protect you from upto 4 of the latest strains._  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Dec 6, 2018 4:03 PM UTC If you think it's one and done like a measles vaccine, think again. The flu virus is ever-changing and mutating. So this year health experts created new vaccines that can protect you from upto 4 of the latest strains.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Dec 6, 2018 4:03 PM UTC Each year, doctors and public health officials urge virtually every American [to get a flu shot](http://time.com/5415276/flu-shot-2018/). But [a new poll](http://www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/PressReleases/Pages/41-percent-of-americans-do-not-intend-to-get-a-flu-shot.aspx) suggests that many people don’t plan to follow that advice. As of mid-November, 43% of American adults said they had already received a flu shot, according to a nationally representative survey of 1,200 people conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research institution. But the majority of people who hadn’t been vaccinated already — 41% of the total sample — said they weren’t planning to get the shot at all. Fourteen percent said they were planning to get a flu shot but had not done so yet. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends flu shots for almost everyone older than six months of age, with very few exceptions for people with certain allergies or past medical conditions. While the efficacy of the flu shot isn’t perfect — during last year’s severe influenza season, [it was around 36%](http://time.com/5160213/flu-shot-effectiveness-2018/) — experts say it can reduce a person’s likelihood of getting sick and spreading the flu and lessen the severity of any illnesses that do occur. Nonetheless, 31% of people who said they did not plan to get the vaccine cited the fact that it “\[doesn’t\] work very well” as a major reason for holding off. Thirty-six percent said they feared side effects, and 30% believed they didn’t need it because they “never get the flu.” Only 5-6% of people said that costs or time were major hindrances to getting the vaccine. Any side effects from the flu shot tend to be minor, and the vaccine does not cause influenza. Experts recommend that even healthy people get the shot, since high rates of vaccination in a community help protect the most vulnerable individuals. Flu shots are especially important for the elderly and [young children](http://time.com/5301749/pediatric-deaths-flu-season/), who are more susceptible to flu-related complications that can lead to serious health problems or death. That message seemed to resonate with older adults, as only 24% of people in the survey who were older than 60 said they did not plan to get vaccinated this season. But 39% of adults living with children younger than 18 said they do not vaccinate their children. Most people in the survey (63%) did not know that last year’s [deadly flu season](http://time.com/5183507/flu-season-peaked/) was unusually severe. That knowledge, however, may have motivated people to get the vaccine. Forty-three percent of already-vaccinated people knew that last year’s flu season was particularly bad, compared to 30% of those who did not plan to get the shot. If you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, it’s not too late. While it’s best to get the shot [before the bulk of flu season](http://time.com/5386037/flu-shot-october-2018/) hits, the CDC says it’s a good idea to get vaccinated as long as influenza viruses are still widely circulating — which they will be for at least the next three to four months. ## Transcript It's time for your annual flu shot. But will the vaccine protect you? Here's what you need to know. It's flu season which means it's time for your annual flu shot. So, the question always is: Why do we need to get a shot every year? Why isn't the influenza vaccine more like measles or rubella or polio, where it's one undone and you're protected for years if not for life? Well, you can blame the influenza virus for that. It has gotten so good at mutating to bypass the effects of the vaccine that we have to get rearmed against whatever circulating that season each year. So, every spring, officials at the World Health Organization convene influenza experts and they decide which strains of the virus should be included in the upcoming season's vaccine. They do their best to look at which strains are emerging in people who are starting to get sick with flu but it's a guess. It's and educating yes, but it's still a guess. So, why did they make this decision so early? Nearly nine months before the first sneezes and cough start? Influenza viruses are grown on chicken eggs and in order to grow enough virus to fill those vaccines, it takes several months. This year, when you go to the doctor, you'll have far more choices than you've had before. You could still get the traditional flu shot which contains three different influenza strains and kids who are afraid of needles can get the nasal spray. And for adults who are needle- phobic, there's also a micro needle version, which contains a smaller needle that gives a little less painful job. And for the first time this year, there's also an influenza vaccine that protects against four different flu strains. So, it gives you a little more protection once the season starts. And the elderly can also get a little extra dose from a high dose vaccine that protects their weaker immune systems and gives them a little bit of a boost. For those who are allergic to eggs, there's also a cell- based flu vaccine that allows them to get vaccinated against influenza for the first time. So, given all this choice, there should be something for everyone. But as for universal flu vaccine, they're still working on that one. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5472530/flu-shot-2018-survey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5472530/flu-shot-2018-survey/"},"headline":"40% of Americans Don’t Plan to Get a Flu Shot. 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