1. Vaccinations rates are up, but remain relatively low overall 

Although influenza vaccination rates have risen in general, fewer than 40 percent of healthy American adults ages 18-64 have been vaccinated.

2. The flu hit especially hard last year

Last season was “a relatively bad year for flu. There were tens of millions of illnesses,” said CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden. Young and middle-aged adults were hit hard, and just over 100 children died, and “many of those deaths might have been prevented if those children had gotten a vaccination.

3. Flu vaccinations have increased dramatically among pregnant women

Vaccination coverage in pregnant women has remained steady at around 50 percent, the NFID says, up from under 15 percent during the 2009 flu pandemic. “An overwhelming number of studies have shown that the flu shot is safe in pregnancy during all trimesters,” said Dr. Laura Riley, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School.