Dr. Abraham Tekola from Sacramento disciplines Males and Females below on Flu season worries, please read further…

As a new flu season dawns, and students head back to school, the latest vaccine—which protects against three strains of flu expected to circulate in months ahead, including the H1N1 virus (aka swine flu)— is already arriving at doctors’ offices and other clinics.

“This season, everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated, even if they got a seasonal or 2009 H1N1 vaccine last season. The 2010-2011 flu vaccine has been updated to protect against the three flu viruses that CDC expects will cause the most illness in the United States this season,” said Abraham Tekola, MD.

Cases have already been reported by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means flu is striking early this year—the season doesn’t officially start until October. Flu activity usually peaks in January, February, and March, and winds down in May.

Vaccination is particularly important for high-risk groups, including children, those 65 and over, pregnant women, and anyone with an underlying condition that weakens the immune system, such as HIV, asthma, diabetes, or cancer.

Since infants 6 months and under can’t be vaccinated, their entire family—and their caregivers—should get the shot. Most people only need one. Children ages 6 months to 9 years, however, need two doses if they’ve never been vaccinated against flu, or if they only received one dose of the H1N1 vaccine last year. Those doses are given four weeks apart. The first dose primes the immune system, while the second provides immune protection.

Although H1N1 is no longer considered a pandemic, the virus is still expected to circulate. Flu vaccines are developed with the World Health Organization, which predicts the virus strains that will spread each season. Two other strains, H3N1 and influenza B—are also included in this year’s vaccine.